News Release Archive
HOUSING/CONSUMER AFFAIRS--INSURANCE ACT ------------------------------------------------------------ Nova Scotians who are in a car accident with an uninsured driver will now be served by their own insurance company. In legislation introduced today by Housing and Consumer Affairs Minister Eleanor Norrie, the cumbersome process of going through judgement recovery will be replaced by uninsured automobile coverage in each auto insurance policy. "The key thing about this change is that the settlement of claims should be faster and less complicated," said Mrs. Norrie, "because insurers want to maintain good customer relations in dealing with their own client. Consumers will get their payments, and any legal action will be left up to the insurance companies." She said there should be little effect on the cost of insurance to consumers, "because consumers already bear the cost of funding judgement recovery in their existing car insurance premiums." There are over 600,000 registered vehicles in Nova Scotia, and car insurance is mandatory so that accident victims will be compensated. Unfortunately, however, not all drivers have the required insurance. Since 1958, the Motor Vehicle Act has required that a consumer sue the uninsured driver, or the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, in order to obtain any kind of payment. All settlements had to be approved by the Supreme Court. This caused delays and was not satisfactory to consumers or the insurance industry. "It is felt that many Nova Scotians do not make claims when they are in an accident with an uninsured or unknown driver because they don't know where to go for assistance, or the effort required to make the claim outweighs the benefit. Now they'll go directly to their own insurer for the help they need," the minister said. In a case where a pedestrian is hit by an uninsured motorist, that pedestrian will be able to claim against his or her own car insurance policy. If a pedestrian has no policy, then he or she can make a claim through the Facility Association which will be administering uninsured automobile fund for that purpose. The Facility Association is a group of insurers, pooling together, to provide coverage for "hard to insure" risks, such as drivers with a poor driving record who are unable to get usual car insurance coverage. The rates charged by the Facility Association are regulated by the Utility and Review Board. -30- Contact: Laurel Russell 902-424-4988 trp Oct. 30, 1995