Amidst the strike action in Manitoba Public Insurance, driver testing will be resuming.
MPI is now resuming Class 5 driver testing services in partnership with MPI-certified driver education instructors.
Driving instructors will have the discretion to perform the testing in customer vehicles or in their own safety-equipped training vehicles.
For all drivers licensed during this time, MPI’s Registrar of Motor Vehicles will have the discretion to require no-charge retesting once the labor disruption is over.
Priority will be given to individuals who have already booked appointments prior to strike action.
MPI has also resumed Knowledge testing, and customers with existing appointments will be contacted with details of how, when, and where these tests will be conducted.
With contingency plans for most driver testing services now in place, MPI remains able to deliver on its core services affecting Manitobans:
- All general inquiries and service transactions, including driver license and insurance renewals, new insurance policies, and payments can be handled by any one of Manitoba’s 300 broker partners.
- The MPI Contact Centre remains open for reporting new personal injury claims, collision claims involving non-drivable vehicles, and total thefts.
- Customers reporting all other collision claims, including hail claims, can now contact an MPI-accredited repair shop directly to arrange for estimates and repairs, without calling MPI first. This includes customers who have had vehicle estimate appointments canceled due to MGEU strike action. Customers can expedite this process and save themselves time by first completing MPI’s simplified claim reporting form, which can now be found on the MPI website.
- Customers with scheduled road tests are being contacted directly to arrange for certification or road tests with MPI-certified driver education instructors.
- Customers with knowledge test appointments are being contacted with details on how and where those tests will now be administered.
- Customers with vehicles towed to the Physical Damage Centre compound will continue to have access to remove personal items.
- Other essential services, such as income replacement payments for personal injury claimants, will continue uninterrupted.
MPI notes that they are looking into meeting with the MGEU to potentially iron out the next steps toward arbitration to bring a mutual end to the current strike action.
