We are pleased to provide you with a copy of our annual report for the calendar year 2006.

The highlight for 2006 is the agreement reached between the provincial government and the auto insurance industry.  The agreement, announced on December 4, 2006 provides for a decrease of 13.5 per cent in the average premium of each company, as of March 1, 2007.  Combined with the reductions in premiums since the insurance reforms of 2003 and 2004, this latest reduction will bring regular insurance premiums for good drivers with clean records to a much improved level.

That does not mean that everything is well with all consumers as far as insurance is concerned.  During 2006, we handled 1,848 matters, an increase of 55.68 per cent, compared to the 1,187 matters we handled in 2005.  Since our office was in operation for only 10 months in 2005, the real increase for 2006 would be 29.77 per cent.

Most matters related to auto insurance (81.9 per cent), and Gloucester County led the way with 31.5 per cent of the total number of matters handled, as it did in 2005.   Queries to our office fell into three main categories:

Premiums- Rates           54.6%
General Information       25.4%
Claims Related Issues   19.9%
Others                         .01%

The issue that is again at the centre of our recommendations, for correction or elimination, is the underwriting practice that allows auto insurance companies to charge higher premiums for consumers with a gap or a lapse in their insurance history.

Other than auto insurance we do have some concerns for a growing number of complaints regarding loan insurance (life and disability).  We also have some concerns that home insurance appears to be undergoing some changes after many years of relative calm and stability. 

As for 2007, the number of matters handled by our office will likely meet or surpass the 2006 level.  We will be looking at the impact of the elimination of gender as a rating factor as of January 1,  2007 and we will also be looking at a new system that will be put into place to replace the existing territories for rating purposes, as of January 1, 2008.

Annual report 2006.pdf