Time for a comprehensive public audit of ICBC?

[BCPickles]

Reading todays article comparing insurance between BC and AB makes me feel like ICBC needs to be stripped down to its core to be rebuilt properly.
It feels like it is time to examine the bureacratic costs and start doing some much needed trimming.

One example I wonder about the cost to value ratio is for graduated licensing. There is an article I have been told about, if someone else can link it much appreciated, suggesting this system has created immense backlogs and large volumes of retests for dubious reasons and I have yet to see any analysis showing any real benefit to this system.
A two year window of successful driving, mandatory to take the test, is itself a test that warrants a license upgrade. Requiring people to pay $50 per test and $30 for the new license plus taking time off work, not everyone can just take a couple hours so for many its a days lost wages, should show a strong present benefit. This requires employing these testers in this task that may be without merit at public expense. An expense I bet is larger than we would assume.

I have also been told that down in the lower mainland many are forced to pay for driving courses because those courses have booked up all of the test windows.
To me this seems like a costly redundancy that might do more harm than good for the citizens of BC.

This is just is example/thought on an area of bureaucratic bloat.
What other examples are the rest of you aware of that you would like to put up for discussion?

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/252112 ... ng-drivers

[casey60]

The vehicle insurance in BC needs to be privatized. But since the NDP started this whole thing in the early 1970's you really think they are going to let it go private? Nope, as that will be seen as a failure from the NDP. Best solution. let private come in and let ICBC compete with private. If nothing happens, we will be paying more and more for an inefficient government elephant.

[Rider59]

Reading todays article comparing insurance between BC and AB makes me feel like ICBC needs to be stripped down to its core to be rebuilt properly.
It feels like it is time to examine the bureacratic costs and start doing some much needed trimming.

One example I wonder about the cost to value ratio is for graduated licensing. There is an article I have been told about, if someone else can link it much appreciated, suggesting this system has created immense backlogs and large volumes of retests for dubious reasons and I have yet to see any analysis showing any real benefit to this system.
A two year window of successful driving, mandatory to take the test, is itself a test that warrants a license upgrade. Requiring people to pay $50 per test and $30 for the new license plus taking time off work, not everyone can just take a couple hours so for many its a days lost wages, should show a strong present benefit. This requires employing these testers in this task that may be without merit at public expense. An expense I bet is larger than we would assume.

I have also been told that down in the lower mainland many are forced to pay for driving courses because those courses have booked up all of the test windows.
To me this seems like a costly redundancy that might do more harm than good for the citizens of BC.

This is just is example/thought on an area of bureaucratic bloat.
What other examples are the rest of you aware of that you would like to put up for discussion?

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/252112 ... ng-drivers

I think everyone should have to take drivers training. Some don’t take it serious enough.

[BCPickles]

Reading todays article comparing insurance between BC and AB makes me feel like ICBC needs to be stripped down to its core to be rebuilt properly.
It feels like it is time to examine the bureacratic costs and start doing some much needed trimming.

One example I wonder about the cost to value ratio is for graduated licensing. There is an article I have been told about, if someone else can link it much appreciated, suggesting this system has created immense backlogs and large volumes of retests for dubious reasons and I have yet to see any analysis showing any real benefit to this system.
A two year window of successful driving, mandatory to take the test, is itself a test that warrants a license upgrade. Requiring people to pay $50 per test and $30 for the new license plus taking time off work, not everyone can just take a couple hours so for many its a days lost wages, should show a strong present benefit. This requires employing these testers in this task that may be without merit at public expense. An expense I bet is larger than we would assume.

I have also been told that down in the lower mainland many are forced to pay for driving courses because those courses have booked up all of the test windows.
To me this seems like a costly redundancy that might do more harm than good for the citizens of BC.

This is just is example/thought on an area of bureaucratic bloat.
What other examples are the rest of you aware of that you would like to put up for discussion?

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/252112 ... ng-drivers

I think everyone should have to take drivers training. Some don’t take it serious enough.

My concern there is the cost to benefit ratio of such a system. We could incorporate mandatory driver training in high school perhaps but the size and bureaucracy required for mandatory driver training for all is probably unworkable.

Now giving people discounts on insurance for taking approved training programs could be more efficient with a direct benefit to the public. Carrot over stick as it were.

[csm]

ICBC must die - it's nothing more than a government cash cow - they say they balance the budget due to sound fiscal policies when in reality, they strip the Crown Corporations of their profits to make that happen, then cry that they have to increase rates because of crappy drivers driving the premiums up, which is a load of BS.

Sure, we have a different road structure than most of the Prairies, but ON and PQ are similar, and the drivers there I think are even worse. We don't have 40 - 100 car pileups on our freeways.

It's time to close the ICBC Government Cash Cow and force them to be fiscally responsible for our tax dollars.

I am getting tired of the incessant Federal and Provincial Government lies - we are being screwed dry, and they still can't stop their spending habit.

We pay a lot of taxes for Government Services, we shouldn't have to pay user fees as well.

