The president of the Brookfield Estates Condo Corporation says best-terms pricing was not the reason behind a massive spike in insurance premiums for condo owners.
Chris Rose says he’s been informed by the province’s Superintendent of Insurance that the agreement for Brookfield Estates was a split policy, and that best-terms pricing — which results in a final premium based on the highest price quoted, even if the majority of quoted rates were lower — was not used in their case, although he says it looks very similar.
Rose acknowledges that despite that, the premiums are still extremely high, and while Perennial Management is no longer the company’s property manager, that was not as a result of the insurance issue.
He says another property manager has been lined up and the company believes it has a solution to get past the insurance issue, adding they hope to present it in the next few days.
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A condo owner facing onerous increases in her insurance premiums says it’s time for the provincial government to stop insurers and brokers from using so-called best-terms pricing.
Margaret Blackmore is one of 150 condo owners at Brookfield Estates who have been told their insurance premiums will skyrocket.
They’re rising from $54,000 dollars in 2022 to $364,523 for 2023, which Blackmore says is a lot to shoulder for the owners, many of whom are seniors of modest means.
The condo owners have been informed that Brookfield Estates is working with the Insurance Bureau of Canada in exploring options to reduce insurance premiums in 2024, but the increases for 2023 could stand.
Blackmore, who believed best-terms pricing was to blame, says three people are now trying to sell, but she’s not sure who will buy, knowing that the condo fees are increasing by so much.
The provincial government last month issued a news release urging insurers and brokers to discontinue the practice of best-terms pricing.
Insurers and brokers encouraged to discontinue ‘Best Terms Pricing’ to enhance consumer protection. For more information – https://t.co/nRpbJRhxGK #GovNL pic.twitter.com/QErHeffVwp
— Digital Government and Service NL (@DGS_GovNL) January 31, 2023
