Manitoba Public Insurance posts $19.7M loss as it seeks 2% rate hike for 2026-27

ManitobaManitoba’s public auto insurer has reported a $19.7-million net loss for the last fiscal year.Insurer says it continues to face rising costs, tariff woes and inflationary pressuresCBC News · Posted: Oct 16, 2025 1:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 16Manitoba Public Insurance’s $19.7-million net loss in the 2024-25 fiscal year is a fraction of the $129.5-million net loss the year before. (Jaison Empson/CBC)Manitoba Public Insurance has posting a $19.7-million net loss for the last fiscal year.It’s a fraction of the public auto insurer’s $129.5-million net loss the year before. Over 15,000 hail-related claims made after a storm in and around Winnipeg in August 2023 were a large factor in that loss.The Crown corporation continues to face rising claim costs, the impact of global tariffs, including on the auto industry, as well as inflationary pressures and “shifting political dynamics,” MPI board chair Carmen Nedohin said in a news release Wednesday.MPI is currently seeking approval from the province’s Public Utilities Board for a 2.07 per cent increase to the overall rates of its universal compulsory automobile insurance for the 2026-27 fiscal year.If approved, the owner of an average private passenger vehicle would pay $21 more a year, MPI previously said.Last year, MPI requested a three per cent increase to insurance rates. The PUB rejected that request in January, instead ordering MPI to raise its basic rates by 5.7 per cent for the 2025-26 fiscal year, saying a lower rate would lead to “much higher” rates down the road.The number of auto insurance claims received by MPI last year was 280,300, a rise of about two per cent compared to the year before. The total claims cost for the year was $1.2 billion.That rounds out to an average of 1,121 auto claims made each working day, MPI said.The Crown corporation is also reporting an approximately $40-million net loss for its basic insurance line of business last fiscal year, compared to the $80-million net loss it faced the year before.