A year for public auto insurance to shine
This was perhaps the finest year in the 33-year history of Manitoba Public Insurance. When you examine the challenges the corporation faced and the results it achieved, the year’s performance is all the more impressive.
First and foremost, we lived up to our promise to provide rate stability for our customers as no other insurance company in the country has done. For six of the last seven years, Manitoba Public Insurance has held the line on insurance rates—and we enjoyed this stability without diminishing the most comprehensive basic insurance protection in the country, and without giving up the exceptional service we have all come to expect.
Furthermore, we made significant strides forward in 2004. We expanded our mandate and welcomed about 300 new employees into the corporate family with the integration of Manitoba’s driver and vehicle licencing services. We strengthened our bonds with major business partners by using technology to do business smarter, and we reduced corporate risk by strengthening our reserves and increasing our capacity to recover from major systems failures.
During this period, we said goodbye to a strong, devoted leader in Jack Zacharias, the man who led this company with distinction for a decade, and we marked the beginning of a dynamic future as we welcomed Marilyn McLaren as our new President and Chief Executive Officer.
Amid all of this change, our strength intensified. It was perhaps the most successful financial year in the company’s history, with investment income well above projections, strong growth in our competitive lines and lower claims costs. Our operational effectiveness continued to keep our costs at less than half those in the private sector.
We returned 87 cents of every dollar in premiums paid back to Manitobans in the form of claims benefits—significantly better than the industry average. And we ensured the quality of our repairs continued to exceed international standards. While Manitoba represents four per cent of Canada’s population, we account for 70 per cent of all Canadian repair shops certified as Gold Class by the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Repair.
As we look back on a year of achievement, we look forward to the destinations ahead: maintaining our high standards of care and protection, investing in the future leadership of our workforce, and developing a service model that will meet the needs of Manitobans for decades to come.
We also face a formidable challenge: the need to rein in Manitoba’s rising auto theft rate, a problem taking an ever-increasing toll on our society and siphoning more than $30 million from our ratepayers’ pockets each year. It’s time for Manitobans to join forces to reverse this troubling trend, and I know we will succeed.
No destination can be reached without a clear sense of where we are today and what we must be prepared to face on the road ahead. As you read through this report, you will see that our road map is based firmly on listening to and understanding Manitobans, and working with them to provide the very best insurance value in Canada.
I look forward to continuing on this journey with all of our partners in business and the community.
Shari Decter Hirst
CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD
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