ICBC

[797hauler]

I am talking about, 1990 about the time I got here to BC. I asked about a monthly thing, no it was not available, or so the office I went to in Osoyoos told me, maybe some did and some didnt, dont know about that. It was nine hundred plus a year and about three hun for three months, more then I was paying for a year in Ontario, would love to show you the paper work but you'd have to go find my old recycle stuff, shredded everything years ago. Not something I thought I uld need to save so I could show you. That same car now would be abouts $1200.00 I would think here now, or so my little car about the same size as my rabbit is anyway.
So if you have a few cars here in BC thats a lot of money to have two or three of them insured.
We should have the driver insured and I believe that was being discussed through ICBC at one time, might be wrong tho.
Also I am not sure why you think I am talking 30 plus years ago, or did I say that in error and lead you that way?
Also I cant remember if I had any special rates in other provinces, I have always been accident free and free of any speeding tickets or other road wrongs so could be, I dont remember having it anyway, just shopping for the best price at those private insurance places, And in the same breath I think in BC, after a few clean years driving a person should be insured on their good or bad behaviours as in bad drivers pay a premium for being speeders and drunk driving, as well as causing accidents due to carelessness and good drivers pay a bottom cost since they are not such a risk.
If that was to happen you bet it would smarten up some people once they see their wallets getting thinner. It would also encourage good driving and it should be that way.
Since I have no driving issues I really have no idea how ICBC works, all I know is my insurance is way too high for my risk level as far as I am concerned. So challenge me all you like with dates and a need to see paperwork that just isnt available but I cant remember paying as high as I did the first day I got to BC.

May I ask how much you pay, and if this is for a car,truck, suv, or what have you..?

[Roadster]

Too much, and I do have that 40% discount. And so its on all my vehicles of course.

Put it this way, if you have your 40% I pay what you do and its too much, I think.


There are people here as Castanet members who live in other provinces, I would love to hear from them what they pay today as a comparison just so we know if we are really getting screwed or not. Maybe things have changed all over or maybe not.

[my5cents]

I am talking about, 1990 about the time I got here to BC. I asked about a monthly thing, no it was not available, or so the office I went to in Osoyoos told me, maybe some did and some didnt, dont know about that.

The payment plan was in affect thoughout the province. Perhaps you didn't qualify.

It was nine hundred plus a year and about three hun for three months,

?????????????? $900 a year, or $1200 if purchased in 3 month increments ? Absolutely wrong.

Also I am not sure why you think I am talking 30 plus years ago,

Because that's when ICBC didn't have payment plans

And in the same breath I think in BC, after a few clean years driving a person should be insured on their good or bad behaviours as in bad drivers pay a premium for being speeders and drunk driving, as well as causing accidents due to carelessness and good drivers pay a bottom cost since they are not such a risk.
If that was to happen you bet it would smarten up some people once they see their wallets getting thinner. It would also encourage good driving and it should be that way.

That's exactly how ICBC works. If an insured has no driving/insurance history they pay "base rate" (no discount, no surcharge), each year they are re-evaluated on their liable claims history and pay less or pay more. The violations and drinking and driving are dealt with by driver penalty points, not an increase in insurance.

[797hauler]

Too much, and I do have that 40% discount. And so its on all my vehicles of course.

Put it this way, if you have your 40% I pay what you do and its too much, I think.


There are people here as Castanet members who live in other provinces, I would love to hear from them what they pay today as a comparison just so we know if we are really getting screwed or not. Maybe things have changed all over or maybe not.

here

2010 suv I pay $140 a month
2009 car I pay $135 a month

3 million liability on both full coverage

got quotes when we moved here to see if it would be worth the switch.

suv went to $220
car went to $200

so Im happy with ICBC and thats a 30% on suv and 5% on car

[keith1612]

What you didn't see was when the unlicensed driver had an accident in that company truck. No coverage.

It is up to each employer to check each employee who drives company vehicles, that includes in BC.

What makes you think ICBC is OK with unlicensed fleet drivers ??

I believe the difference with fleets in BC is that in relation to ICBC coverage, each driver pays penalty premium points individually to retain their driver's license and each liable claim penalizes the actual policy. So if I started with Company A and previously I had three tickets and two liable claims in my own car, the penalty points are assessed directly with me and the two liable claims increase the insurance on my personal car. It's not until I bend the company vehicle that my driving affects their insurance.

i didnt say ICBC is ok with unlicensed drivers but unlike private insurance they dont as for abstracts from all companies for employees to approve them.
i drove for a company and he listed me as the principal operator on the truck, i quit and then was rehired 2 years later, i was shocked to see i was still listed as the principal operator when i went back
ICBC is far more lenient than private.

[Roadster]

I will let someone else argue with you 5cents,,, I told what what it was when I got here, dont know why I wouldnt have qualified, I was told there was no monthly payment plan.

[my5cents]

i didnt say ICBC is ok with unlicensed drivers but unlike private insurance they dont as for abstracts from all companies for employees to approve them.
i drove for a company and he listed me as the principal operator on the truck, i quit and then was rehired 2 years later, i was shocked to see i was still listed as the principal operator when i went back
ICBC is far more lenient than private.

That's like saying, "At one point on my trip to Arizona I drove at 150 MPH, Arizona is far more lenient than BC." Why ? because I didn't get caught speeding ??

Every owner has to declare the principle operator of each vehicle, or pay a higher premium for a vehicle with no principle operator. If an owner mis-declares the PO and has a claim, breach.

