Mandatory insurance rates to drop five per cent this fall

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Edmonton – Alberta drivers can expect to keep an extra $30 per year in their pockets beginning this fall. In response to its annual insurance rate review, the Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB) has directed the province’s automobile insurers to reduce premiums on mandatory automobile insurance by five per cent this year, effective Nov. 1.

“This reduction is primarily the result of a projected decline in the number of bodily injury claims in the province this coming year,” said AIRB Chair Alfred Savage in a July 29 press release. “The decrease will save Alberta drivers an average of $30 per year on their mandatory insurance premiums.”

The premium reduction applies only to the mandatory coverage required by law, including third party liability and accident benefits coverage. Optional collision and comprehensive automobile coverage is not covered in the ordered premium reduction, and premiums on those items will continue to be set by individual insurers.

The AIRB sets premiums for mandatory auto insurance coverage for private passenger vehicles, monitors premiums for optional coverage, and reviews and approves rating programs for new insurers entering the Alberta marketplace. Each year the AIRB sets the maximum premiums for mandatory coverage that all automobile insurers charge, and is required to review auto insurance rates every year, announcing any changes by Aug. 1.

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