Job One for newly appointed auto insurance Czar David Marshall: Public Inquiry into auto insurance claims medical evidence

TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - Today The FAIR Association of Victims for Accident Insurance Reform calls on newly appointed auto insurance advisor David Marshall to recommend a full public inquiry into the quality of medical evidence used in auto insurance claims.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that we are in a crisis when it comes to medical evidence in auto insurance claims," said Rhona DesRoches, Chair, FAIR. "Ontario's auto accident victim's medical files are routinely manipulated by Ontario's auto insurers to delay and deny claims," she added.

Mr. Marshall, the former head of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), is tasked with identifying opportunities for reform in Ontario's troubled and dysfunctional auto insurance system.

"The use of bogus medical reports and testimony has profound negative outcomes for MVA victims who are left behind by their auto insurer," DesRoches said.

"A public inquiry is necessary to uncover the systemic abuse of Ontario's vulnerable and injured car crash victims by Ontario's insurers and our courts system, and recommend ways to address the harm," she added. "We hope Mr. Marshall will get behind the proposal to clean up this unsavoury aspect of auto insurance."

FAIR calls on our MPPs and the public at large to support an inquiry into:

• The failure of Ontario's courts and judges to ensure that medical expert witnesses are in compliance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. Too many experts act as hired guns for insurers.
• The overuse and abuse of our courts by Ontario's auto insurers to delay payments to legitimate claimants. Currently about half of all claims are initially denied by auto insurers.
• The improper and wasteful expenditure by insurers of hundreds of millions of insurance premium dollars on medical reports to fight their own clients' legitimate claims.
• The role of Ontario's regulatory colleges in failing to meet their obligations to the public through the lax application of standards.
• The cost to the Ontario taxpayers for financial and medical support for MVA victims whose claims have been fraudulently denied by Ontario's insurers who commission poor quality or partisan medico-legal reports.

'FAIR – supporting auto accident victims through advocacy and education'

SOURCE FAIR Association of Victims for Accident Insurance Reform

For further information: Rhona DesRoches, FAIR, Board Chair, Tel: [phone] [email protected], fairassociation.ca