Brokers Back Auto Reforms: IBAO

Terri Goveia | March 9, 2010

Ontario’s auto insurance reforms will put the focus on education for both consumers and brokers, says the head of the province’s broker association.

The reforms, outlined in Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) briefing March 3—stressed consumer choice and protection, a move that the province’s brokers support, says Randy Carroll, CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO). “It’s a good thing,” he says. “It’s an opportunity for consumers to buy back coverage, and an opportunity for those who don’t need it to buy down.”

Carroll is also pleased with the reforms’ clarity on credit scores. “They’ve closed the loophole,” he says of the amendments that clearly define what constitutes “credit information” and bans it use from auto insurance quoting, underwriting and rating. “The government has listened to all stakeholders.”

The learning curve

As consumers face new options, brokers will redouble their efforts on client education while they sort through their own reform learning curve. The association will hold over 50 broker education sessions in April and May to bring members up to speed on the changes, Carroll says. The sessions will ensure that they understand the new processes and “make sure they have the tools to help consumers understand them.”

Among the tools planned for clients: webinars and plain-language brochures, Caroll told CI March 5. “We want to be sure consumers can make an informed choice.”

The educational push is an ambitious one—in all of 2009, the association trained 6,000 brokers through offsite training, and will train roughly the same number in just two months on the auto reforms. Already, 2,000 brokers have registered for the sessions, Carroll says. “We’re going to be busy.”