Another public consultation? Skepticism grows as Alberta launches survey on auto insurance

After months of pointing at big changes to come, the province says legislation to reform Alberta's auto insurance system could be coming this fall.

In a mandate letter last July, Premier Danielle Smith tasked Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neuford with providing short- and long-term recommendations to make car insurance more affordable.

Four months later, in a press conference, Smith rolled out some short-term plans, including the introduction of a 3.7 per cent rate hike cap on insurance for "good drivers." She also promised long-term reforms were coming in the next year.

"The cost-of-living crisis isn't over just yet. We're looking at all possibilities to provide relief, and auto insurance is next on our list," Smith said in November, a month before the rate freeze was lifted.

The government has been quiet on the auto insurance front since then — until last week, when it asked Albertans to join the conversation by filling out an online survey, which is open until June 26.

In the same breath, it released two long-awaited studies it commissioned on the feasibility of adopting different insurance models in Alberta and the economic impacts of those systems.

So what will this public consultation accomplish, as Alberta drivers wrestle with the second-highest insurance premiums in the country, behind Ontario?

"We are asking Albertans what changes, if any, they want us to make to the system to achieve long-term relief rather than short-term measures," said Treasury Board and Finance Minister Nate Horner's press secretary, Justin Brattinga, in an emailed statement.

"No decisions on auto insurance reform have been made," he said.

An official with the Insurance Bureau of Canada says this public consultation goes further than knowing whether Albertans want cheaper insurance; it's about gauging what balance drivers want with their coverage.

But some Albertans are doubtful their feedback will be taken into consideration — a skepticism a political analyst says is warranted, given the UCP government's history of hearing one thing during public consultations and doing another.

Mount Royal University policy studies associate professor Lori Williams says it makes sense for the province to check in with Albertans on a topic that affects them.

But she says the government is likely to face a major problem: some Albertans are very skeptical about public consultations.

"Because despite the fact that 70 per cent of Albertans do not want political parties in municipal elections, they have proceeded with legislation to accomplish exactly that, at least in two municipalities in Alberta. And despite repeated polling and consultations that Albertans do not want a provincial pension plan, they've continued to pursue that," said Williams.