[Altaman]

I don't think an audit is needed....Privatization is needed pure and simple. I was paying a little over $750 a year to insure my 2016 Honda Civic EX. I moved to BC last July and now pay $2400, this is completed F'ed up! Now I did get discounts for age, house insurance as well and the like but come on, this is crazy here.

Now we are going to be charged more by ICBC on April 1st, carbon tax to add to our already too high gas prices. All I can say is bye-bye NDP when the next vote comes.

[dontrump]

I don't think an audit is needed....Privatization is needed pure and simple. I was paying a little over $750 a year to insure my 2016 Honda Civic EX. I moved to BC last July and now pay $2400, this is completed F'ed up! Now I did get discounts for age, house insurance as well and the like but come on, this is crazy here.

Now we are going to be charged more by ICBC on April 1st, carbon tax to add to our already too high gas prices. All I can say is bye-bye NDP when the next vote comes.

I agree another audit is a waste of money its obvious where the deficiencies are in my opinion however
u claim 750$ in cow town and $2400 here in my opinion is not true and there must be a story here
please explain the $2400

[BCPickles]

I don't think an audit is needed....Privatization is needed pure and simple. I was paying a little over $750 a year to insure my 2016 Honda Civic EX. I moved to BC last July and now pay $2400, this is completed F'ed up! Now I did get discounts for age, house insurance as well and the like but come on, this is crazy here.

Now we are going to be charged more by ICBC on April 1st, carbon tax to add to our already too high gas prices. All I can say is bye-bye NDP when the next vote comes.

I agree another audit is a waste of money its obvious where the deficiencies are in my opinion however
u claim 750$ in cow town and $2400 here in my opinion is not true and there must be a story here
please explain the $2400

If it is obvious then please share them as that was what the intent of the topic was. To discuss specific issues in an open fashion.
Saying you know whats wrong but not talking about it isn't saying anything at all.

We all know people are angry with the NDP for forming it and we all know people are angry with the BC Liberals for changing the laws to be able to extract revenue from it.

Talking specifics can lead to improvements or at least expanded understandings.

[OKkayak]

I'm all for scrapping ICBC and going private. Insurance is a business and should be run solely on that principle by companies that are in that business.

[twobits]

I'm all for scrapping ICBC and going private. Insurance is a business and should be run solely on that principle by companies that are in that business.

Agreed. I want an insurer that charges me based on my history of driving and claims........not throwing me into a massive actuary table of every driver in the Province except the obvious high risk outliers, and tell me my premium works out to "this" average so pay up or stay home.
The ICBC specialist lawyers might get a bit of a *bleep* slap too if they have to deal with private insurance companies as well rather than ICBC settle and stamp adjusters. ICBC employee's are just bureaucrats putting in pension time where there value to the corp is if they take all 10 paid sick days per yr or not.

[bazinga42]

Ok, sooooo... I'm not going to be popular :)

I was looking in the classifieds and somehow stumbled on here. I work for ICBC. Before starting here, I shared a lot of the common feelings people have about ICBC.

But that's changed. And it really isn't because they're paying my cheque. Gaining first hand knowledge and having a more thorough understanding of the nuances and intricacies offers a perspective that Joe Public doesn't generally have.

I'm not going to change anyone's mind here, not do I care to... but in my spare time I'll answer people's questions if you want. I'll shoot straight.

Regarding privatization: like so many things, it just isn't that simple. First off, the only lucrative part of the business is already private. Optional insurance is where the profit is, and you already have a choice of providers. Those policies are where the biggest dollars come in and (typically) the lowest dollars go out. Basic insurance costs a lot, sure, but private insurers wouldn't touch it if they could! You'll notice that people and media often best the privatisation drum... But you see who isn't making a fuss? The private insurers. Basic insurance is what has to cover the BILLIONS paid out every year to injury claims.

And I don't get calling ICBC a "cash cow". It is pretty well documents that we're hemorrhaging money and have been for years. That's one reason for the drastic changes coming in April. Very positive changes, I might add. So long as lawyers don't find a way to punch holes in the new legislation, I think everyone that isn't committing fraud (or representing them) comes out ahead under the new system. It really just makes sense and the more the details are revealed, the more I think it was really well thought out.

But I don't want to intrude more than I already have. ICBC isn't perfect and I'll tell it like it is. If you have questions, I'll answer. If you just want a complaint fest, then forget I came.

[jimmy4321]

Getting completley rid of ICBC needs to be part of the BC Liberal campaign.
It will be a slam dunk!!!

[csm]

Getting completley rid of ICBC needs to be part of the BC Liberal campaign.
It will be a slam dunk!!!

What we really need is the corrupt liberals to go the way of the DoDo!!!

[mattinkelowna]

One of the main issues with ICBC is the use of lawyers, aka ICBC suying itself when claims arise. Stop this practice and operating costs would drop drastically.

[mattinkelowna]

Getting completley rid of ICBC needs to be part of the BC Liberal campaign.
It will be a slam dunk!!!

They'll never get rid of it. They milked it like a cow in a barn while they were in office.