MPI payment changes to affect 100,000 customers, save $2M per year

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This article was published 27/03/2019 (2004 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance is changing customer payment options for auto insurance, eliminating the ability to pre-authorize monthly payments from credit cards.

The move, as of May 24, will affect about 100,000 people — or 10 per cent of MPI clients.

The first batch of affected customers will be notified in April, MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said.

Although the change may inconvenience some customers, Smiley said it will save the Crown corporation $2 million per year.

He said customers will still be able to use credit cards to pay their Autopac on a quarterly or annual basis.

“This change aligns MPI’s payment options with common business practices,” Smiley said, noting neither Saskatchewan Government Insurance nor the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia offer the same monthly payment options MPI did.

He emphasized the move to scrap monthly online payments isn’t borne out of any current security threats, though “overall, credit card data has become a more significant target of thefts, resulting in the industry increasing credit card information handling standards.”

Crown Services Minister Colleen Mayer commended MPI’s decision.

“Ultimately, the proposal that Manitoba Public Insurance brought forward was one aimed at ensuring the sensitive financial data of ratepayers is protected, and it is one we agree with,” she wrote by email.

“Prior to this change, Manitoba Public Insurance was storing credit card data electronically, creating undue risk for serious data breaches where this data could be unwillingly shared and compromised. This change aligns MPI’s pre-authorized payment options with other utilities, such as gas, hydro and water… Our government believes this move is better for ratepayers in terms of financial security and will save money in the long run.”

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu