Lowey Insurance Blog

Manitoba offers enhanced photo ID for travellers to U.S.

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:22:00 -0600

Jan 19, 2009
Manitoba is introducing enhanced photo identification that citizens can use instead of a passport to travel over land or water into the United States.
Air travellers still need a passport, but the new identification card will be valid ID for those entering the U.S. by road or water, Attorney General Dave Chomiak said Monday.

Manitoba to force drivers to hang up, butt out

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:17:00 -0600

Nov 27, 2008
Manitoba's NDP government has followed other jurisdictions by moving to ban drivers from talking on a hand-held phone while behind the wheel.

MPI warns Manitobans about phone scam

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 15:38:07 -0500

Immobilizer Program Expanded

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:38:07 -0500

May 26, 2008
PROVINCE ANNOUNCES MANDATORY IMMOBILIZER PROGRAM TO EXPAND
– – –
Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy Extended: Chomiak

Building on the success of the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy (WATSS),the Manitoba government is expanding the list of vehicles that will require the use of approved anti-theft devices through the mandatory immobilizer program, Attorney General Dave Chomiak, minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance, announced today. As well, funding for a critical element of the strategy has been extended for another year.

The WATSS strategy has helped reduce auto theft attempts by 48.6 per cent in the first four months of this year, and actual theft by 39 per cent in the same period.

As of Oct. 1, 100 more types of vehicles will be required to have approved immobilizers before registration and on-road coverage can be renewed. The new list represents about 50,000 vehicles including a number of newer models that have become the targets of thieves in the past year.

“Everyone battling this serious public safety threat is heartened by the tremendous strides we’ve made in the past year, thanks to the immobilizer program and intensive monitoring efforts,” said Chomiak. “By making high-risk vehicles impossible to steal, we take away the weapon that can lead to injury and tragedy in the hands of a reckless thief. It’s that simple.”

The requirement will apply to vehicles only if they are registered for use in Winnipeg, where
80 per cent of thefts occur; are used to commute to Winnipeg; have been the subject of any type of theft claim elsewhere in Manitoba; or are being imported into the province. Manitoba Public Insurance will pay for standard installations of immobilizers in these vehicles, regardless of where in the province they are registered.

To date, more than 100,000 Manitobans have installed approved immobilizers in their vehicles with the assistance of Manitoba Public Insurance. Nearly 47,000 of those vehicles were required to have immobilizers under a provincial regulation announced last year.
The minister also announced that funding for 14 corrections staff who are part of WATSS will be extended an additional year. This unit, funded by MPI, is responsible for intensely supervising and managing the behaviour of high-risk young auto thieves in Winnipeg in partnership with the Winnipeg Police Service.

With the success of the immobilizer program, car thieves have begun to target other vehicles that do not come equipped with approved immobilizers, he added. These vehicles will now be included in the mandatory immobilizer program.

“We are close to putting an end to this epidemic,” Chomiak said. “Much of the credit goes to the Manitobans who have complied with this law and done their part to prevent needless tragedy. With the help of additional owners of vulnerable vehicles, I know we will reach that goal.”

As with the first mandatory immobilizer program, there will be a grace period for installing immobilizers in the early stages of the expanded program.

Information on the immobilizer program and whether one must be installed on your vehicle is available at www.mpi.mb.ca/english/autotheft/AutoTheft.html

Proposed law would crack down on auto thefts:

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:41:33 -0500

Last Updated: Monday, April 14, 2008 | 4:35 PM CT

CBC News
The federal government plans to introduce legislation to crack down on auto theft, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Monday afternoon.

Stephen Harper making the announcement in Winnipeg on Monday
(CBC)

