| Mike's Comments |
Nov 27, 2009More thoughts on 'Critical Coverage Reporting': This ties in to some of the comments regarding insurance scams, as well as my concerns about people driving without insurance. In some cases, people have bought what they honestly thought was an auto insurance policy. Particularly when the Insurance marketplace becomes difficult and prices go up, the con artists like to set up shop and play the old line 'these companies are gouging you, come and place your Insurance with us for a much lower rate.' Frequently, the schemes involve sending 'premiums' by wire, rather than cheques or credit card transactions and only once they have closed up shop and disappeared does the victim realize they never had insurance in the first place. Worse still, if they have been in a major accident, they could end up in dire financial straits. Having mandatory reporting of all insurance transactions (new business, changes to existing policies, and renewals of existing policies as well as cancellations) to the ministry of transportation would stop these scams in their tracks. If you were unfortunate enough to get roped in, as soon as you tried to register your car, the ministry would be able to tell you there was a problem (no verification received from a legitimate Insurance Company), and the con artists would get stopped much quicker than our current situation, where they may never get caught because they are not discovered until something major goes wrong - which is often too late. So, having the Insurance Industry, the Ministry of Transportation and law enforcement all connected and able to monitor whether a person has valid auto insurance 24/7 would be of benefit to the financial health of the industry, would bring down premiums in the long run, and greatly reduce fraudulent activity - a win win for everyone. Michael Stuart, BBA, FCIP, CRM, CAIB Grant, Jones & Stuart Insurance Brokers Phone: 905-470-2732 ext 225 Toll Free: 1-800-445-2270 Fax: 905-470-2762 |