매니토바/위니펙 소식

MPI Rebate 수표를 받으셨나요? $3.1 million 가 아직 현금화 안되었다고 합니다.

작성일 2007.06.25 05:22

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2007년 6월 19일자 위니펙 프리 프레스에 따르면 MPI(Manitoba Public Insurance)에서

자동차 보험가입자에게 돌려주는 환급금을 아직까지 찾아가지 않은 사람이 3만5천명정도

있다고 합니다. 현금화하지 않은 수표를 금액으로 따지면 3.1밀리언달러정도 된다고 합니다.

작년(2006년)에도 MPI는 환급금을 지급했었고, 올해 5월에도 548,309장의 수표를 가입자들에게

발송했는데, 아직까지도 수표를 현금화하지 않은 가입자가 34,857 명정도 된다고 합니다.

올해 운전자에게 환급해준 평균 환급금은 운전자당 100불정도 된다고 합니다.

내년 봄에도 MPI는 90불정도 운전자에게 보험금을 환급해 줄 예정이랍니다.

자세한 내용은 아래의 위니펙 프리 프레스의 기사를 참고하세요.

35,000 rebate cheques uncashed
Drivers letting $3.1 million sit in Autopac's account

Tue Jun 19 2007

By Mary Agnes Welch

IT'S hard to believe, but Manitoba Public Insurance is having trouble giving away $3.1 million.

Nearly 35,000 drivers have failed to cash rebate cheques mailed out early last month. The uncashed cheques represent about five per cent of the $60 million the public insurance company gave back to Manitobans in May.
MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said many of the people who fail to cash their cheques have moved and forgotten to notify MPI of their change of address. Others may have died, or their rebate was too piddly to take to the bank.

"Say if it's a couple of bucks or $10, some people just won't bother," Smiley said.

It's been only about six weeks since the cheques were mailed out, and more people may uncover their windfall buried in old piles of mail or tucked in the recesses of their wallets.

There's no big rush, said Smiley. MPI will hang onto any unclaimed cheques for two fiscal years, or until February 2009, before adding the leftover cash to its general revenue. Even then, a driver will be able to ask MPI for their old rebate. You can even do that now, if you think your cheque got lost in the mail.

May marked the third time MPI has issued rebate cheques since 2001, a move ordered by the Public Utilities Board. The PUB won't let MPI hoard too much money in its rainy-day fund.

Everytime MPI offers a rebate, a pile of cheques go uncashed.

Last year, about 16,000 cheques worth a total of about $1 million weren't cashed, and MPI staff say this year is shaping up to be roughly the same.

"It's running at about the same pace," Smiley said.

Of the 548,309 cheques issued in the first week of May, about 34,857 haven't been cashed. Some have already been returned to MPI The average rebate cheque this year was worth $100.

Autopac announced last week that it was freezing premium rates next year and planning to cut another round of rebate cheques -- assuming the Public Utilities Board approves the rate plan this fall.

Next spring, motorists can expect to get a rebate cheque worth an average of $90, as MPI has a surplus in its rainy-day account worth about $49 million.

It costs several thousand dollars to issue the rebate cheques.

Rebate Debate

I got a rebate last year and this year, and MPI says I'm getting one next year. Where is this loot coming from?

From the rainy-day fund, otherwise known as the rate stabilization reserve. It's an account meant to protect drivers from rate shock -- a sudden spike in premiums caused by a catastrophe such as a huge hailstorm in Winnipeg that damages thousands of cars and drives up MPI's costs. Rate shock is generally defined as a hike of 10 per cent or more. The cash in the rainy-day fund is invested, and for the last few years, the investments have paid off big, which has prompted the rebates.

How much is supposed to be in the rainy-day fund?

The Public Utilities Board has capped MPI's fund at about $105 million, though MPI has long argued that it needs closer to $200 million to match what private insurance companies keep in reserve.

If there's so much in reserve, why can't MPI just lower my rates?

There's a few reasons. When it was set up, the rainy-day fund was never intended to offset routine rate increases, only the catastrophic ones. That means it shouldn't be used to lower rates. Routine rate changes should be based only on claims history and risk, not on whether MPI got lucky on the stock market.

Also, the PUB has consistently demanded that MPI send out separate rebate cheques instead of just reducing a driver's annual premium at renewal time. For instance, if you owe $1,600 to insure your Toyota and you are getting a $100 rebate, MPI asked to just lop that $100 off the Toyota's bill at renewal time. But the PUB said a rebate cheque is better. It's more transparent than another line item on your insurance bill that you might not notice.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca