A Public Utilities Board hearing to determine what Manitobans pay for car insurance next year might sound like business as usual, but one of the interveners said it's important for people to get involved in the process.

Gloria Desorcy, executive director of the Manitoba Branch of the Consumers' Association of Canada, said it's a chance that doesn't come up very often.

"This is really their opportunity," said Desorcy. "This is the moment for consumers to step up and share what they think about it, because these topics may not always be discussed."

Desorcy said consumers should pay close attention to the fees Manitoba Public Insurance pays to insurance brokers and the rates for the coming years for the province's rate stabilization reserve.

"Both of those things have the potential to impact [Autopac] rates," she said. "These are two things that have not been discussed in quite this way before, and we're gonna have the opportunity at this hearing to learn about that stuff — and that's why I think it's very important."

'A learning process'

Desorcy said the consumers' association does not yet have a position on the broker fees issue, and plans to ask questions and present expert evidence to the board that will help it make the best decision for Manitoba consumers.

"Our job… is to represent to the best of our ability the concerns of consumers who are customers of [Manitoba Public Insurance]," she said. "We see it as a learning process for ourselves as well."

The association also plans to ask questions about the accessibility of the current insurance purchasing model, the public insurer's minimum compensation guarantee in its agreement with brokers and possible alternative fee approaches.

"We have this opportunity now," she said. "Let's take advantage of it."