[SVT ZX3]

Woo hoo!!!! I <3 public insurance.......

Quote: Premium rebates are on the way to Autopac customers
Manitoba Public Insurance returns $58.3 million to 550,000 customers

This week more than $58 million in rebate cheques will be mailed to all Manitobans who had Autopac policies in the 2004-2005 insurance year.

This is the second premium rebate from Manitoba Public Insurance in five years, bringing the total returned to Manitobans in that period to $140 million. The rebates are in addition to nearly a decade of rate stability that Manitobans have enjoyed. This year, more than 57 per cent of vehicle owners will pay less for their auto insurance when they renew their Autopac policies.

“It was a big job to calculate and cross-check the accounts of about 550,000 customers, and then generate cheques worth $58.3 million,” said President and CEO Marilyn McLaren. “As Manitobans receive these cheques over the next few weeks, they will reap the benefits of a public insurance system that works for them.”

The Public Utilities Board directed the way the rebates would be calculated and paid. It determined that each customer would be refunded 10 per cent of the basic Autopac premium they paid in the 2004-05 insurance year, net of registration fees, financing fees, interest costs, refunds, discounts or extension products. It cost less than $1 per cheque to deliver the rebate to Manitobans.

Strong investment income and lower costs paved the way to this rebate.

“When a private insurance company has unexpected income, it goes to shareholders,” said McLaren. “Under our public insurance system, it is our policy holders who share in the benefit.”

Cheques are going to all customers who had policies during the 2004-2005 insurance year, including those who have since closed accounts or moved from the province. In the case of customers who have died since that year, cheques will be issued to their estates.

The cheques are being sent to the last addresses Manitoba Public Insurance has on file. The easiest and fastest way to notify Manitoba Public Insurance of an address change, or to ask questions about the premium rebate, is through an Autopac broker.