“Fairness” is one of the most important guiding principles of our public auto insurance system, and the foundation of business practices at Manitoba Public Insurance. But customer needs and expectations change, and sometimes policies and procedures need to change, too. With that in mind, Manitoba Public Insurance formed the Fair Practices Office (FPO) in late 1999.

The FPO is an arms-length office that continuously examines the corporation’s practices and their effect on customers. Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the office is free to scrutinize the policies and procedures of the organization with absolute objectivity, and to report any concerns directly to the most senior decision-makers of the corporation. In this way, it provides the corporation with a constructive assessment of when improvements can and should be made, keeping the organization at the forefront of customer service excellence.

While the FPO is not a formal avenue of appeal, it is a means of gathering input from customers who do not use this mechanism but wish to bring issues and concerns to the attention of the corporation. Among the office’s responsibilities is the investigation of all formal Manitoba Public Insurance customer concerns presented to the provincial Ombudsman. The office also engages Manitoba Public Insurance staff in discussion of issues that affect their roles and customer service.

The office’s aim is to resolve as many outstanding concerns as possible in a constructive and informal way. Individual customers who bring their concerns to the office can be assured that they will receive assistance in determining the best “next step” for their particular issue.

After examining customer issues from a number of perspectives, the FPO reports its observations directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer. It can recommend that an issue be reviewed and can also alert the corporation’s Executive that a policy may be unfair or that systemic concerns should be addressed. Some of these observations will result in a comprehensive examination of the policy or process.

The office considers all aspects of our operation—including the quality of our products, coverages and benefits—to ensure customers are receiving fair and appropriate service from their public auto insurance system.

2004 results
For the fiscal year 2004/05, the FPO received 409 documented customer inquiries from the following referral sources:

The FPO recommended the corporation revise its decision in 16 situations, or about four per cent of the cases it reviewed. In 96 per cent of the situations that were examined (393 of 409), the FPO’s findings supported the original decision.

Fair Practices Office Total Customer Inquiries (1999-2004)