Insurance Bureau of Canada today announced a newly created task force to develop recommendations intended to increase insurance availability and affordability for commercial and not-for-profit sectors in Atlantic Canada.

The Atlantic Task Force on Insurance Availability and Affordability brings together affected stakeholders representing the four Atlantic provinces — including representatives of government, the insurance industry and insurance customers from commercial and not-for-profit organizations.

“Many organizations are concerned about insurance matters and want to know what can be done to overcome the problem,” explains Don Forgeron, vp, Atlantic, IBC and chairman of the task force. “We strongly believe that if all stakeholders work together we can find solutions to control costs and, ultimately, improve insurance availability for consumers.”

The task force is the result of stakeholder meetings IBC hosted across the Atlantic region during the latter part of 2004. These meetings were the beginning of formal dialogue to address issues of insurance availability and affordability.

“Insurance costs have created a serious issue for services offered by our organizations,” explains Jamie Ferguson, CEO of Sport Nova Scotia and a member of the task force. “We can’t fix the problem in isolation so it’s great that all parties are making an effort to come together. The task force will allow us to voice our concerns and be part of the solution.”

“Many voluntary organizations are facing rising insurance costs and cannot afford to carry a full range of insurance to protect their staff and volunteers. This appears to be negatively affecting some people’s willingness to volunteer,” reports Penelope Rowe, task force member and CEO, Community Services Council, Newfoundland and Labrador. “It is incumbent on all parties to find reasonable and workable solutions for this increasingly worrisome issue.”

The task force will begin its work in the coming weeks and expects to issue a report by the summer of 2005.