The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Flin Flonners stand to save on vehicle insurance but keep paying more for electricity. Manitoba Public Insurance announced last week that it will apply for a 7.2 per cent rate decrease for Flin Flon and the surrounding region. The change, which would take effect March 1, 2013, would save the average driver $50 a year on vehicle insurance. Manitoba's Public Utilities Board must still approve the decrease following hearings slated to begin this September. MPI expects a ruling by December. Flin Flon and The Pas are the two largest communities in what MPI calls the 'near north' territory. The public insurer has also applied for a slightly smaller rate decrease in the 'far north' territory, which includes Thompson, Lynn Lake and Churchill. If MPI's application is approved, those residents would save 5.6 per cent, or an average of $42 a year. See 'Redu...' on pg. 7 Continued from pg. 1 Marilyn McLaren, president and CEO of MPI, said a dramatic decrease in 'serious losses' in northern Manitoba warrants the northern rate cut. In a news release, she said there were $2.5 million in serious losses between 2009-10 and 2011-12 compared to $11.4 million for the previous three years. 'These reductions gradually are incorporated into (northerners') rates,' McLaren said. The savings would apply to the Basic Autopac premium on nearly 25,000 passenger vehicles in northern Manitoba. All 14,690 registered vehicles in the near north would receive rate decreases, as would virtually all vehicles _ 98.3 per cent _ in the far north. MPI said this would mark the third consecutive year northern communities have received rate decreases. If the latest decrease is approved, drivers in the near north will have saved 20.9 per cent, or an average of $172, over three years. Savings in the far north would amount to 21.6 per cent, or $191. For the rest of Manitoba, MPI has applied to keep overall rates steady in 2013-14, except for motorcycles, mopeds and motor scooters. Across the province, those drivers would save 0.2 per cent on average. While MPI has requested no overall rate increase, the rates individuals pay for Basic Autopac will be determined by their driving record, the kind of vehicle they drive, what the vehicle is used for and where they live. In any given year, an individual's premium may be adjusted based on the actual claims experience associated with these rating factors. McLaren touted MPI's 'unmatched' record and its 'commitment to providing Manitobans with the rate stability they expect.' 'We have held the line or reduced rates 14 of the last 15 years,' she said. The same can hardly be said for another Crown corporation, Manitoba Hydro, which wants to continue boosting rates for all Manitobans. With rates having already gone up two per cent as of April 1, the utility has applied for two more hikes _ 2.5 per cent effective Sept. 1, 2012 and 3.5 per cent effective April 1, 2013. That's a six per cent hike in seven months. Like the MPI decreases, the Hydro increases are subject to approval from the Public Utilities Board. In its filing to the Board, Hydro said it would be unacceptable 'to allow net income to slip into a loss position and risk credit-rating implications together with the need for larger rate increases at a later date.'
