With a provincial election coming up this fall, here are some taxpayer friendly changes to Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) that you might consider urging political parties to embrace.

First, let’s start with a common sense measure such as stopping the practice of giving car thieves cash for stealing vehicles.

No, your water wasn’t switched with vodka; MPI actually gives criminals your money.

Currently, if a car thief steals your vehicle and injures themselves while crashing it, not only does MPI pay for the thief’s health care bills, MPI will award them compensation for their injuries.

One car thief recently confessed that he was given between $30,000-60,000 after getting into an accident with a stolen car. His buddy, who was along for the ride, received a payment of about $10,000.

Incredibly, MPI also conceded it will sometimes pay to fly in a criminal’s family members so they can be with them in the hospital.

The opposition tabled a bill back in 2008 that would have ended the payouts, but the government voted it down. Incredibly, then justice minister Dave Chomiak considered the bill “Tory meanness.”

Funny, most people call it common sense.

Speaking of stolen cars, remember how instead of going after criminals, the government forced innocent taxpayers to buy immobilizers so their vehicles couldn’t be stolen?

Well interestingly enough, data obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation shows that over 1,000 vehicles, that were equipped with aftermarket immobilizers, have been stolen since January 1^st, 2006. It wasn’t that the immobilizers didn’t work; it’s that criminals just stole the keys instead.

The bottom line is that the government shouldn’t force innocent taxpayers to spend more to protect themselves. Remind the government that future policy decisions should be designed to make car thieves pay, not the victims.

Next up is the enormous MPI rebate coming your way. You might feel ecstatic for getting such a large sum back, but remember that you were overcharged in the first place.

As MPI started the rebate process back in June 2010, why does it take almost a year by the time you get your money back? Would you accept a store clerk telling you it would take a year to refund an item you return? Obviously not, so speak up and tell political parties to commit to either speeding up MPI’s rebate process or just drop the rates in the first place.

What makes this year’s rebate larger than usual is the sudden revelation that MPI has $250 million that it doesn’t need. Clearly something isn’t right at MPI if it can build up a quarter of a billion dollars before it realizes it doesn’t need it. Tell your political party of choice to shake things up at MPI.

Finally, there is no doubt that some people love MPI and others detest it. So why not keep MPI as a crown corporation but allow others to compete with it? A little competition never hurt anyone did it?

Those are just a few ideas for improving the sale of auto insurance in Manitoba. One thing is for certain, with an election this fall, now is the time for taxpayers to honk their horns and speak up.