Public Utilities Board gives MPI green light to send $110M in rebate cheques

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2020 (2042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance will rebate $110 million to about 700,000 policyholders in the next several weeks after receiving regulatory approval from the Public Utilities Board.

Rebates, based on a percentage of premiums paid in 2019, are expected to average about $140 to $160 per policyholder.

Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton announced the rebates last month, but a portion of the rebate total, about $58 million, required approval from the PUB.

In its ruling, the board ordered that motorcycle owners also receive rebates on their insurance, along with owners of private passenger, public and commercial vehicles. MPI had excluded them in its rebate application.

MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said the corporation originally proposed to provide rebates to customers that “contributed to claims saving from March and April.” The motorcycle riding season typically starts in May, he said.

Cheques are to go out to policyholders by May 31 “or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable,” the PUB said.

There have been fewer vehicles on the road and fewer collisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to MPI, as of mid-April, collision claims were down 48 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.

With claims plummeting, MPI has worked out an arrangement with Shared Health that has seen more than 60 of its staff redeployed to assisting the government with its fight against COVID-19.

The MPI workers have helped with the warehousing and distribution of personal protective equipment. The government has said it will fully compensate the Crown corporation for the use of the workers, who remain on the MPI payroll.

Meanwhile, the PUB did not release a full report outlining its reasons for issuing the rebate order. It said it would provide detailed reasons “in due course.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca