Nova Scotia NDP would scrap auto injury cap; replace with a deductible

The NDP in Nova Scotia has dragged auto insurance into the province’s current political campaign, promising to scrap the existing Cdn$2,500 cap on insurance payments for minor auto injuries and replacing it with some form of deduction instead.Nova Scotia NDP leader Darrell Dexter told metronews.ca (Halifax) the cap on minor injuries is too broad and suggested some injury claimants haven’t been fairly compensated after life-altering collisions.“People who suffer very serious injuries are not able to get the compensation they deserve,” Dexter is quoted as saying in metronews.ca (Halifax). “It’s just not fair to these people.”Dexter is reported to favour a deductible set high enough that only those with major injuries would proceed with a claim. The Canadian Press paraphrased Dexter as suggesting the deductible amount might be within the range of between Cdn$10,000 and Cdn$15,000.The province’s incumbent governing party, the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, cited PC candidate George Jordan, a former Consumer Advocate for Insurance, as saying the NDP plan would ultimately increase consumers’ auto rates.”Scrapping the cap is a tremendously risky proposition,” Jordan says in a press release posted on the Nova Scotia Tories’ Web site. “Insurance rates have fallen almost 27% since the cap came into place in 2003. “Removing it opens the door to large cash settlements for minor injuries and that can lead to higher premiums for everyone.”Jordan says the average cost of insurance for Nova Scotia drivers was Cdn$1,069 in 2003, whereas it was down to Cdn$782 in 2008.He goes on to say the Cdn$2,500-cap for soft-tissue injuries does not apply in the case of serious injuries and does not limit the compensation victims can receive from their own insurance for work missed while healing from injuries. The election date is June 9, 2009.