The claim: NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government: “The same government that couldn’t fulfil three promises last year is making more than 70 new promises this year.”

The background: One of the broken “promises,” according to Horwath, relates to auto insurance. One of the conditions the NDP set for propping up the Liberals was the governing party’s promise to reduce rates by 15 per cent. The government has failed to do that, Horwath maintains.

And that’s one of the key reasons the NDP refused to support this year’s Liberal budget, thus triggering next month’s provincial election.

The Liberals are trumpeting reductions in “approved” rates, but drivers often wait months for these approved rates to become “effective” rates and kick in, said a senior NDP policy analyst, speaking anonymously.

The party says many drivers wait even longer to begin paying reduced rates because their renewals happen after those effective dates.

“Bottom line: would drivers see their premiums come down 15 per cent in one year? No. Would drivers see their premiums come down 15 per cent in two years? No,” said the analyst, who added that the Liberals have allowed industry to “play for time,” deferring reductions for drivers beyond two years.

“This was not in keeping with the spirit or the letter” of the Liberals’ budget promise, the analyst added.

But the Liberals say they’ve made good on their pledge. According to MPP Steven Del Duca (Vaughan), in the 2013 budget, the Liberals promised to reduce rates by 15 per cent on average, with a time period to be prescribed in regulation. “In August 2013, we specified that we would meet the target within two years, with an 8-per-cent cut in the first year,” he said.

“That is the commitment we made, and it’s the commitment Andrea Horwath and the NDP stood up and voted for,” Del Duca said in a statement to the Star.

The independent Financial Services Commission of Ontario confirmed in April that rates have dropped by 5 per cent on average, which is on track to meet the commitment of 15 per cent by next year, Del Duca said.

“Andrea Horwath knows it, but keeps making false statements to suit her political rhetoric,” he added.

Del Duca points to a Halton NDP candidate, Nik Spohr, who tweeted on April 28 that he’d just received his latest car insurance payment update and wrote: “I’m paying $22 less a month!”

The verdict: The Liberals didn’t break their promise, argues Kevin Woodcox, a principal broker and owner of TK WoodMar Insurance Brokers, based in Burlington.

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“They (insurers in co-operation with insurance regulators) are heading down that road to achieving those targets,” said Woodcox, referring to the goal of a 15-per-cent reduction.

“Some insurers are already there,” he added.

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