Hastings County will continue its fight against what it calls unfair insurance costs, when the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association opens its annual meeting this weekend.
Municipalities are seeing more increases in their insurance costs and they are going to take the battle straight to Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey.
The county’s Deputy Warden Bonnie Adams tells Quinte News municipal insurance costs have soared 20 to 30 percent and it’s “unsustainable.”
Adams says plaintiffs think municipalities have deep pockets.
“But if a municipality is found one percent liable it’s exposed to pay the full amount of damages awarded to the plaintiff should there be no other available insurance claims or that the at-fault party does not carry sufficient limits.”
Adams points out that municipalities get only a small percentage of taxes raised.
She says this has been pointed out to the province over many years.
“AMO and ROMA have done papers on it to explain what the problem is. And they’ve raised the alarm over the years regarding the financial burden the premiums have placed on the municipalities.”
The county delegation will ask the province to change legislation allowing for such liability, and ensure lawsuits end up with a reasonable payout. To wrap it up, Adams added, “We have to keep trying. My grandfather always said the squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
