The Insurance Bureau of Canada welcomes the report of the Working group on the sharing economy

MONTREAL, Aug. 16, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) welcomes the recommendations in the report filed in June by the Groupe de travail sur l'économie collaborative (Working group on the sharing economy).

The new business models of the sharing economy present many possibilities for consumers to benefit from a diversified, enhanced offering of services along with new opportunities to increase their income by optimizing the use of their personal property. When such changes occur, it is important to ensure that the users of these services are well protected and that the regulations adapt to adequately support these new economic and business activities.

The creation of a sharing economy special project should be considered essential as it would enable greater consultation with the players in this new market and a better understanding of the related issues. It would facilitate adapting our laws and regulations to maximize the advantages this new economy has to offer while providing all of these participants a fair and safe environment. The four special mandates for regulatory review and administrative simplification recommended in the report are also a good starting point for easing regulations that can sometimes be too restrictive.

IBC and its members are particularly supportive of the recommendation to enable and regulate property and casualty group insurance in Québec. The rapid introduction of this type of insurance, which is available everywhere else in Canada, would allow better protection for all users and suppliers of a service. A sharing economy platform being able to purchase a group insurance policy specifically to meet its users' needs would make it possible to avoid gaps in coverage created by the fact that policies purchased individually are generally based on people's personal use of their property and can therefore exclude certain activities related to the sharing economy. One may recall that provisions concerning P&C group insurance were removed from Bill 150, for lack of time, before it was enacted in spring.

"Group insurance is a key part of the P&C insurance industry's process for adapting to the sharing economy models we have seen appearing over the past few years," notes Johanne Lamanque, Vice-President, IBC-Quebec. "It will even better protect consumers, so the work to establish it in Québec should resume without delay," she adds.

The possibility of using a regulatory sandbox for the P&C insurance industry would be another way to promote innovation by enabling the appropriate authorities to evaluate new practices in a safe environment and establish the necessary legislative or regulatory changes to manage them.

Better understanding the sharing economy in order to properly regulate it must become an economic priority for the government. Consumers' needs and habits are continually changing and we must be able to adapt just as quickly in order to always properly protect them. In this respect, insurance is essential to the sound development of the sharing economy.

Whether it's to adapt to the increasingly frequent extreme weather events or to keep pace with the changes driven by new technologies, the P&C insurance industry is constantly innovating and remains an important economic player in protecting the property of Quebecers. Consumers and service suppliers alike have an interest in ensuring that this new economy meets everyone's needs while being safe, fair and efficient.

About IBC
Insurance Bureau of Canada is the national association representing the majority of Canada's P&C insurers. It offers various services to consumers in order to inform and assist them when purchasing car or home insurance, or making a claim. For all other information, we invite you to contact our Insurance Information Centre at 1-877-288-4321, or visit our web site at www.infoinsurance.ca.

SOURCE Insurance Bureau of Canada

Pierre Babinsky, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, Tel.: [phone], ext. 2205

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