The proposal to put a significant spike in the insurance rates for motorcycles didn't go anywhere, and SGI was forced to introduce an amended rate increase which capped insurance at 10 per cent for bikes with an annual registration fee of over $1,000, and $150 for bikes with an annual fee under $1,000. It was a needed change, given the potential shock to the leisure product industry if such an increase would have been implemented.
If the original proposal was somewhat outlandish, it did not have an entirely negative result. What the proposal did do was get people talking about motorcycle safety, and how those programs need to be examined in order to help lower the accident rate for motorcycle riders. The question has become as much about what can be done to help reduce accident claims as much as it has been about how much riders should be charged on their bill.
It's a good conversation to have, since it means that in the end it could achieve the desired result for both insurance companies and bike riders. Everyone wants the roads to be safer, and if we're talking about increasing requirements for getting someone's license to ride it can't actually hurt. As well, if riders are safer overall and continue to get involved in fewer accidents each year, the need for revised insurance rates will lessen significantly year over year. While it might be impossible to have an accident-free road, efforts to reduce those accidents could have positive results.
It might be giving too much credit to suggest that the initial inflammatory proposal was an effort by SGI to get people talking about motorcycle safety, but that has been the end result. If that conversation leads to more comprehensive education as well has higher standards for the province's riders, the overall result of the proposal might be a net positive, even with the initial anger surrounding the idea remaining a sore spot with riders from across the province.
