We are lucky here in Nova Scotia!!!!
The Quebec government is introducing new legislation to overtax bikers in Quebec.
Just a quick detail on how the insurance works in Quebec:
The system is a "no fault insurance" (each one pay the damage on his own vehicle).
The license plate is expensive because part of your insurance is included in the price. The portion
included is the medical part, and if you are injured or injure somebody else, the government will pay for it.)
You still have to pay a private insurance for the damages on your vehicle.
First, the Quebec government wants to raise the cost of the motorcycle driver license by 264% within 2
years.
In 2008, it will cost $313 to renew your bike license.
The cost of your plate will rise to $527 for a touring bike over 700cc and $1332 for a sport bike.
An older driver with a good record and a touring bike over 700cc will have to pay way over $1000 a year to
get his plate, license and insurance(only PL PD).
I cannot think of what a young rider with a sport bike will have to pay every year ...........
The Quebec government is introducing new legislation to overtax bikers in Quebec.
Just a quick detail on how the insurance works in Quebec:
The system is a "no fault insurance" (each one pay the damage on his own vehicle).
The license plate is expensive because part of your insurance is included in the price. The portion
included is the medical part, and if you are injured or injure somebody else, the government will pay for it.)
You still have to pay a private insurance for the damages on your vehicle.
First, the Quebec government wants to raise the cost of the motorcycle driver license by 264% within 2
years.
In 2008, it will cost $313 to renew your bike license.
The cost of your plate will rise to $527 for a touring bike over 700cc and $1332 for a sport bike.
An older driver with a good record and a touring bike over 700cc will have to pay way over $1000 a year to
get his plate, license and insurance(only PL PD).
I cannot think of what a young rider with a sport bike will have to pay every year ...........
Planned insurance hikes rile Quebec motorcyclists
ANDY RIGA
The Gazette
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Normand Noiseux, who has been riding a motorcycle, accident-free, for 40 years, thinks the automobile
insurance agency is trying to take him for a ride.
Facing a financial shortfall, the Societe de l'assurance automobile du Quebec sparked an outcry last week,
announcing it wants drivers to pay more in insurance fees.
Motorcyclists would be hardest hit.
This year, Noiseux, a Harley-Davidson owner, will pay $299 in insurance fees to get his drivers' licence and
registration.
Under the SAAQ's plan, his fees would jump to $634 next year. By 2008, he would pay $782 - a
161-per-cent hike, compared with what he's paying now.
Some other motorcyclists - those with more powerful bikes - would face increases of more than 400 per
cent.
"They're unfairly targeting motorcyclists, yet taking no tangible actions to reduce the number of accidents
and injuries on Quebec roads," said Noiseux, spokesperson for a motorcycle user group, the Comite
d'action politique motocycliste.
The SAAQ, which is to hold public hearings on its proposal in May, administers the public auto-insurance
system that provides coverage for bodily injury sustained in accidents. Faced with stagnant revenue and
higher payouts to road-accident victims, it says its deficit will reach $15 billion by 2018.
Motorcyclists are a particularly big drain, the SAAQ says. Every year, they pay $35 million in public
insurance - but their accidents cost the system $144 million.
Noiseux said the numbers are misleading. He cited studies that show motorcyclists are at fault in only 30
per cent of the accidents in which they are involved.
"We're already victims on the road, we don't now want to become victims when it comes to SAAQ fees,"
Noiseux said.
He acknowledged that motorcycle accident victims tend to suffer more serious injuries but said in a no-fault
system such as Quebec's that should not make a difference in insurance rates.
Car drivers also face hikes.
If they have no demerit points, car drivers now pay $46 in insurance when they renew their drivers'
licences every two years. The SAAQ wants to boost that amount to $102 next year, and $127 the following
year. Those with demerit points would see stiffer increases. Car owners also pay $107 per year in
insurance when they renew their registration annually. That amount would be indexed to inflation.
Though motorists and provincial opposition parties are up in arms over the increases, a consumer group
say hikes of some kind are warranted to ensure the system is fully funded. The SAAQ has not raised its
insurance rates in 12 years.
"We live in wonderland in Quebec and we don't know it," said George Iny, president of the Automobile
Protection Associaton. "We pay much less for the injury part of our car insurance than they do in provinces
like Ontario and New Brunswick."
Iny said it's important for the SAAQ to be properly funded.
Better rate hikes than cuts by SAAQ in areas "that you won't see but that would be much more insidious,"
such as slashing benefits to accident victims and reducing safety research.
Iny described the proposed increases - for car owners, at least - as modest. But when it comes to
motorcycles, he said the proposal does not make sense.
