What Ontario drivers should do: IBC’s take

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As part of the Ontario government’s measures to increase consumer choice in auto insurance, housekeeping and home maintenance expenses and caregiver benefits were made optional.

Barb Sulzenko-Laurie, IBC’s Vice President of Policy, explains how the housekeeping benefit has changed over the last few years, and what she thinks consumers should do before purchasing or renewing their auto policy.

Barb Sulzenko Laurie: Again, people need to be informed and we’re recommending that when people purchase insurance or when they renew their insurance that they talk about what their needs and potential needs are in the event of an accident causing an injury with an insurance professional, like a broker or an agent. In some cases it’s absolutely inappropriate that one would be purchasing caregiver’s assistance or attendant care assistance, depending upon one’s circumstances. Why would you be purchasing caregiver insurance if you don’t have an elderly parent that you’re taking care of or younger children that you’re taking care of? Why would you be purchasing housekeeping if the way in which you keep your house clean is not vulnerable to the temporary loss of your services as a homemaker? People have to make those choices and they should make those choices on the basis of what their own circumstances are.

Most of us, if we are injured in any other capacity other than by riding in a motor vehicle … I, for example, broke my leg in the park when I was hit by a couple of dogs that were frolicking and so I spent a month or a month and a half on a crutch. Homemaking assistance was not available. You’re injured in any other capacity and that kind of assistance is not available. The tradeoff: should everyone pay higher insurance so that some people can make use of homemaking assistance because they feel it is appropriate for them?

As has happened over the course of the last few years, is that homemaking assistance became part and parcel of every single minor injury claim. Was it necessary or was it simply taking advantage of the benefit because it was there?

I’ll show you what happened to housekeeping costs. In 2004, the average cost of a housekeeping claim was $5,200. In 2009, the average cost of a housekeeping claim was $10,200. So that was an increase of 94.4 percent.

At the same time, the frequency at which people were making these claims also increased pretty significantly. The contribution of housekeeping to the cost of your car insurance rose as a result.

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