Premier Pat Binns today announced that the Government of Prince Edward Island is committed to working with the governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in completing the development of a harmonized insurance act and regulations for the Maritime region.
“This initiative has the potential to result in cost savings with respect to insurance products,” said Premier Pat Binns. “Participating in this initiative also demonstrates our collective efforts to increase accessibility and affordability of insurance products in the Maritime region.”
It is also expected that the modernized act will allow governments to be more responsive to changing industry practises and conditions in the future.
“Regulating the large insurance industry can be challenging, but by working with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, we can develop a model which allows us to react simultaneously and more quickly to this ever changing industry,” said Premier Binns. “We believe this will also benefit consumers.”
The draft harmonized act was developed by the Atlantic Superintendents of insurance.
Recent reforms to insurance legislation focussed on auto insurance in an attempt to reduce costs to consumers. Premier Binns indicated that, to date, his government is pleased with the results of the automobile insurance reforms which were implemented in 2004. “The average overall decrease in auto rates was approximately 13 percent in 2004, that was followed by a further average overall decrease of approximately 5 percent in 2005,” said Premier Binns. “The full effect of our cost saving legislative changes has yet to be determined, but it is hoped that Islanders will see further decreases.”