"First, we're making it a crime to alter, destroy or remove a vehicle identification number," Harper said.
"Second, we're expanding the criminal definition of trafficking and stolen property, including stolen cars and car parts. The new law will make it a crime to knowingly sell, give, transfer, transport, send or deliver goods that have been acquired criminally."
Harper said auto thefts inconvenience Canadian families, and are an invasion of privacy.
"If you add up all of the costs — including treatment for people injured in stolen vehicle accidents, policing and court costs, as well as out-of-pocket expenses for things such as deductibles — it's estimated that Canadians pay more than $1 billion every year," he said.
The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code are specifically aimed at dealing with vehicles stolen by criminal organizations.
"For too long, these gangsters have been getting rich at the expense of people who work hard and play by the rules," Harper said.
One out of five stolen vehicles in Canada is connected with organized crime, he said, adding that the vehicles are often resold domestically or exported from Canada for resale.
Harper made the announcement in Winnipeg, a city that has consistently registered the highest rate of stolen vehicles in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, there were 1,932 stolen cars for every 100,000 Winnipeggers in 2006 — almost double the rate of second-place Edmonton.
But Rick Linden, a criminologist at the University of Manitoba and co-chair of Manitoba's auto theft task force, says the new legislation won't have much impact in Winnipeg, where justice officials say most vehicles are stolen by youth out for a joyride.
"In Winnipeg, of course, most of the theft we have is not professionally driven," he said. "The kids are only in the car for a couple of hours, so they're not changing the identification numbers or trying to sell them."
The new law might have more impact in Montreal, where cars are often stolen for resale, Linden said.
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and Winnipeg police Chief Keith McCaskill have repeatedly called on the federal government to get tougher on young car thieves, and to make auto theft a separate offence in the Criminal Code, rather than a run-of-the-mill property crime.
Neither would say they were disappointed in Monday's announcement — but both said a lot more needs to be done.
Harper said his Conservative government is working on other measures aimed at car thieves, including toughening penalties for young offenders and supporting a private member's bill that would make car theft a separate criminal offence.
Regina Tory MP Andrew Scheer brought the bill forward in 2006.
With files from the Canadian Press

MPI warns Manitobans about Autopac phone scam

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:49:02 -0600

Last Updated: Monday, January 28, 2008 | 4:34 PM CT
CBC News
Manitoba Public Insurance is warning people about a telephone scam that invokes the Crown corporation's name in what appears to be an attempt to fraudulently obtain personal information.
Someone has called a handful of customers in southern Manitoba, allegedly pretending to work for MPI and offering to renew the customer's policy.
"Fortunately the people that were contacted had just literally renewed their Autopac policies, so they found it very strange that they were being contacted to renew their policy," MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said.
"They immediately hung up the phone and contacted their broker."
MPI does not do business in this manner, Smiley said. Its brokers do not contact customers individually to renew their policies.
"We needed to be very proactive on this, let Manitobans know that there are people out there using the phone to try to get personal information using the guise of people renewing their Autopac policy," he said.
Anyone who receives such a call should hang up immediately and contact Phone Busters, Canada's national anti-fraud call centre, toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.

Manitoba drivers to receive rebate cheques

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:54:21 -0600

Third year in a row rebates have been given
Last Updated: Monday, November 26, 2007 | 6:00 PM CT
CBC News
Manitoba's Public Utilities Board has ordered Manitoba Public Insurance to pay rebates of 10 per cent on drivers' 2006-07 insurance premiums.
The PUB ruling increased MPI's proposed increase to $63 million, or about $100 per vehicle owner, officials said Monday. MPI had proposed 7.5 per cent increases.
Cheques will be mailed out next spring.
The ruling marks the third consecutive year drivers have received rebates on insurance premiums, and the ninth year in the last decade that MPI has held the line or reduced basic rates.
The owners of more than half of the insured vehicles in the province will pay the same or less when the new rates take effect on March 1, 2008, MPI said. Because of staggered renewal dates, some vehicle owners will not pay the new rates until February 2009.
The average passenger vehicle premium next year will be $833, the same as it was last year.
And about 45.5 per cent of vehicles — just over 401,000 — will see their premiums increase.
Motorcycle premiums to jump 9 per cent
Motorcycle owners, as a group, will see one of the biggest jumps: an average of nine per cent increase in their premiums.
Doug Houghton, president of the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups, said that will translate into a whopping increase for some riders.
"Some of the more higher-priced bikes in the urban area, Winnipeg … are either getting little or no increases, whereas motorcycles in territories two, three and four are getting much higher increases," he said, referring to drivers in southern Manitoba outside Winnipeg, northern and central Manitoba, respectively.
"Also, the lower-priced motorcycles will be seeing higher increases; some of those may see 15, 20 per cent increases."
The rates individuals pay for insurance are determined by the driver's record, the make, model and year of the vehicle, what the vehicle is used for and where they live.
MPI is now factoring in the "true" cost of claims involving motorcycles, Houghton said, adding he hopes motorcycle rates will stabilize over the next two to three years.
In 2004, following complaints from motorcycle riders who had seen dramatic premium increases, MPI released a report indicating the average claim involving a motorcycle costs the insurer $14,000 — nearly six times the cost for the average passenger vehicle claim.
Bikers are more likely to be involved in single-vehicle crashes, and are more likely to be hurt in accidents, the Crown corporation said.

