More B.S. from the Public Insurer

Today I recieved a letter from MPI regarding the $200 Surcharge they are attaching to my licence (Read the original rant and letter to the Minister I wrote in December by clicking on the title above). At the bottom of the letter it reads:

It's about fairness
Collecting more premiums from drivers who have caused accidents ensures they pay a fair share of the costs from those accidents. Otherwise, we'd have to ask everyone to cover the costs—including those who haven't caused any accidents.

That, quite frankly, is a bunch of crap. In the first place insurance is not about what is fair—it is about numbers and risk. The insurer uses the term "fair" to justify its policies, much like a politician would. It sounds good, and those who do not encounter it (i.e. the majority), do not object to it. What they are doing is collecting an extra fee from me because I do not pay premiums on a vehicle. They claim it is fairer that Manitobans be charged extra on their licences rather than losing their merits. But the fact is that losing merits doesn't bring extra revenue to MPI, surcharging licences does. Given the choice I would surely surrender my merits, rather than pay their punitive surcharge, unfortunately the monopolistic insurer has no interest in providing that option. It is more interested, according to the Customer Service Rep I spoke to, in insuring that people who register mulitple vehicles are not unduly punished for having accidents. Apparently those who own more vehicles are intitled to a better deal than those who own none because they pay more into the system, and presumably, more taxes. I had ten years of clean driving, hit a patch of ice on a driveway and hurt nothing but the flimsy bumper of the company van I drove. Now I must pay $200 on top of the $200 deductible I am already responsible for, and that's "fair"?

In my opinion the insurer should have the option to raise the rates of the vehicle that was involved in the accident, irregardless of who was driving. It should not at any time use its influence as a provinical crown corporation to affect the cost of vehicle licencing. If it cannot collect enough money from deductables alone then it can raise deductibles. It is my right to appeal, which I will likely do, however, I still firmly believe that this policy is pure B.S. and should be irradicated.