‘Strong year’ for the province SGI while Sask. NDP demands lower insurance rates. Globalnews.ca

SGI Minister don morgan Saskatchewan Auto Fund says and SGI Canada are in good financial shape despite weathering storms figuratively and literally in a year marked by the pandemic, inflation And The costliest hurricane in Saskatchewan history.

“Every year there are claims, there are losses and there are surprises,” Morgan said Tuesday at a news conference after the release of the Crown’s 2021-2022 annual report.

“But it was a good year in terms of the number and type of claims, but more importantly, it was a really strong year for investment market returns. Whether this will continue remains to be seen.”

But despite new calls from the Saskatchewan NDP for a reduction in auto insurance rates, Morgan said there are currently no such plans.

“It’s an ongoing process. We look to SGI to advise us on what they estimate is the outstanding amount of claims and what their projected return on investment is. There’s certainly nothing now that indicates.” does that it should be,” he said.

While the Auto Fund investment of $108.7 million in proceeds helped the province provide an $89.3 million rebate program for registered vehicle owners, the Rate Stabilization Reserve (RSR) dropped to $1.1 billion from $39.8 million.

Nevertheless, the RSR remains “economically strong” according to the province.

The Minimum Capital Test (MCT) score, a measure that monitors the adequacy of the RSR, stood at 149 per cent as of March 31. Its 12-month rolling average MCT score was 176%, up from the 2021-22 target of 174%.

Meanwhile, gross premiums written off by the auto fund totaled more than $1 billion, a 1.9 percent year-on-year increase that the province says will hit the roads in 2020 after an initial pandemic slowdown. More vehicles come as a result.

$926.3 million was spent in total auto claims.

On August 31, 2021, the hailstorm alone contributed approximately $65 million to auto claims, although approximately $40 million was handed over to reinsurers. Overall, disaster claims were still 29.9 per cent higher than in 2020-21.

SGI Canada reported net income of $81.8 million, $52.1 million in underwriting profits, $32.3 million in investment income, and $57.5 million in dividends to Crown Investment Corporation.

The August 2021 hurricane resulted in approximately $40 million in estimated damages to SGI Canada customers, although the hurricane’s impact on the Taj was softened again by its reinsurance program. The total amount of hurricane claims made was $54.3 million.

The SGI Canada report said the province is “preparing for more challenging claims in the coming years as climate change affects extreme weather events across the country.”

The Saskatchewan opposition accelerated Tuesday morning to respond, pointing out that SGI’s long-term MCT target is 140 percent.

“The auto fund is still about 10 percent where it should be by the end of the year,” said SGI critic Alina Young.

“Instead of having to stroke a check for a million bucks every time an out-of-province Ontario company needs to issue a rebate, what we are calling is an overall reduction of rates. Even That if the government claims it won’t make much difference, it will allow people to plan and continue to have the lowest rates in Canada.

Young said that, during the outdoor knockout, he heard persistent concerns from residents about the cost of living “regardless of the household’s income level”.

“Saskatchewan is facing a generational affordability crisis. Coming out of today’s annual report from SGI, what we see is an incredibly profitable, well-run Crown corporation,” Young said.

“But what we don’t see is no real solution to help Saskatchewan families overcome the crushing costs and lack of affordability we all know are down.”

According to SGI, the latest round of exemption checks, which were announced in March and began reaching mailboxes in May, cost about $700,000 to print, process, and deliver.

Raising or lowering insurance rates involves SGI submitting a proposal to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel which then solicits public feedback before submitting recommendations to cabinet. SGI’s most recent proposal was submitted on June 1, 2021 and the new rates came into effect from April 1, 2022.

for further discount SGI Clients, Morgan, said this is a “prospect” that should be considered “further down the road.”

“We are in a period of some fairly significant volatility and volatility in the market and we want to maintain healthy reserves to ensure that we are able to maintain the current rates and retain the benefits we are providing to clients. are,” he said.

The annual report includes $160.9 million in rebates to SGI Auto Fund customers through the Safe Driver Recognition (SDR) and Business Recognition programs and $2.6 million to 210 Saskatchewan community projects to improve road safety through the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant Program has also been given.

The Crown’s annual report will continue this week.

Reports for SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SaskTel and Crown Investment Corporation are yet to be released.