Triple Play rates will mean major auto insurance savings for many BC drivers

VANCOUVER - Recognizing three major changes in the population of urban British Columbia, Canadian Direct Insurance (CDI) is introducing dramatically lower optional insurance rates for newcomers to BC,  thirty-something urbanites and suburbanites and drivers who buy energy-saving hybrid vehicles. 

Canadian Direct's plan is to attract a whole new group of consumers to join the almost 100,000 people who buy their auto insurance from CDI in British Columbia and Alberta.

Chief Operating Officer, Colin Brown, describes the new rates as a "triple play" for three groups of people who aren't being accommodated by the government insurer, ICBC. "We're calling it that because it offers people with good driving records an opportunity to qualify for up to three significant premium discounts. People who qualify for one will see savings in the $100 a year range. People who qualify for two or three can save $400 and $500 a year, or more, on what they would pay ICBC today."

Examples:

• At present, a person with a good driving record, who moves to BC from Canada or the U.S., is not given full credit for his or her driving record by ICBC. Someone with twenty years accident free receives a credit of only 8 years when ICBC calculates their premium. "We will give newcomers full credit for their good driving record anywhere else in Canada or the U.S," Mr. Brown said.
• Thirty-something drivers, with good safety records, will see significant premium reductions with Canadian Direct. [See Table on page 3].
• The first Canadian insurer to offer incentives for buyers of hybrid vehicles, Canadian Direct is now expanding the number of hybrid vehicles which will receive incentive premiums to include 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid and 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD.

"The more of these categories that a driver belongs in, the lower their premium will be," says Brown. "For example, a newcomer to BC, with a good driving record, and driving a 2005 Ford Escape, will pay an optional insurance premium as low as $533 with Canadian Direct, in comparison with $1,550 with ICBC. But whether a person fits in one, two or three of the categories, they will see a significant reduction in CDI's rates, and in many cases a significant saving on what they would pay ICBC."

The exact size of the three groups isn't available from current government or industry statistics, but several estimates are supportable:

• Thanks to high job creation and general prosperity,British Columbia saw a projected in-migration of 9,000 people from other provinces in 2005. Most migrants from other provinces were attracted to BC’s urban centres.
• People in their thirties are estimated to make up roughly 15% of the urban population, or approximately 297,000 of metropolitan Vancouver’s 2001 census population of 1.98 million people. Many people in this demographic are comparison shoppers who use the Internet to suss out good value and are environmentally conscious, hence attracted to hybrid vehicles.
• Hybrids form a rapidly growing segment of automobile sales. In 2005, North American customers bought some 205,000 hybrid vehicles (led by the Toyota Prius with 107,897 sales and the Honda Civic Hybrid with 26,000 sales). J.D. Power, a respected industry source, estimates that by 2007 over 400,000 hybrid vehicles will be sold in theU.S.and ABIResearch estimates that by 2010 between 5 and 6% of all cars sold in North America will be hybrids.

Colin Brown describes CDI's plan as "the BC insurance industry's first recognition of the important social and consumer changes that are taking place in this province. We have a lot of newcomers to the province. We have a lot of people in their thirties who are concerned about environmental quality and are also very shrewd comparison shoppers who buy and sell things on the Internet and carefully research the best price for major purchases. Auto insurance is expensive -- many people pay auto insurance premiums of over a thousand dollars a year. The Triple Play is our way of telling all these folks, 'come on down!' We're listening to you."

Canadian Direct Insurance Incorporated is a Canadian federally chartered property and casualty insurance company currently providing auto and home insurance in British Columbia and Alberta. The company began operations on May 15, 1996. And was the first British Columbia based insurance company to provide insurance direct to consumers by telephone and the Internet.

For further information:  Colin Brown or Karen Hopkins-Lee at 604-699-3652

CHANGES TO BC OPTIONAL INSURANCE RATES

These examples show how various types of drivers and vehicles will benefit from accessing Canadian Direct's new "Triple Play" incentives.  Savings shown are for individuals accessing all three incentives; savings for individuals who can access only one or two of the incentives will be less but still significant. For example, an individual in his or her thirties with a good driving record, but not driving a hybrid vehicle, will still see annual premium reductions in the range of $75 to $125.

ICBC rates are based on quotes by current ICBC brokers.