ICBC

[flamingfingers]

“There’s no question that had the government taken action in 2014 based on this report … ICBC would be in a very different position today,” said Eby. “We’re doing some of the exact same recommendations that were made three years ago, three years later.”

Eby called it a “missed opportunity” and said the Liberals should have released the report in full even if they disagreed with it, to inform the public about the options.

The report has prompted finger-pointing within the Liberal party, which now sits in opposition.

Former finance minister Mike de Jong has said he remembers government removing sections because there was no appetite to act upon them and therefore they did not need to be included. That occurred during government’s Treasury Board process.

Former transportation minister Todd Stone, who had technical responsibility for ICBC at the time, has said he never saw the unredacted draft version. ICBC’s board of directors said they never saw it either.

http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/a ... uable-info

[Hassel99]

*removed*

[d0nb]

Think of Dave Barrett's auto insurer as I-CBC, just another gigantic waste of public money. Will no political 'leader' ever have the courage to free us from this absurd socialist boondoggle?

[George+]

The waste of public money was by the Lieberals.

[flamingfingers]

d0nb:

It only became a boondoggle when the BC Liberals Campbell/Clark got their uneven fingers into it!!

Province’s file bungling has driven Insurance Corp. of B.C. into trouble
Gary Mason
GARY MASON
VICTORIA
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 24, 2017
UPDATED MARCH 24, 2017
Among the files the B.C. government has had the most difficulty managing, or the easiest time bungling, depending on your view, the Insurance Corp. of B.C. stands out.

This week in the legislature, NDP Leader John Horgan and fellow New Democrat Adrian Dix laid bare some of the enormous problems at the insurance corporation, and the role the Liberal government has played in creating them.

Mr. Horgan pointed out, for instance, that when the government tabled its budget in 2015, ICBC was projected to have net revenues of $678-million over a three-year period. But in the fiscal plan issued by the Liberals this week, those surpluses have turned into a deficit of $833-million. By any measure, a shocking turn of events.

"[Transportation Minister Todd Stone's] $1.5-billion blunder is $1,000 a family," Mr. Dix told the legislature. "That's how much it is. How are they supposed to pay for his blunder, for his bad choices?"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/br ... e34136030/

[d0nb]

The incompetent Liberals would never have had the opportunity to corrupt our auto insurance but for the incompetent NDP's fetish for converting efficient free-enterprise solutions into money-wasting government-run boondoggles.

[flamingfingers]

^^The Campbell/Clark BC Liberal gov had 16 years to 'correct' this. Why didn't they??? They needed the $$$$$$ siphoned off ICBC, BC Hydro to falsely 'balance their budget'...

[d0nb]

True. The Liberals have been a disgrace.

While PR is repugnant, if we had the luxury of a ranked ballot in the Kelowna-West election, I would have loved to have cast a first-place vote for the Libertarian candidate.

[Urbane]

I'd like to see the government get out of the insurance business. I'd also like to see them get out of the business of selling alcohol but that's for another thread.

[George+]

So, would Christy so she...
Bankrupted the system!

[monilynno]

In my 57 years I've learned one thing about government, and that is that government does nothing well other than tax and spend. Put them in charge of a business and you're asking for failure. Liquidate ICBC.

[my5cents]

I'd like to see the government get out of the insurance business. I'd also like to see them get out of the business of selling alcohol but that's for another thread.

Simple move to AB

[my5cents]

To all the nay sayers.....

Do you think that one day, all the while, private auto insurance in BC was working perfectly fine, with low premium, fair practices,, the NDP government of the day said.... "Hey, I know lets start an insurance company".

Or, was perhaps, private insurance victimizing their customers, restricting who could even buy insurance ? Denying coverage, forcing people to sue just to see who will press their claim and who will fold.

It was sure fun (I was a lad) standing in long lines at the "Motor Vehicle Branch" at the end of February obtaining license plates.

Because, you see there was the Motor Vehicle Branch, that was responsible for registering vehicles, and issuing driver's licences, then there were all the private insurance companies.

