A dispute between Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and the Automotive Trades Association of Manitoba and Manitoba Motor Dealers Association over the cost of repairing damaged vehicles could result in some changes if you’re looking to place a claim.
Their current deal is set to expire next month, and in a statement Monday, the public insurer said it has provided a written 90-day notice terminating the current agreement effective June 13.
MPI spokesperson Brian Smiley told 680 CJOB the dispute won’t affect any claims already in the system — as long as you’re getting repairs before the agreement ends.
After June 13, he said, contingency plans will be in place to make sure MPI customers can still get their vehicles repaired, but it might mean less choice.
“As we move forward, we will be reaching out to various body shops, seeking individual agreements with the respective body shops,” he said.
“We’ll be making those announcements as the days come forward … there’s 231 accredited shops under this agreement, and not all of these shops are represented by either of these groups.
“We’ll be reaching out to individual shops seeking arrangements — we’ll be offering them increases to what they’re being paid.”
Smiley said if MPI accepted the associations’ terms, your insurance rates would go up considerably.
Geoff Sine of the Manitoba Motor Dealers Association said the notice of termination came as a shock — especially since the two sides had a meeting scheduled for later Monday afternoon.
“Although we knew we were on different paths here, as far as what we thought was fair negotiation, we had moved to bring in an independent arbitrator,” Sine told Global News.
“In our opinion, because of that, this is why we’re in the situation we are today.”
Sine said all his group is looking for is a deal that’s fair for both shops and customers — and said two reports commissioned by third parties show his members are under-compensated.
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