Every spring the Public Utilities Board reviews Manitoba Public Insurance’s rate request, and every spring most of us scroll past the news without reading it. This year the changes matter more than usual — the Basic deductible has moved for the first time in over a decade, and the way MPI calculates your discount has been refined again. Here is the short version, in plain English.
What actually changed on April 1
Three things moved at once. First, the overall Basic premium pool rose by 1.77% — a modest increase by Canadian auto insurance standards, but unevenly applied. Some vehicles will see a larger jump than the headline number, others will see almost nothing, because the underlying vehicle rate groups were also redrawn.
Second, the Basic deductible — what you pay out of pocket if you make a claim against your own vehicle — moved from $750 to $1,000. If you want to keep your deductible lower, you can still buy that down through MPI Extension or through a private carrier. Most of our clients with newer vehicles do exactly that.
Third, the Driver Safety Rating scale was tuned again. The cap is still +16 for the maximum discount level on most coverages, but the new +20 rating tier is now active for drivers with twenty or more years of claim-free, conviction-free driving — a meaningful additional discount for long-time clean drivers.
The new $1,000 Basic deductible
For the past ten-plus years the standard Basic deductible was $750. From April 2026, every Manitoba-plated vehicle defaults to $1,000 — the first $1,000 of repair to your own vehicle comes out of your pocket before MPI pays the rest.
Whether that matters depends on the value of your vehicle. On a fifteen-year-old commuter sedan, a $1,000 deductible may eat half the value of the car, and you might end up writing the vehicle off in a crash you would otherwise have repaired. On a newer SUV or financed vehicle, the difference between $750 and $1,000 is barely noticeable on your premium.
You can still buy the deductible down
Both MPI Extension and private carriers offer deductible buy-down options. The math is usually small: dropping from $1,000 to $500 might add forty to sixty dollars a year to your premium, which is often less than people expect. If you drive in winter, that is generally a sensible switch.
Driver Safety Rating and the +20 discount
The DSR is the score that does most of the heavy lifting on your premium. Every claim-free, conviction-free year moves you up one level, up to a cap. At-fault claims and serious convictions move you down — and the drop is steep.
| DSR Level | Premium discount | Demerit balance |
|---|---|---|
| +20 (new tier) | Maximum on Basic + Extension | 20+ clean years |
| +16 | Previous maximum tier | 16 clean years |
| +10 | Standard mid-tier discount | 10 clean years |
| 0 | Base rate (new drivers start here) | 0 |
| -5 | Surcharge tier | 1 at-fault claim or major conviction |
If you have driven cleanly in Manitoba for two decades, the +20 level is worth checking — MPI moves you up automatically at renewal, but the new tier shows on your renewal slip as a separate line. If it is missing, ask your broker to confirm with MPI before you pay.
The DSR is the single biggest lever on most Manitoba premiums. Protect it carefully — one at-fault claim can cost you years of discount.
Vehicle rate groups: who pays more, who pays less
Every vehicle in Manitoba is placed into a rate group based on its claims history — how often the model is in collisions, how expensive the parts are to repair, how often it is stolen. MPI rebuilds these groups regularly. The 2026 update moves about a third of vehicles up or down at least one band.
- Newer EVs and hybrids — most moved up one or two groups. Battery repair costs are still high and rising, which is driving the change. Expect a 4–8% Basic increase on most models.
- Compact and mid-size sedans — generally flat or slightly down. Lower theft rates and cheaper repair parts are working in their favour.
- Full-size pickups — modest increases across the board. Manitoba claim severity on trucks has crept up for three years in a row.
- Specific high-theft models — Hyundai and Kia models from the 2015–2021 range remain in higher groups due to the well-documented theft pattern. If you own one, immobilizer compliance matters more than ever.
What to do at your next renewal
- Read the renewal slip end to end. Not just the total — the deductible line, the DSR line, the rate group code. If anything looks unfamiliar, ask.
- Decide on the deductible. If $1,000 feels too high, buy it back down. If it feels fine, leave it — every $250 you accept saves a small but real amount on annual premium.
- Review your Extension. Basic only goes to $200,000 of third-party liability. Most of our clients carry $2 million of Extension liability and barely notice the cost — it is the cheapest coverage in the policy.
- Confirm your discount level. If you have just hit a new DSR tier, make sure the discount applied. If you suspect it did not, the broker can check the back-office screen MPI gives us.
How a broker actually helps here
MPI Autopac is mandatory and uniform — every broker in Manitoba sells the same Basic coverage at the same price. So why use a broker at all? Two reasons: the Extension and the conversation.
Extension is the optional add-on coverage that brings your liability limit up to a realistic number, lowers your deductible, adds rental car coverage, and covers loss of use. There is real choice here, and the right answer depends on your vehicle, how you use it, and what you can absorb out of pocket. That is the conversation worth having.
At Galaxy we work with over twenty carriers on the private side — auto, home, business and life. If the MPI Extension does not fit your situation, we can quote it on the open market. If it does, we will tell you to keep it.