MPI's most-stolen list

Tue, 6 Mar 2007 08:59:35 -0600

Late-model vehicles added to MPI's most-stolen list
Last Updated: Monday, March 5, 2007 | 4:44 PM CT
CBC News
Some Manitoba drivers who believe their vehicles are protected from theft by immobilizers might be surprised to find the model included on MPI's newest "most-stolen" list.
Top 10 vehicles stolen in Manitoba:
1. Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1990-1994
2. Plymouth Voyager, 1990-1994
3. Dodge Caravan, 1990-1994
4. Chrysler/Dodge Intrepid, 1990-1994
5. Chrysler/Dodge Intrepid, 1995-1999
6. Dodge Spirit, 1990-1994
7. Plymouth Acclaim, 1990-1994
8. Dodge Stratus, 1995-1999
9. Plymouth Breeze, 1995-1999
10. Chrysler Dynasty, 1990-1994
The new list from Manitoba Public Insurance, according to documents obtained by CBC News, includes 11 categories of cars sold in 2005 or later — cars that should have had electronic ignition immobilizers installed at the factory.
"These are all vehicles that are fully two-thirds more vulnerable to theft than the other vehicles on the road in Manitoba," said MPI spokesman John Douglas.
Previous lists were dominated by older cars, most of which were sold without immobilizers, which prevent an engine from starting without a specific electronic signal, usually generated by a chip in the auto's ignition key.
But the MPI documents show thieves have started targeting different vehicles, including some whose owners may think are protected by immobilizers.

New GM, Chevy models make list
The top 150 vehicles listed include 2005-or-later models of the Chevrolet Avalance, GMC Jimmy, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Blazer, Pontiac Grand Am, GMC Envoy, Ford F250 and Chevy Trailblazer. All have odds of one-in-60 or greater chance of being stolen.
"What we are seeing is some of the newer-line Chevy products that reflect the fact that the immobilizer system within those vehicles does not meet the North American standard, and that's exactly why we haven't reflected them in the rate reduction," said Douglas.
"What we are seeing is proof of the fact that those vehicles can be stolen."
Peter Dunwoody, who lives in Brandon, found out the hard way that his vehicle wasn't protected. After returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan two weeks ago, his wife picked him up in their brand-new Chevy Avalanche, and they spent the night at a Winnipeg hotel.
"The next morning I went to go out and get a coffee, and the truck was gone," he told the CBC.
Their model didn't appear on MPI's most-at-risk list in 2006, but on the new list it ranks 38th, with a one-in-14 chance of being stolen.
Dunwoody said he might have thought twice about purchasing the vehicle if he'd known its odds of being stolen were higher.
"I don't think it's right that a person would even have to consider their vehicle because of the popularity of theft. It never really crossed our minds at all," he said.
Douglas noted that older vehicles are still the primary target of auto thieves: "[Older cars] continue to make up more than 50 per cent of the thefts."
Foreign cars also new to list
General Motors isn't the only manufacturer with vehicles added to the list.
While previous lists were dominated by cars made by domestic manufacturers, the new list contains a number of vehicles by Honda, Toyota and Mazda, all for pre-2000 models.
"Their market share has increased, and so that creates more targets out there," Douglas said.
Douglas noted that he expected the list would continue to change as people with the most-at-risk vehicles have immoblizers installed. Cars with the approved immobilizers installed can't be stolen, he said, and thieves learn to target other makes and models.
Any vehicle on the most-at-risk list is eligible to have MPI cover the cost of the installation of an approved immobilizer.
Some 52,000 new vehicles will be eligible for the program, at an estimated cost to MPI of more than $1.5 million.
MPI will officially make the list public March 15. Until then, officials ask owners of the cars on the list to be patient, as MPI itself will contact affected car owners about the immobilizer program.