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warrff FIRE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUAIRY 28, 1990, PAGE 21 Into the- ins urance maze and out agcan ýFROM PAGE 19 setting individual prenijums. The use of age, sex, marital status or physical handicap as criteria would be forbidden. Instead, the main criteria would be the type of vehicle, where it was insured, what it was used for, the distance driven annually and the motoristes driving record. Both the new premiums and the preniium-setting criteria were Wo be introduced on June 1,, 1989. Then in, a surprise move, just six weeiks before the legisiation was due Wo come into effect, the govermnent did an about-turn. Removing age and sex as rating criteria meant that young men, the drivers with the most accidents, would pay less for their Many companies have limited their exposure in high-risk areas, such as Metro Toronto. Others have withdrawn from the market altogether. With the situation this bad, can the govemnment's new plan work? Jack ýLyndon, president of Insuranoe Bureau of Canada, is optimistic. He-says the proposed systemn isn't what the industry would have recommended, buÎt it's much better than the present system. "The present system clearly encourages injured parties Wo resort tW lawsuits and W try tW get as much compensation as they can. "The increasing size of court settiements, the cost of hiring insurance and practically everyone else would pay more. Realizing the extent Of unheaval t he new criteria would have on premums - some people would hv been bit with increases of over 100 per cent - the government put the program on hold.: At the instruction of the government, the OAIB explored the cots and advantages of three forms of "no-fault" insurance.- This is - a system that compensates car accident victims regardless of whether they caused the accident, but restricta or eliminates their right Wo sue for adcitional compensation. The OAIB delivered its report in July 1989, and everyone waited for the governmentes respense. Finally, on Sept. 15, the government announoed the pgamnow in the process of 9ingimplemented - the Ontario Motorist Protection Plan. Industry Lmase The present car insurance system isn't only hurting consumers. Insurance comparnies say they have lost approxrimately $1-billion over the past four years on Ontario car coverage. In 1988 alone they dlaim Wo have lost a total of *408-million, even after including investmient income. lawyers and pursuing litigation, and the expense and delay inherent in an adversarial system A fatal attraction The- fatal attraction 'of the car has turned ourcities into a nightmare of congestion. The car lias a strangle- holdo01 every majorcity in the world, and it*s set to tighten ils grip still further. l-ow can peoples addic- lion t0 the car be broken? How can ne%% technologies and progressive cil), planning reverse the trend to a pernianent traffic jam? V isia: Tra(f» ic. Monday. March 19 at 8:00 p.m. on IVOntarjo. showýs how cities in the U.K.. Germany. and Holland are auterpting to end our love affair %vith the car. ail have a tremendous impact on the coet, of car insurance,' Lyndon added. Personal inury lawsuits have become big business for the legal profession. 0f the $1.3-billion paid out ini 1988 in dlaim settiements, over $400-niillion went to lawyers. Lastyear that figure rose to over $500-million. By limiting the number of Iawsuits, the new insurance will reduce legal fees by some 40 per cent, thus enabling more money to, end up in the hands of'Victims. Coat im't the only impart of the current system of court settiements. It's also new, unpredictable and inequitable. 'Many. people 'injured in automobile accidents today receive meagre compensation because they cannot prove that another driver was at fault. Others - often those who can afford, the best lawyers and can afford to, wait out the legal process - may receive 'lotteryl' style settiements. The government's new plan addresses the major shortconiings in the present system: it'Il stabilize costs and preniium increases, provide guaranteed compensation W ail accident victims, ensure fast payments (within 10 to 30 days of filing a dlaim), and help contain the number of accidents. Passport to offer vehicles made by Saturn Corp. Pasport International Auto- mobiles, the import division of General Motors of canada, announced recently that it wiil be offering velucles manufactured tIy Saturn Corporation in Canada by the springof 1992. sàturn Corporation, formed as an independent subsdiary of General Motors Corporation in 1985, is taking an innovative approach Wo the design and manufacture cf smail cars to succssf~ly c~ipetpwiliipot, POLICE ilag down a passing car i safety and IDE (ReducedJnpfe their hunt for impafred drivers. Driving Everywhere) spot-check Their patrol vehicle je the tiret 1990 programes. Neariy 80 police depart- Axxess nm-wagon in a fleet to be mente eay they want at Ieaet one provided to Ontario police depart- Axxess. Each je offered at a token mente by Nissan Canada Ine. and ite $100-a-monthlease rate. dealers. They'i be used in echool Mmn photo by Bob Chamberu Snowmobile fata.lities i.icrease Snowmobilers are dying needlesély at an unprecedented rate this-iwinter, compared Wo last winter, chiefly due Wo carelessness and unseasonably warm weather. Ini January, foilowing the crash of their snowmobiles' through unsafe ice, il people died. Liast year, during the same month, one person died when his snowmobile went through thin ice into frigid water. In the majority of fatal accidents, alcohol was a significant factor. So far this winter season (Dec. 1989 Wo current date), 22 people have <ied in 18 separate snowmobile incidents from al causes including crashing through the ice, hitting hidden objecta and traffic accidents.' Las t winter season (Dec. 1988 Wo spring 1989), from ail causes, 90 died ini 27 snowmobile accidents. OPP officers across the province implore al snowmobilers to check ioe conditions on a bodies of water this winter before venturing out. i. ONIO' OR -"RAcIDET OU INCLUDES LUBE foryour car MOILTE ________Up To 5 Litres ___0O1 Al[GM ____ ____ __ *cars a d ight duty trucks up to 1/2 ton. OUR 32 POINT INSPECTION AND LUBE, OI AND FILTER IS A GREAT INVESTMENT Your vehicle is checked and serviced by GM factory trained technicians followed by a written report. We use only Genuine GM parts. Offer expires Apuil M.th 1990 M EVC The'expert choice. GUS BROWN PONTIAC BUTCK 1201 DUNDAS ST. EAST, WHITBYl For Appoîntment OeIl 66848l71 or- 66848858 Toronto 686-1566: $?. #tt t 444#** jk'ý PARTS