B.C. drivers to get ICBC rebate after drop in crashes during pandemic

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Mike Morris, the Liberal public safety critic, said ICBC customers are receiving an average of $100 less than drivers in other provinces. That’s based on figures provided by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, which said in June that insurers in the rest of Canada have provided an average rebate of $280 per driver due to savings of $778 million nationwide.

Morris said the government has also struggled with a massive backlog of 300,000 people still waiting for their COVID-19 relief benefit, which the government promised would be in bank accounts by December. So he’s concerned ICBC customers will face similar delays in getting the rebate.

Horgan said he doesn’t expect ICBC customers to face the same delays as those waiting for the recovery benefit because the insurance provider has up-to-date information on policy holders.

ICBC CEO Nicolas Jimenez said drivers changed their habits during the pandemic which helped the insurer’s bottom line, lowering claims by about $720 million during the first six months of its fiscal year, April 1 to Sept. 30, 2020. That is offset by a $120-million dip in premiums collected by ICBC as some lowered or changed their insurance coverage, Jimenez said.

“We’re able to (give the rebate) at this point because we have a fairly good outlook for what our year-end (financials) are going to be,” he said.

During a second quarter financial update last week, Jimenez said the auto insurer was sitting on $410 million in net income, a major turnaround from the $2 billion loss between the start of 2018 and the end of 2019. ICBC has not yet released its full second quarter statement.

B.C. will switch to a no-fault insurance model on May 1, a change that is expected to save drivers about 20 per cent or an average of $400 a year. That is also expected to save ICBC about $1.5 billion in legal costs as the new system means most people involved in crashes can no longer sue for damages, instead going through a tribunal if they dispute insurance payouts.

Last week, Farnworth announced a new online tool where B.C. drivers can calculate their ICBC premiums under the no-fault model.

kderosa@postmedia.com
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