Manitoba has introduced legislation that would clarify how its public auto insurer must calculate premium discounts.
The bill was first introduced on October 6, 2025, near the end of the previous legislative session, but did not advance beyond introduction. The province re-introduced the legislation in November, 2025.
Bill 3, The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Amendment Act, would amend the provincial statute to clarify that any discount from a premium payable to insure a vehicle must be based on the driver safety rating of the registered owner of the vehicle. The proposed legislation would allow for regulatory exceptions only in circumstances where the registered owner does not hold a valid driver's licence.
The amendment adds new language to subsection 6.1(3) of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act. The proposed subsection 6.1(3.0.1) specifies that discounts get tied to the owner in whose name the motor vehicle is registered under The Drivers and Vehicles Act.
There is a carve-out. If the registered owner does not hold a valid licence, regulations can allow discounts based on someone else's driver safety rating, but only in specific circumstances that regulations must also spell out, as detailed in proposed subsection 6.1(3.0.2).
The bill also updates how the driver safety rating system itself gets defined. The revised clause 33(1)(h) establishes that the system rates people based on input factors recorded in their driver record, or on the absence of input factors in the record over time, for the purpose of determining a plan premium or the premium that the person must pay for a driver's certificate.
The legislation also cleans up some timing issues. Subsection 6.1(1) currently requires the corporation to fix premiums "for the period after February 28, 2019." The amendment drops that date reference, changing the language to simply state "The corporation" must fix premiums. The bill also repeals subsection 6.1(6) entirely and strikes out language after "blanket certificate" in subsection 6.1(3).
Under the proposed subsection 6.1(3.0.1), discounts from a plan premium must be based on the driver safety rating of the owner in whose name the motor vehicle is registered.
The bill makes clear this approach applies broadly. Exceptions are available only through regulations, and only when the registered owner lacks a valid driver's licence. Even then, regulations would need to specify both the circumstances permitting an exception and which person's driver safety rating could be used instead.
If the legislature passes Bill 3, it comes into force on the day it receives royal assent, as stated in Section 4.
The bill is currently before the Manitoba Legislature in the third session of the 43rd Legislature. All legislative milestone dates remain unfilled on the bill itself, indicating it has not yet proceeded through second reading, committee stage, or third reading.
