The Ontario Government announced a multi-year plan to fix auto insurance, which might be a good thing for consumers. These changes will give consumers greater choice in the coverage and better control over the price they pay for auto insurance. An important part of the “Putting Drivers First” plan is introducing “care not cash” to ensure insurance resources are used to pay for the treatment accident victims need to recover from their injuries. The Government’s reform plan also addresses an important issue raised in the 2017 report by David Marshall on Ontario’s broken auto insurance system. As Marshall noted, hundreds of millions of dollars of insurance benefits are diverted each year into contingency fees for lawyers. The Government has committed to re-evaluating the legal contingency fee arrangement to ensure consumers are protected, and to ensure agreements are transparent. “Putting Driver’s First” also encourages greater competition. It also enables electronic proof of insurance and electronic commerce and communications between insurers and clients to make it easier for consumers. Pete Karageorgos Director, Consumer & Industry Relations Insurance Bureau of Canada Ontario joins Libby in studio.

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