Property Insurance In Ontario Is Not Regulated And It Needs To Be To Prevent Consumer Rip-Offs: Read Why! Why is it that auto insurance is the subject of government regulation in Ontario, yet theres little or no regulation over property insurance and other forms of insurance? The obvious answer is auto insurance is mandatory, while other forms of insurance are not. Yet, from a practical point of view, property insurance is mandatory. Just try borrowing money to purchase a house or a condominium without proof of property insurance. The truth of the matter is that theres a pressing need for proper regulation of property insurance. Take the example of water damage, currently one of the top causes of property insurance claims. Coverage for water damage is often limited, for example, to damage caused by sewer backups. Some insurers provide unlimited coverage for such claims, while others provide no or very limited coverage. Some include coverage for the base premium while others charge an extra premium. If you suffer a water damage claim your insurer may act expeditiously, quickly sending in an adjuster and an expert clean-up crew, while others may delay, even forcing property owners to conduct their own clean-up. If youve suffered a water damage claim theres nothing to stop your insurer from increasing your premiums and reducing or even eliminating coverage upon the next policy renewal. Insurers can even force homeowners to incur substantial expenses for property improvements as a condition of renewing coverage. All this without any form of government regulation or oversight provided by the Ontario government - which is responsible for regulating insurance. While insurers may raise premiums to cover losses, theres no way for the public to determine if the increases are justified or constitute a cash grab. And theres no transparency. Each of Ontarios 100 property plus insurance companies is free to determine who it will accept as clients, the premiums it charges, the wording of its insurance policies and what is and isnt covered. Each is free to set and implement its own underwriting and claims handling policies. When it comes to property insurance, we wont know if we purchased a quality product until we suffer a loss, something that may never take place or may occur years or decades in the future. And there is no negotiation over price or the language in the lengthy legal policy documents. Insurers use different terms to describe the type of property coverage provided. Some policies cover the cash value of a loss while others may cover the replacement value. And when a dispute arises theres no regulated arbitration process as there is with disputed Ontario auto insurance claims. In property insurance disputes, average Ontarians are forced to undertake expensive, time-consuming litigation. Another reason why we should be regulating property insurance is the current practice of bundling insurance policies. Just as consumers have been encouraged to save money by bundling their phone, internet and cable services, consumers are now being encouraged to bundle their auto and property insurance. But if you have both forms of insurance with the same company theres nothing to stop your insurer from lowering your auto insurance premiums to satisfy the Ontario governments promise to reduce auto insurance premiums, while at the same time increasing your property insurance premiums. Ellen Rosemans informative article in the Toronto Star provides some telling examples of the various ways in which Ontarians are being ripped-off because of the lack of regulatory oversight of property insurance. There are plenty of problems with the way auto insurance in Ontario is regulated - but at least it is regulated. The Ontario government must bring in a comprehensive set of rules to protect homeowners from unscrupulous insurance companies. And the time for the government to act is now! thestar/…/some_homeowners_facing_insurance_s…
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 21:56:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015