Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy Executive Director Mark Milke said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is wrong about the province having high insurance rates. .“Part of the problem is propaganda from government insurance monopolies in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,” said Milke in an interview. .“Over the years, they’ve taken internet quotes and pretended those represented paid premiums, and they don’t.” .Milke said it is unfortunate Smith thinks Alberta has high auto insurance premiums. .Smith told Western Standard opinion editor Nigel Hannaford on December 19 she was thinking about proposing student loan relief and aid for insurance costs to help people while inflation remains high. .READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Smith hints at student loan assistance, insurance relief to fight inflation.“We may have to look at insurance costs as another example,” she said. .The Alberta government has called in the Insurance Bureau of Alberta and asked it to put its members on notice. She said people cannot keep having escalating insurance premiums. .Milke said internet quotes inflate the numbers. He said he pays about $1,300 per year for his auto insurance. .There are internet quotes for him for $2,000, $3,000, and $4,000. If people took the average of those quotes, they would end up with $3,000. .This average does not cite what he pays. He called internet quotes “not representative of reality.” .Milke said most people do not know statistics well enough to understand what is going on. He added people would have a choice in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba if there was competition. .Auto insurance is restricted to a government monopoly in these three provinces. He said government auto insurance companies and unions have a vested interest to produce misleading numbers. .The benefits to a government monopoly on insurance are its employees receive a paycheque and no competition. Government insurance companies have a lock on the market. .Real premiums are calculated based on risk factors and how much it costs to repair a vehicle. He said Ontario has some of the highest premiums because it is expensive to repair vehicles. .Milke said competition can reduce premiums. If competition did not drive down prices, he said the Soviet Union “would have been a terrific example of a modern, efficient economy.” .He concluded by saying it is important for people to know misleading facts about insurance because otherwise they will have bad policy. .“Wherever governments and government unions have a monopoly, you get poor outcomes,” he said.
