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Manitoba Public Insurance will launch a major initiative to increase customer convenience by doubling the locations offering full licensing services and constructing four new buildings with environmentally friendly technology.
Over the next two years, the corporation’s existing 17 claims centres will evolve into full-service facilities providing the full range of claims and driver licensing services, including driver testing. The corporation will also build two new full-service centres to meet the needs of the growing population in Winnipeg’s south and northeast communities.
The corporation’s most active centre in the downtown Winnipeg area will be expanded by almost half and relocated a short distance to a more convenient location on Main Street. The new 28,000-square-foot facilities will be the first built in the city in more than two decades.
“We’re investing today to meet our customers’ needs tomorrow,’’ said Marilyn McLaren, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to expanding the daily service that we provide Manitobans and we are committed to sustaining the environment in the construction and operation of our facilities.”
The expansion in Winnipeg responds to growth patterns within the city and an increasing number of claims being filed by vehicle owners. In the last 20 years, communities in south Winnipeg have grown by more than 26,000 residents, and neighbourhoods in the northeast part of the city have grown by nearly 18,000.
As the populations of these areas have increased, so too have the number of vehicles and the number of claims filed. In 2001, 110,000 claims were filed at Winnipeg’s five claims centres. By 2007, that number had increased by 27 per cent to about 140,000. The corporation found that 63 per cent of these claimants lived in the north or south parts of the city.
The Winnipeg expansion follows the development of new state-of-the-art facilities in Beausejour and Winkler two years ago. The corporation also expects to expand its Selkirk centre at a new convenient location within the next two years.
“Just as we have modernized and expanded our rural facilities, we recognize that we must continue to invest in Winnipeg to meet growing customer demand,’’ McLaren said.
The changes will mean that Manitoba Public Insurance will provide daily direct service through 19 locations throughout the province. This will more than double the numbers of locations where customers have daily access to a full range of driver licensing services, including written and road tests, vision screening and commercial vehicle registration. The full-service centres will also be able to renew driver’s licences and insurance services on request.
Piloted successfully in Winkler last year, the conversion of claim centres to full-service centres will continue in Brandon later this fall and roll out in Winnipeg next spring. Rural centres will be converted in 2009.
The rollout of full-service centres follows changes last year that expanded driver’s licence renewal services to more than 300 Autopac agents throughout Manitoba. At many of these locations, customers can renew their licences and insurance during evenings and weekends.
“We are committed to providing more outlets and more services, when and where customers need them,” McLaren said.
The corporation is committed to environmental sustainability of its new construction and upgrading its existing facilities to international environmental standards. These improvements will follow the lead of the geothermal-heated claim centres that were recently built in Beausejour and Winkler, as well as the St. Mary’s Road claim centre, which recently became the first building in Manitoba to receive top-tier Go Green Plus status from the international Building Owners Management Association (BOMA).
Building on these advances, Manitoba Public Insurance has committed to developing its future construction projects to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver status. Energy efficiency will be significantly improved using technology such as geothermal heat recovery systems and motion sensors that adjust lighting as people move throughout the buildings. The corporation will continue to improve energy consumption, recycling and emissions in all existing facilities to BOMA Go Green Plus status.
“These practices and features cost a little more initially but they’re expected to pay for themselves within three or four years,” McLaren said.
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Contact:
Manitoba Public Insurance Media Relations
(204) 985-7000 or 1-888-554-9549 (toll-free)
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