Manitoba Public Insurance made an announcement yesterday that Manitoban-impaired drivers will not be allowed to use third-party insurance to cover damages they cause to others.

Board of Directors chair Ward Keith explains the regulation change.

"Those people in Manitoba who continue to make the choice to drive impaired, whether by alcohol or drugs, those people will now have to pay for any damage they cause in collisions that they're involved in," says Keith. "Just to be more specific, currently when an impaired driver is involved in a collision, they are already denied coverage for the direct damage to their own vehicle. But what this regulation change does is allow MPI to deny coverage for the vehicle or property damage that they caused to others. Moving forward, effective August 1st, if an impaired driver damages another vehicle or damages somebody's property, then they will be responsible for payment of those costs as opposed to MPI paying and, therefore, Manitoba ratepayers paying because that's just not appropriate."

Keith notes that doesn't mean that innocent vehicle owners or property owners will have their compensation affected. He says MPI will continue to pay those claims either directly to the insured or to their property insurer, and then MPI will recover it against the impaired driver. 

"We know that driving while impaired, whether it be by alcohol or drugs, is not only illegal, but it puts innocent people at risk," continues Keith. "We see that way too often in the statistics. Manitoba already has some of the toughest drinking and drug and driving laws in the country, including suspensions, vehicle impoundment, mandatory participation in the interlock program, and, of course, potential for criminal charges. But this is just one more step that Manitoba has taken to really convince people -- try and convince people -- that if you make the choice to drink and drive, or are high on drugs and drive, that it is going to cost you and you will be held accountable."

He says two other provinces in Canada have done the same thing, namely Saskatchewan and British Columbia. 

"Now this brings Manitoba in line with the other public insurance jurisdictions," adds Keith. "It's not so prevalent in jurisdictions where there's private insurance, but that's because, in private jurisdictions, the private insurers don't take the same sort of approach when it comes to pursuing road safety and trying to change drivers' behaviour as in a public insurance environment. It just sends another message that there are going to be consequences if you drink and drive or get stoned and drive, and you have a collision." 

Keith notes Manitoba is still seeing impaired driving as a significant contributor to road fatalities, injuries, and collisions. More specifically, impaired driving is a contributing factor in 26 road deaths and more than double that in injuries every year. 

"So far in 2023 alone, seven people have lost their lives in collisions involving impaired driving. This is an issue that continues to be a problem in Manitoba and why it needs to have continued attention. In terms of collision claims, I can tell you that over the last five years, MPI has paid close to 200 third-party liability claims each year on behalf of impaired drivers. The cost of those collisions is approximately $2.2 million per year, or an average of $12,500 per incident. That is money that is being paid out on behalf of impaired drivers. As a result, that's money that is actually being paid by Manitoba policyholders. That is not appropriate. So, what this change does is reverses that onus and puts it back on the impaired driver."

He explains third-party claims will still be paid, but they will then attempt to recover that money from the impaired driver. 

"If they're successful in their recovery, which can sometimes take several years, as I'm sure you can imagine, particularly if there's a significant incident of several thousands of dollars, then that would actually reduce the claims costs accordingly, and that would benefit all ratepayers, absolutely." 

Keith adds MPI was thrilled to join Trevor Ens who is President of MADD Winnipeg. 

"They are very supportive of this move. I can't say enough about the incredible work that MADD Canada and its Manitoba chapters do in terms of advocating for tough legislation and educating people about the dangers and consequences of impaired driving. But most importantly, for the work that they do to support the victims of impaired driving and their families. So, I was really pleased that Mister Ens was able to join us. We share the same goal and that is to eliminate impaired driving in this province and it is an uphill battle, but it's one that we're not going to let go of."