Bell: Alberta auto insurance rates ugly no matter how you slice the tomato
The latest Smith government document says they have 'restrained premium growth' but 'auto insurance rates are no longer adequate to pay for the actual cost of insurance in the province.'
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In real people talk, Albertans have to pay up.
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The Smith government doesn't want to go with a public auto insurance system because they say Albertans want choice and the ability to shop around and it takes billions of dollars to build out a public system.
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Horner, speaking for the Smith government, says with a 7.5 per cent maximum premium hike for good drivers the actual costs of insurance are not reflected. The premiums are 'artificially low.'
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Smith's point man on insurance says most companies are taking in less from us than they are paying out to us.
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Insurance companies are steamed about the rate cap though they are happy the ability to sue is, in Horner's words, 'very narrow.'
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Horner says there is no decision to lift the rate hike cap but the numbers say it's something they probably need to look at.
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He says if the government hadn't capped increases to the premiums of good drivers at 7.5 per cent a year the average premium here would be about $400 a year higher and Alberta would have the most expensive auto insurance in the country.
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As for now? Horner admits it's a tough sell. The rate cap really has riled up insurers.
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'What we've done right now is a finger in the dike and it isn't sustainable. It's making it more challenging for people to understand the savings that will exist January 1, 2027.'
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What does Horner have to say to Albertans who believed there would be more relief from high premiums?
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Maybe it doesn't matter as much to folks making big coin.
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Maybe it doesn't plague the mind of someone tooling down the road in their shiny set of wheels heading to their swanky vacation home.
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But it does matter to those Albertans who are just trying to balance their chequebook, haven't scored big in this economy and where the cost of living is taking an ever-bigger bite.
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Horner says no politician would ever wade into the insurance issue unless they really wanted to make things better.
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