I'm sure splitting off Vehicle Registration, Driver's Licenses from insurance won't cost hardly anything.

It was real fun when you were hit by a another vehicle that was at fault, you got to drive around and meet all sorts of nice estimators at body shops and get three different estimates. If you were a young person after getting all three, the insurance company for the other vehicle, might even pay the lowest estimate. In my case they cut it in 2/3 and said "if you don't like it sue us".

Once you get your wish, to abolish the big bad govt insurance, how long will your private insurance company penalize you for the inadvertent traffic ticket you got ? A year, two ? three ?, or back then in many cases, not charge you anything, just cancel your insurance. I guess every company will be different.

It's real fun after an insurance company has cancelled your insurance because on every private insurance application they ask "Have you ever been refused insurance".

But you'll feel good knowing that the violation surcharge is going straight into the profit of a private insurance company and not to fund overall lower premiums in BC.

Oh, and how will these private insurance companies manage to do business in BC ? Yes, they will be so streamlined that without changing any of the civil insurance laws, they will easily be able to run at a profit and cut our premiums in what ? a half,,,, you know just like your brother in law in Snow Bank Saskatchewan that has the exact same car, with the exact same insurance coverage as ICBC, even the same color, that you've been telling us about ad nauseam.

It will be wonderful, won't it.

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

[lesliepaul]

WELL SAID my5cents. We keep hearing all of the experts on here who use to pay so much less than B.C. drivers pay for vehicle insurance because it was private. Well, I know too many horror stories WITH private insurance and in no way do I want to see it in B.C.

ICBC can be cleaned up if SMART people looked at it.........certainly not this past Liberal regime that RAPED whatever $$$ they wanted from the fund..........ICBC problems STARTED there! Everything else "snowballed" the problems.

[Urbane]

To all the nay sayers.....

Do you think that one day, all the while, private auto insurance in BC was working perfectly fine, with low premium, fair practices,, the NDP government of the day said.... "Hey, I know lets start an insurance company".

Or, was perhaps, private insurance victimizing their customers, restricting who could even buy insurance ? Denying coverage, forcing people to sue just to see who will press their claim and who will fold.

It was sure fun (I was a lad) standing in long lines at the "Motor Vehicle Branch" at the end of February obtaining license plates.

Because, you see there was the Motor Vehicle Branch, that was responsible for registering vehicles, and issuing driver's licences, then there were all the private insurance companies.

I'm sure splitting off Vehicle Registration, Driver's Licenses from insurance won't cost hardly anything.

It was real fun when you were hit by a another vehicle that was at fault, you got to drive around and meet all sorts of nice estimators at body shops and get three different estimates. If you were a young person after getting all three, the insurance company for the other vehicle, might even pay the lowest estimate. In my case they cut it in 2/3 and said "if you don't like it sue us".

Once you get your wish, to abolish the big bad govt insurance, how long will your private insurance company penalize you for the inadvertent traffic ticket you got ? A year, two ? three ?, or back then in many cases, not charge you anything, just cancel your insurance. I guess every company will be different.

It's real fun after an insurance company has cancelled your insurance because on every private insurance application they ask "Have you ever been refused insurance".

But you'll feel good knowing that the violation surcharge is going straight into the profit of a private insurance company and not to fund overall lower premiums in BC.

Oh, and how will these private insurance companies manage to do business in BC ? Yes, they will be so streamlined that without changing any of the civil insurance laws, they will easily be able to run at a profit and cut our premiums in what ? a half,,,, you know just like your brother in law in Snow Bank Saskatchewan that has the exact same car, with the exact same insurance coverage as ICBC, even the same color, that you've been telling us about ad nauseam.

It will be wonderful, won't it.

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

You make some valid points. Private insurance certainly isn't a panacea and one way or the other ICBC is undoubtedly here to stay. For what it's worth I think that the government's proposed changes to ICBC make sense and it's too bad that the Liberals didn't make them long ago.