VANCOUVER: While auto insurance premiums have gone up in BC over the past three years, those in Ontario, Alberta, and the Atlantic provinces, provinces enjoying competitive insurance markets, have gone down. Monopoly provision of insurance in BC has led to rising costs for consumers. It is time for ICBC's auto insurance monopoly to end, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said today.

"The evidence clearly shows that the government's monopolization of the auto insurance market is a bad deal for BC consumers," said Maureen Bader, BC Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "If we want average premiums to fall in BC as they have in other provinces, drivers must have a choice not just for optional, but basic insurance as well."

According to data from the General Insurance Statistical Agency, between 2003 and 2007, average auto insurance premiums fell by almost 16% in Ontario, 14% in Alberta, 24% in Nova Scotia, 37% in New Brunswick, 15.5% in Prince Edward Island, and 21% in Newfoundland. Meanwhile in BC, average premiums rose 5.1% between 2003 and 2006. BC's 2007 premium data is not yet available but given the recent announcement of a 3.3% increase in basic rates coupled with a 3.8% decrease in optional rates, average premiums will likely increase, as about 56% of ICBC's insurance business is basic insurance.

"ICBC's 30% increase in executive bonuses in 2006, while costs continue to rise and customer satisfaction levels fall, show the distorted priorities this monopoly operates under," continued Bader. "Competition in the marketplace for insurance keeps management on its toes because consumers have the choice to take their business elsewhere."