On Capping Insurance Payouts

I realize that lawsuits can, and do, get out of hand at times. However, legislated caps on what insurance companies have to pay out to injured parties in an accident doesn't cut it.

With the Stelmach government was trying to breathe life into the dead $4000 cap this past week, I thought it worthwhile to put the "cap" in perspective.

If you are like most Albertans, you spend several thousand a year just on insurance for yourself and your car(s). If one of the cars is damaged in an accident, even a minor bumper ding is going to run you over $1000 to repair these days, and you'll be over $4000 pretty quickly if any body damage is incurred. Eighteen years ago, I was involved in a minor accident (nobody was actually hurt) that cost over $8000 to repair my vehicle.

Now, think about that. We don't put caps on how much we'll pour into the vehicle itself. If it takes $10,000 to fix it, it can be arranged - at least as long as the "market value" of the vehicle is high enough. But, the Alberta government wants to cap what an individual can be paid for certain types of injury.

Soft tissue injuries tend to last a long time, and often correlate with the onset of long term conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. What value do we place on the lost work time that someone with these consequences? A mere $4000? That's less than we're willing to pay out to repair someone's car!

The insurance industry is all about protecting their profit margins in this matter. It's time for some real leadership from our politicians. I don't care if it's a "Public Insurer" a la ICBC or a regulatory environment that strictly controls the insurance companies operating in Alberta.