Another proceedure that ICBC practices is called "Post Loss Underwriting". In a lot of cases ICBC takes the person buying insurance at their word. ie, you say that you don't use your car to go to or from work. ICBC doesn't ask for proof, they take you at your word. If you were involved in a claim and you appeared to be driving to or from work, they likely would then investigate after you've had the claim (post = after, loss = claim) and see if you correctly declared the use of the vehicle (underwriting).

"Unlike private insurance they don't ask for abstracts.... for emlployees",, aren't you forgetting that you are comparing private insurance companies in other provinces to ICBC ? Private insurance companies are only insurance companies, ICBC is also the Motor Vehicle Branch. Who keeps all the records for every driver in BC ?,,, ICBC

[keith1612]

That's like saying, "At one point on my trip to Arizona I drove at 150 MPH, Arizona is far more lenient than BC." Why ? because I didn't get caught speeding ??

Every owner has to declare the principle operator of each vehicle, or pay a higher premium for a vehicle with no principle operator. If an owner mis-declares the PO and has a claim, breach.

Another proceedure that ICBC practices is called "Post Loss Underwriting". In a lot of cases ICBC takes the person buying insurance at their word. ie, you say that you don't use your car to go to or from work. ICBC doesn't ask for proof, they take you at your word. If you were involved in a claim and you appeared to be driving to or from work, they likely would then investigate after you've had the claim (post = after, loss = claim) and see if you correctly declared the use of the vehicle (underwriting).

"Unlike private insurance they don't ask for abstracts.... for emlployees",, aren't you forgetting that you are comparing private insurance companies in other provinces to ICBC ? Private insurance companies are only insurance companies, ICBC is also the Motor Vehicle Branch. Who keeps all the records for every driver in BC ?,,, ICBC

lol im not putting ICBC down, i prefer a good govt union company that is lacking on checks.
private is much harder to get things past.

[my5cents]

lol im not putting ICBC down, i prefer a good govt union company that is lacking on checks.
private is much harder to get things past.

The message I was trying to communicate is that because of the nature of ICBC, what may look like a lack of checks (investigation) is actually cases where there is no need for checks.

In actual fact ICBC has the largest Special Investigation Unit in, I believe, North America. That goes for all types of insurance companies, not just automotive. Their SIU is actually a "Designated Law Enforcement Unit", which mean their investigators are peace officers. They do criminal investigations where ICBC is the victim.

ICBC has adjusters who complete initial claims investigations. If something is wrong, they refer the fraud (if that's the case) to the "SIU".

Most private insurance companies may have one or two investigators or will farm out the work to companies such as IBC (The Insurance Bureau of Canada) It sounds like it's a government department, but it's just a private company.

If the private insurance company have a strong suspicion something is wrong they might deny the claim, but more often than not they will pay the claim and just refuse to sell you coverage again.

The private companies do conduct more inquiries when you apply for coverage and their rules are far stricter for discounts.

[blackpowder]

Overcompensated for what they do. Stop the welfare state and start to pay the going rate!

[bob vernon]

If you got rid of ICBC, after a few years of private companies getting their hands on all that money, someone would suggest that "wouldn't it be good if we had some kind of central agency who would adjudicate and assess the damages on cars in an impartial way". Handing the billions of auto insurance cash to private companies will lead to those billions being abused even more than today and on levels that will reach down into local repair companies.

[keith1612]

If you got rid of ICBC, after a few years of private companies getting their hands on all that money, someone would suggest that "wouldn't it be good if we had some kind of central agency who would adjudicate and assess the damages on cars in an impartial way". Handing the billions of auto insurance cash to private companies will lead to those billions being abused even more than today and on levels that will reach down into local repair companies.

well hard to be more corrupt than a company that has no need to worry about making a profit, and nobody to really explain losses to until its gone too far.
ICBC as a people owned company should reduce rates when it makes a profit not give huge CEO bonuses and hide cash in investment funds etc.
ICBC was not brought in under the plan (so we were told) that it was to make big profits off BC users.
trim the fat and give lower rates or allow open competition to join the market.

[my5cents]

well hard to be more corrupt than a company that has no need to worry about making a profit, and nobody to really explain losses to until its gone too far.
ICBC as a people owned company should reduce rates when it makes a profit not give huge CEO bonuses and hide cash in investment funds etc.
ICBC was not brought in under the plan (so we were told) that it was to make big profits off BC users.
trim the fat and give lower rates or allow open competition to join the market.

I agree with you that ICBC was not brought in to make a profit, you are totally correct.

There should be solid legislation that says the government can not influence ICBC to make "dividend" payments to their coffers.

You are TOTALLY wrong about hiding cash in investment funds. Investing the premium dollars is the basis of insurance. We'd be paying even higher premiums if ICBC was making money on investments. That's a big part of any insurance company.

[dudlee]

:sunshine:
Open it up let govt. insurance go on the open market, your ins, rates would drop.

...............................................
You understand that all the car insurance and ICBC workers , and that is pretty much everyone on this room that doesn't want change, don't want you to point out the obvious or most logical , they are terrified of change .

If you subscribe to that way of thinking , YOU'D NEVER CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR . 95% of change is good , but humans focus on the 5% of the negative , that is how unions work , as well as billionaire manipulators like Gates and Patisson and Trump

[John500]

Although I hope we get private insurance back, (this may make ICBC more competitive) it will never happen in BC. Its too nice a pot of money for governments to dip in.