REGINA – Despite several destructive storms last summer, the Crown insurance company managed to turn a profit.
In its 2014 annual report released Wednesday, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) said its competitive arm, SGI Canada, will pay a $31.6-million dividend to the government.
SGI said storm claims in the province reached $49.5 million, with an additional $6.7 million from the other three provinces where the company sells property and casualty insurance.
Heavy winds, hail and rain, which caused flooding in late June and early July of 2014, resulted in some of the biggest payouts to home and business owners; damage totals were estimated at $38 million.
“For years, we had a lovely pattern of basically a significant storm event every 10 to 12 years,” said SGI president and CEO Andrew Cartmell. “Unfortunately, in the last five years … we have definitely seen an increase in the number and severity of storm events.”
SEE MORE: Sask. flood 2014 in photos
Saskatchewan and out-of-province storm claims were only $28.7 million in 2013.
Auto insurance
On the Saskatchewan Auto Fund side, which is a public fund for drivers and not intended to make a profit, injury and damage claims reached $834.2 million in 2014 compared to $739.1 million the previous year.
SGI also said a program for recognizing safe drivers and businesses returned $120.7 million to customers through discounted insurance rates.
A review of the program is underway and it’s expected SGI could further reward people with good driving records, while further penalizing those with a history of unsafe driving.
“I hear over and over again, ‘Don’t charge me more, charge the poor driver more,’ and that’s effectively what we’ve been trying to do,” said Don McMorris, the minister responsible for SGI.
SGI wouldn’t say Wednesday if it will apply for a rate increase in 2015.
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