CTP premiums for registration renewals for the quarter commencing 1 July 2017 were recently released by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC). The annual Class 3 taxi CTP premium will be $4,401.20. This represents a 28% reduction compared to the July 2016 premium of $6,131.80. This also includes the levy for the recently established National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland. The premium reduction is a result of improvements in taxi claims experience as well as improvement in overall CTP scheme experience.
In announcing the premiums, Neil Singleton, the Insurance Commissioner, made specific mention of the positive work being done by the Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) to improve driver safety and reduce the incidence of injury due to road crashes. The positive engagement with TCQ through CEO Benjamin Wash has been encouraging and MAIC continues to look for ways to help the taxi industry with its CTP experience. We have seen the number of claims reduce from over 150 in 2009 to around 80 more recently. Fewer accidents not only reduce costs to taxi operators; they mean fewer Queenslanders are being injured on our roads.
The majority of taxi crashes in 2016 involved vehicles travelling in the same direction – ‘nose to tail’ crashes. Encouraging drivers to observe a safe following distance and avoiding distraction is a message that applies to all drivers and also represents an opportunity to improve taxi claims experience. MAIC is continuing to work with TCQ and we look forward to supporting research and pilot programs to build on the positive trends we have seen in recent years.