It's clear "motorcyclists grossly underpay for the amount of risks and injuries they have" but the proposal
targets all motorcylists, he said.
Instead of hitting older users for whom motorcycles are a hobby, Iny said, SAAQ should be singling out
"the young hotheads ... who ride fast and are a huge risk, and for whom the motorcycle is the primary
mode of transportation in the summer."
Iny described the proposed increases - for car owners, at least - as modest. But when it comes to
motorcycles, he said the proposal does not make sense.
It's clear "motorcyclists grossly underpay for the amount of risks and injuries they have" but the proposal
targets all motorcylists, he said.
Instead of hitting older users for whom motorcycles are a hobby, Iny said, SAAQ should be singling out
"the young hotheads ... who ride fast and are a huge risk, and for whom the motorcycle is the primary
mode of transportation in the summer."
ariga@thegazette.canwest.com
For more info on the SAAQ's proposal and public hearings, visit www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html
ANDY RIGA
The Gazette
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Normand Noiseux, who has been riding a motorcycle, accident-free, for 40 years, thinks the automobile
insurance agency is trying to take him for a ride.
Facing a financial shortfall, the Societe de l'assurance automobile du Quebec sparked an outcry last week,
announcing it wants drivers to pay more in insurance fees.
Motorcyclists would be hardest hit.
This year, Noiseux, a Harley-Davidson owner, will pay $299 in insurance fees to get his drivers' licence and
registration.
Under the SAAQ's plan, his fees would jump to $634 next year. By 2008, he would pay $782 - a
161-per-cent hike, compared with what he's paying now.
Some other motorcyclists - those with more powerful bikes - would face increases of more than 400 per
cent.
"They're unfairly targeting motorcyclists, yet taking no tangible actions to reduce the number of accidents
and injuries on Quebec roads," said Noiseux, spokesperson for a motorcycle user group, the Comite
d'action politique motocycliste.
The SAAQ, which is to hold public hearings on its proposal in May, administers the public auto-insurance
system that provides coverage for bodily injury sustained in accidents. Faced with stagnant revenue and
higher payouts to road-accident victims, it says its deficit will reach $15 billion by 2018.
Motorcyclists are a particularly big drain, the SAAQ says. Every year, they pay $35 million in public
insurance - but their accidents cost the system $144 million.
Noiseux said the numbers are misleading. He cited studies that show motorcyclists are at fault in only 30
per cent of the accidents in which they are involved.
"We're already victims on the road, we don't now want to become victims when it comes to SAAQ fees,"
Noiseux said.
He acknowledged that motorcycle accident victims tend to suffer more serious injuries but said in a no-fault
system such as Quebec's that should not make a difference in insurance rates.
Car drivers also face hikes.
If they have no demerit points, car drivers now pay $46 in insurance when they renew their drivers'
licences every two years. The SAAQ wants to boost that amount to $102 next year, and $127 the following
year. Those with demerit points would see stiffer increases. Car owners also pay $107 per year in
insurance when they renew their registration annually. That amount would be indexed to inflation.
Though motorists and provincial opposition parties are up in arms over the increases, a consumer group
say hikes of some kind are warranted to ensure the system is fully funded. The SAAQ has not raised its
insurance rates in 12 years.
"We live in wonderland in Quebec and we don't know it," said George Iny, president of the Automobile
Protection Associaton. "We pay much less for the injury part of our car insurance than they do in provinces
like Ontario and New Brunswick."
Iny said it's important for the SAAQ to be properly funded.
Better rate hikes than cuts by SAAQ in areas "that you won't see but that would be much more insidious,"
such as slashing benefits to accident victims and reducing safety research.
Iny described the proposed increases - for car owners, at least - as modest. But when it comes to
motorcycles, he said the proposal does not make sense.
It's clear "motorcyclists grossly underpay for the amount of risks and injuries they have" but the proposal
targets all motorcylists, he said.
Instead of hitting older users for whom motorcycles are a hobby, Iny said, SAAQ should be singling out
"the young hotheads ... who ride fast and are a huge risk, and for whom the motorcycle is the primary
mode of transportation in the summer."
Iny described the proposed increases - for car owners, at least - as modest. But when it comes to
motorcycles, he said the proposal does not make sense.
It's clear "motorcyclists grossly underpay for the amount of risks and injuries they have" but the proposal
targets all motorcylists, he said.
Instead of hitting older users for whom motorcycles are a hobby, Iny said, SAAQ should be singling out
"the young hotheads ... who ride fast and are a huge risk, and for whom the motorcycle is the primary
mode of transportation in the summer."
ariga@thegazette.canwest.com
For more info on the SAAQ's proposal and public hearings, visit www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html