Saskatchewan drivers are getting a rebate from SGI.
The company announced on Friday that a one-time rebate of $285 million has been approved by the provincial government. While the amount each customer will get does vary, it is expected the average rebate will work out to $285 per vehicle or approximately 26 percent of an average annual premium.
Minister reponsible for SGI, Don Morgan says the rebate comes after the province noticed a surplus in the Crown Corporation’s reserve fund.
“We’re required to maintain a reserve fund, in case there’s catastrophes,” said Morgan. “In Saskatchewan, that would typically be around $1 billion, and in this case, it has over a number of years built up because of investment returns, and because of the pandemic, people were driving less so there were fewer insurance claims, and in general, better driving.”
Morgan says your driving record will not affect how much money you receive.
“Your driving history, your driving record will not matter, and it will matter whether you’ve died during that period of time or not, it’s based on what people have paid over the last three years,” said Morgan. “The point system applies to what you pay for in the future, as you require insurance, or purchasing vehicles, etc. This is a refund of what people have already paid.”
SGI is also announcing enhanced benefits for most seriously injured customers receiving long-term injury benefits as a result of being injured in a vehicle collision.
Customers who require assistance with daily tasks (i.e., dressing, bathing, cooking, cleaning and yard care) will see the maximum payments for those services increase to better reflect current market rates. This is expected to benefit more than 1,100 SGI customers.
Customers who receive income replacement benefits from SGI and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) will no longer have income benefits from SGI reduced by their CPP payment. It is standard industry practice to reduce insurance benefits by the CPP payment, but SGI will eliminate that eliminating this practice in a move that will benefit around 200 customers.
