For the past two years, relations have been difficult between the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba (IBAM) and MPI. A quarrel that required the intervention of a mediator appointed by the province to find an agreement between the two parties on the future of online sales.
The public insurer contested the role of brokers in transactions, while theIBAM claimed the importance of its members in the insurance process.
Two years ago we were not on good terms with MPI, but I think we were able to find some points of agreement
, recognizes the director general ofIBAM Grant Wainikka who is generally satisfied with the agreement.
A five-year agreement
The five-year deal struck last month, which will come into effect next April, says MPI plans to set up additional online services around April 2023.
A spokesperson for the Crown corporation added that the online renewal will also be available to all passenger vehicle owners, except those with a history of defaults.
However, insurance for a new vehicle must always be carried out at a brokerage center or a service center. MPI.
Certain renewals and re-evaluations can also be done online. The insured will thus have access to a session in his account which will redirect him to the insurance broker with whom he went previously or offer him a choice of four or five geographically close brokers.
The transaction also changes the commission rate of brokers.
Currently, the compensation rate for insurance brokers is 3% precise MPI. A rate that according to Grant Wainikka is almost two points lower than that of Saskatchewan.
Upon entry into force of the agreement, the commission rate for in-person basic insurance transactions will increase to 4.2% while online agreements will qualify for compensation of 2.3%.
For the head of operations MPI Curtis Wennberg the transition from public insurance to online services is good news for clients
The deal will distinguish between commissions from insurance brokers when clients choose to go online rather than in person, he explains in an email. That said, customers will be free to choose.
A quarrel also political
Mediation between the two parties began in July 2019. A month earlier, internal documents obtained by the NDP showed the company felt it was under pressure from the government to involve insurance brokers in all transactions. At the time, MPI feared that this operation would cost more.
The government denies any role in the deal, but New Democratic Party spokesperson for public insurance affairs Mintu Sandhu does not believe it.
They try to pass their interference off as an improvement, but even MPI said this deal was not profitable
, he said in a press release.
In the new agreement, we can read that one of the points raised during the conciliation process was that the government was determined to support the stability and health of small businesses
.
For his part, Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton said he was happy to learn of the new agreement, which he said will strengthen the relationship between MPI and IBAM.
With information from Ian Froese.
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