Province on pace to break record for pothole insurance claims – Winnipeg Free Press

Spinning doesn't work: Manitoba drivers are on pace to break the record for the most pothole insurance claims this year.

Manitoba Public Insurance received 971 pothole-related claims in March, bringing the total number of claims in the first three months of the year to 1,466. That's more than double the 701 complaints in 2022 over the same time period.

The pothole season in Winnipeg got off to an early start this year thanks to an unusually mild freeze-thaw cycle.

Now the 2002 record of 5,395 claims is at risk. Until April 7 of this year, 1,634 complaints were received by the state auto insurer.

City spokeswoman Julie Dooley said road crews have filled 60,040 potholes so far. They filled 20,000 holes in the first three months of last year.

“We continue to use the cold mix at night, but have switched to a regular hot mix during the day,” Dooley said. “We have 16 or 17 crews working around the clock in eight-hour shifts.”

April and May have historically seen the highest cost claims in years. In these months of 2022, there were more than 2,800 complaints. May 2022 had the highest number of claims of the year with 1,633 claims.

“It might be different from previous years because we haven't moved into a full-time hot mix yet,” Dooley said. “We're still doing repairs with cold mix overnight, which will require re-treating with hot mix at the end of the season.”

John Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Autobody, has seen pothole damage over the years. According to him, repairs are not cheap.

“The average claim is $4,500,” Vernaus said. “And that's average – maybe more. Repairs can be completed quickly.”

Vernaus said that could hit car owners right in the pocketbook, even with insurance.

“There is depreciation in parts,” he said. “This means there is a cost to the customer when building new parts.

“Last week someone said, 'How do you sleep at night?' he asked. when we told him how much he had to pay to fix the car. But it's not us. MPI gives us a table that tells us how much depreciation to take into account.”

There is no deduction for parts required for repairs for vehicles that have traveled up to 80,000 kilometers. After that, the policyholder will bear 10 percent of the cost of parts if the vehicle has been driven for 80,000 to 100,000 km, 20 percent for 100,000 to 125,000 km and up to 60 percent for the vehicle driven more than that. 200,000 km.

“It can be expensive,” Vernaus said. “The power steering on the (Dodge) Ram is $4,000. It adds up quickly.”

Tires are the same, he said, with the policyholder paying a portion of the replacement costs depending on how worn the tire is.

CAA Manitoba's annual Worst Roads campaign spotlights the province's most dilapidated streets as voted by drivers. Results are now being compiled.

“Potholes are annoying,” said Theresa Dee Felice, CAA Manitoba vice-president, government and community relations. “You find them. You go over them. Manitobans and Winnipeggers are speaking loud and clear: they are truly concerned about the state of their roads.”

According to Di Felice, a survey of CAA members in January found that 54 per cent said they had had to have their cars repaired because of the roads, and 70 per cent of them had paid for the repairs out of pocket.

“Only 16 percent complained to MPI, and 14 percent refused repairs,” he said.

Number. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the Citizens Committee for Public Works, said there is a lot of street work.

“For every dollar paid in taxes, the city gets 10 cents, the provincial government gets 40 cents and the federal government gets 50 cents,” Lux said.

“That's why mayors of big cities have been asking for a different model of financing for a long time. For the 10 cents that the city gets, you have to build streets, repair streets, and also build community centers and other services – it's not much.”

Lukes is the William R. that includes the former Charleswood Bridge. Clement noted that the parkway was built in 1995 through a public-private partnership system between the city and the developer.

“It's beautiful when you drive it 30 years from now because you've invested in ongoing maintenance,” he said. “Why? Because it has been continuously maintained.

“Unless cities have a different funding model, we're going to have crumbling streets.”

MPI spokeswoman Christy Reeds said the insurer advises motorists to look as far away from the road as possible to check for potholes.

“If you're coming up to someone, don't swerve because you could hit another car,” Reeds said. “Slow down as much as possible before the pit.”

Rydz says that many potholes are hidden in water that collects on the side of the road, so use caution when driving into a puddle, just as you would when driving through a pothole.

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