AB.AUTO

Question 1

Guiding principles of AB’s automobile insurance system (4)

Answer 1

PATS

Private sector delivery

Accessible and affordable insurance

Timely and appropriate outcomes when claims are made

Sustainable and viable auto insurance system

Question 2

Goals a fondamental reform would need to achieve (4)

Answer 2

PAES

Private sector delivery model

Appropriate medical benefits for injured in auto collision

Easier access to income replacement benefits

Significantly reduce or eliminate costs from the system

Question 3

Results of research from committee (4)

Answer 3

• Cause of high auto premiums was BI loss costs increase (component non-pecuniary damages)
• nothing to control BI premiums, premiums will continue to rise
• Some traffic injured are overcompensated while others are under-compensated
• traffic accident health outcomes where improved where tort systems were eliminated and replaced with no-fault models

Question 4

name 2 provinces that have a pure no-fault system

Answer 4

Manitoba & Quebec

Question 5

identify the recommendations of the Alberta auto insurance committee

Answer 5

• replace existing hybid tort/no-fault model with a pure no-fault model
• introduce a “continuum of care model” to promote appropriate medical evaluation, assessment and treatment

Question 6

describe how Alberta’s new auto insurance is recommended to work

Answer 6

create a Traffic Injury Regulator, including a Board and Tribunal to oversee the 4 arms of accident care & compensation:
[1] claims administration and support
[2] medical experts to evaluate injuries
[3] claims assessment panels for income replacement
[4] a reconstituted version of AIRB (Automobile Insurance Rate Board)

Question 7

identify problems that Alberta and Ontario auto insurance have in common (2)

Answer 7

• rising cost of auto insurance (largely bodily injury costs)
• inefficient delivery of medical care

Question 8

what has been identified as a primary cause of problems in AB & ON auto insurance

Answer 8

both systems have a tort component which causes:
→ delays in medical care
→ diversion of resources to the legal system

Question 9

identify a similarity in recommendations to address these problems in AB & ON auto insurance

Answer 9

• greater focus on timely medical care

Question 10

identify a difference in recommendations to address these problems in AB & ON auto insurance

Answer 10

Alberta:
* convert to a pure no-fault system
Ontario:
* keep hybrid tort/no-fault system
(but fix structural flaws by appointing an arms-length regulator with powers to enact policies & procedures)