INSURANCE PREMIUMS CONTINUE TO SKYROCKET THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC AS THE UCP DO NOTHING

EDMONTON — Despite driving significantly less during the pandemic, Alberta drivers continue to pay substantially more for auto insurance under the UCP government.

Alberta’s largest insurance provider Intact has increased their profit by 380% year-over-year according to their recently released first quarter report. Auto insurance premiums have steeply increased since the UCP removed the premium rate cap in August of 2019 after meeting with former UCP Chief of Staff and current lobbyist Nick Koolsbergen. 

“It is disgusting that the UCP is letting Albertans get side-swiped by higher premiums just to help profitable companies quadruple their profits,” said NDP Finance Critic Shannon Phillips. “Albertans already navigating the financial hardships of a pandemic should not be forced to pay unpredictable and unreasonable increases, especially when they are driving less.”

The Alberta NDP Caucus has repeatedly stood with Albertans struggling to pay their increasing premiums and have called for both the premium cap to be reinstated and for premiums to be frozen during the pandemic. These calls have been ignored by the UCP. 

Meanwhile, other provinces have provided direct relief to drivers. On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced they are providing an average of $380 to every driver over the next three weeks. British Columbia is in the process of mailing rebate cheques to drivers. And Manitoba has done two rounds of rebate cheques during the pandemic so far, one in May 2020 and another at the start of 2021. 

“The UCP are clearly not governing to help Alberta consumers,” said NDP Service Alberta Critic Jon Carson. “As soon as the pandemic began, it was obvious that Albertans would be driving less. The UCP have abandoned drivers for the past 15 months and are forcing them to dig deeper into their wallets during an unprecedented financial crisis.”