MPI dishes out 3rd rebate of the pandemic, averaging $328 per customer
Rebates for customers due to fewer vehicle collisions than expected
About 680,000 Manitobans will be getting a special gift in the mail in the coming weeks — rebate cheques for keeping their cars off the roads and out of claim centres.
Manitoba Public Insurance will return $312 million to ratepayers, which averages out to $328 per customer, the Crown corporation said in a news release on Tuesday.
About 200,000 COVID-19 rebate cheques are being mailed this week, with the remaining sent within the coming weeks.
It's expected all cheques will be mailed by mid-February.
"The pandemic has negatively impacted many Manitobans' personal finances, but it has also reduced the collision claims to MPI allowing for a rebate," Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen who is responsible for MPI said in the release.
This is the third time MPI has issued a COVID-19 rebate during the pandemic, owing as well to stronger than anticipated year-end numbers.
In total, MPI will have provided rebates of nearly $500 million to its policy holders — $110 million in May 2020 and $69 million in December 2020.
This rebate is expected to be about 27 per cent of the annual basic Autopac premium. Rebate amounts of $10 or less will be credited to the customer's account.