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Companies must apply to the commission for any rate hike and provide actuarial proof it is needed, said Ralph Palumbo of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

“Some companies have asked for rate increases because they need those increases to cover their costs,” Palumbo said in an interview.

“Now I know that people may not believe that, but the regulator has looked at those rate filings and they’ve agreed that rates have to go up in many cases because the costs in the system are not coming down.”

The government had announced in April that premiums were down 0.95 per cent in the first quarter of this year and had been reduced an average of seven per cent since the summer of 2013.

The New Democrats had demanded the Liberals promise the 15 per cent auto insurance rate cut in exchange for supporting the 2013 provincial budget, avoiding the defeat of the then-minority government.

“Kathleen Wynne promised rates would be heading south, instead they’re heading north,” said NDP critic Jagmeet Singh. “She doesn’t seem to know whether she’s coming or going when it comes to keeping her promise of lower insurance rates.”

The slight increase in the second quarter means premiums are now down only 6.46 per cent since August 2013.

“I know it’s not 15 (per cent), it’s six-and-a-half,” said Palumbo. “But that’s not insignificant.”

The Progressive Conservatives said the fact the government is less than halfway to its promised goal is “the latest in a long list of failures and broken promises” from the Liberals.