What you can do

I am a COMMUNITY NAME resident writing to express my serious concern with the “Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Auto Insurance Product” that came out in December 2022. I support those aspects of the Proposal that expand the list of healthcare practitioners who are eligible to design a treatment plan. This change will expand access to adjunct therapy and make Section B the payor of first priority. I do not however, support limits to the health care benefits available to someone injured in an accident.

I am concerned that these new changes will limit the money available for treatment after a car accident. I am very concerned that Nova Scotia might introduce sub-limits on treatment like Alberta currently has. $1,000 in chiropractic, $350 in massage and $350 in acupuncture only allows for an assessment and a few treatments.

It does not make sense to reduce benefits to people like me, who have been paying premiums for insurance for a long time, while insurance companies continue to make record profits. The last two years alone have seen a 150% increase in profits of nearly half a billion dollars! Nova Scotians want reasonably priced insurance that provides good benefits. The point of having insurance is that it will cover me if something goes wrong.

I feel strongly about this issue because _____

I ask that you do the right thing for Nova Scotians and stop highly profitable corporations from making it harder for us to access treatment and heal from our injuries.

Yours sincerely,

NAME

I am a COMMUNITY NAME resident writing to express my serious concern with the “Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Auto Insurance Product” that came out in December 2022. These proposed changes will pay Nova Scotians less under the ‘minor injury cap’ and will include more injuries within the cap.

I question the timing of these changes to our laws. The insurance companies have been making record profits, including $249 million dollars in 2021. Nova Scotians should not receive reduced insurance coverage while insurance companies earn so much.

The minor injury cap started at $7,500 and has only been indexed for inflation. Insurance companies want us to revert to $7,500, or even less, ignoring the current struggles of Nova Scotians with inflation. I disagree that the average Nova Scotian should indemnify insurance companies from inflation and take that burden on for them.

The current minor injury cap is already a tough test; even an ACL tear has been found to be a minor injury. You can have lifelong pain from an accident and be affected daily for the rest of your life – but according to the law, it is still a minor injury. With the proposed changes, additional injuries will fall under the cap, including mental health. Now is not the time to go on the offence against people with mental health concerns. This is not fair compensation for accident victims in Nova Scotia.

I feel strongly about this issue because _____

I ask that you put Nova Scotians before the insurance company lobby, and refuse to make these changes to our laws.

Yours sincerely,

NAME

I am a COMMUNITY NAME resident writing to express my serious concern with the “Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Auto Insurance Product” that came out in December 2022. There are many changes I would like to see to the insurance system in Nova Scotia that are not included in this proposal.

I support the following changes, which are currently missing from the Proposal:

• Remove the minor injury cap. The Courts place too many injuries within the cap, including daily chronic and persistent pain. Less than $10,000 is not fair compensation for being in pain every day for the rest of your life.
• Increase the weekly indemnity benefit. A living wage in Halifax is estimated at $23.50, which is $940 per week. The weekly indemnity benefit pays $250 per week. This is shockingly low. If this is a person’s only income source, it threatens their security and adds to the burden on society and, again, the taxpayer.
• Force insurers to be more responsive. Currently insurers have 30 days to review each e-mail or letter. It can take months to get a treatment approved when they ask for more information after each review. This seriously affects access to benefits.
• Add catastrophic injury coverage, like other provinces. As of now, as a paraplegic from a collision, benefits can be as low as $50,000. This is not only a huge blow to the most injured people in Nova Scotia, it also places undue strain on the public system.

In addition to the above, I do support the parts of the Proposal to include nurse practitioners in writing protocol treatment plans, expanding the protocols, and making Section B the payer of first priority.

I feel strongly about this issue because _____

Insurance companies are making huge profits in Nova Scotia, $249 million in 2021 alone, and they can afford to start paying more meaningful benefits that will help the people that live here.

Yours sincerely,

NAME

I am a COMMUNITY NAME resident writing to express my serious concern about the “Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Auto Insurance Product” that came out in December 2022. These changes will place limits on certain medical treatments, and reduce the amount people will be compensated for their pain and suffering following a collision that is no fault of their own. This Proposal has been made while insurance companies are making sky rocketing profits.

Insurance companies in Nova Scotia earned $249 million in 2021 alone. Since 2019 they have had a 150% increase in their profits —all this during the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, corporate watchdogs like GISA say insurance companies are understating their profits by reporting reserves inaccurately. In other words, their profits are even higher, and they are hiding them from the public.

The insurance companies are pocketing more and more of our money. Government, as representatives of citizens, need to do better for the people that live here, and stop letting corporations take advantage of us.

I feel strongly about this issue because _____

The insurance companies in Nova Scotia need to be held to account, not given breaks at our expense.

Yours sincerely,

NAME

I am a COMMUNITY NAME resident writing to express my serious concern with the “Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Auto Insurance Product” that came out in December 2022.

I question the timing of changing our auto insurance laws. The insurance companies have been making record profits, which extend back to before the pandemic and have increased by 150% since 2019!

The minor injury cap started at $7,500 and has only been indexed for inflation, but the insurance companies want to reduce this number. Why should the cap go down when everything else is going up?

The current minor injury cap is a tough test; even an ACL tear can be classified as a minor injury. You can have lifelong pain from an accident and be affected each day for the rest of your life – but according to the law it is still a minor injury. With the proposed changes, additional injuries will fall under the cap, including mental health. Now is not the time to go on the offence against people with mental health concerns. This is not fair compensation for accident victims in Nova Scotia.

I am also concerned that these new changes will limit the money that is supposed to be available for treatment after a car accident. I am very concerned that Nova Scotia might introduce sub-limits on treatment like those in Alberta. $1,000 in chiropractic, $350 in massage and $350 in acupuncture only allow for an assessment and a few treatments.

I support the parts of the Proposal to include nurse practitioners in writing protocol treatment plans, expanding the protocols and making Section B the payer of first priority.

I also support the following changes currently missing from the Proposal:

• Remove the minor injury cap. The Courts place too many injuries within the cap, including daily chronic and persistent pain. Less than $10,000 is not fair compensation for being in pain every day for the rest of your life.
• Increase the weekly indemnity benefit. A living wage in Halifax is estimated at $23.50, which is $940 per week. The weekly indemnity benefit pays $250 per week. This is shockingly low. If this is a person’s only income source, it threatens their security and adds to the burden on society and, again, the taxpayer.
• Force insurers to be more responsive. Currently insurers have 30 days to review each e-mail or letter. It can take months to get a treatment approved when they ask for more information after each review. This seriously affects access to benefits.
• Add catastrophic injury coverage, like other provinces. As of now, as a paraplegic from a collision, benefits can be as low as $50,000. This is not only a huge blow to the most injured people in Nova Scotia, it also places undue strain on the public system.

I feel strongly about this issue because _____

I ask that you put Nova Scotians before the insurance company lobby, and consider making positive changes to our laws rather than cutting benefits and compensation.

Yours sincerely,

NAME