IBC calls campaign an “offensive and inaccurate swipe”

Insurance Bureau of Canada has called a public campaign petitioning the potential reduction of the limit on basic accident benefits an “offensive and inaccurate swipe” at the insurance industry.The Alliance of Community Medical & Rehabilitation Providers is a coalition of 43 organizations in Ontario that provide clinical services to motor vehicle accident victims. On May 14, 2009 the Alliance issued a press release decrying the recommendation by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO)’s to reduce basic accident benefits from $100,000 to $25,000.“The insurance industry is crying poor, and FSCO seems to have bought the industry’s argument hook-line-and-sinker,” an Alliance release says. “Minister Duncan has a choice to make — he can stand up to the insurance lobby and ensure that people seriously hurt in car crashes get the medical and rehabilitation services they need; or he can cave to the industry and give the insurance companies the profits they want.”IBC’s president and CEO Don Forgeron called the campaign, “an offensive and inaccurate swipe at our industry by another industry with an increasingly vested interest in the auto insurance product.”He noted that the cost of no-fault health care services has increased more than 40% in the past four years, and continues to rise. “For every dollar spent on therapy, another 60 cents goes to providers conducting assessments.”Forgeron also pointed out that in other provinces with lower accident benefit limits accident victims return to health more quickly than in Ontario. Despite having the most generous auto insurance system in North America, with a 25% higher cost than drivers elsewhere in Canada, “after 6 months, 80% of sprain and strain claims in Ontario are still open and people continue to receive treatment,” Forgeron said. “In Alberta, after the same period of time, only 40% of similar cases remain open.”