I have just received my home insurance premium notice from my insurer and was somewhat surprised to see that the premium has increased by approximately 45 per cent over last year.
Upon checking with the insurance company I was informed that there are five areas where the rate has been increased including the HST.
I can understand the increase in home value being a factor and possibly even the fact that there was a claim made against it, although that’s the reason we have insurance in the first place. What I don’t understand is why we lost some of our other discounts, including the mature insurers discount, (I have certainly not gotten any younger), and this after more than 20 years of dealing with the same insurer.
However what really got my attention was the information that the HST was also a factor for the increase, although there was no HST item listed on the premium notice.
Further, the insurer could not tell me how much HST I was paying as this was a charge that they paid to their providers and were passing on to me.
This, in my opinion, puts the HST in the hidden tax category and, I believe, under the rules set out by the provincial and federal governments, makes it illegal.
Richard A. Young
Parksville