TORONTO – The regulator for Ontario’s auto insurance sector says it has been working to resolve industry-wide violations of rules around fair access to coverage.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) says that through years of investigations it has found issues with how all of the 12 largest auto insurance companies in the province offer quotes to prospective customers.
The regulator says it uncovered practices that made it harder for certain types of consumers to get quotes, such as customers who had prior claims, who weren’t also buying property coverage, who lived in certain municipalities, and who had less than a year of previous auto insurance coverage in Canada.
It says it found insurers at times slowed quotes, refused to offer coverage for those who met their approved underwriting rules, or simply didn’t respond to consumers.
The FSRA says the practices go against the “take-all-comers” rules that require insurers to accept business from all consumers who meet their government-approved underwriting rules.
It says the systemic practices, which it has been working directly with the industry to resolve through active supervision, have led to “consumer harms, unfair competition, and diminished market health.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2023.
