The Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association has a press release making the rounds with their position on the matter. I can't find a link right now but here is some of what they had to say:
Quote:
40% Insurance Premium Hike a “Manufactured Crisis”
The Insurance Bureau of Canada’s request for a 40% insurance premium hike is nothing more than an attempt at manufacturing a crisis, according to the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers’ Association (ACTLA).
Association President Jamie Cuming stated that the latest request for a premium hike is a “standard tactic the insurance industry has used in Alberta before – create a crisis over insurance rates and then try to get governments to solve it”. “The bottom line is that the winners in such a crisis are always insurance company profits, and not consumers or victims”, he added.
ACTLA supports Finance and Enterprise Minister Iris Evans in her contention that there is no evidence to support a rate increase of 40%.
ACTLA’s submission to the rate board hearings later this month confirms the insurance industry has continued to earn profits of 20% or more, almost double a reasonable rate and well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Further, the rate board’s own actuaries report a sharp decline of 11.5% in the number of auto insurance collision claims in Alberta in 2008. The AIRB actuaries also criticize that premiums for basic insurance have been set too high in every year since 2005.
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ACTLA's report, along with reports and submissions from other parties set to make presentations to the AIRB, can be found here:
http://www.airb.alberta.ca/public_me....aspx#schedule