Insurance Bureau of Canada : ICBC Needs Competition

[lesliepaul]

Eby claims "Dumpster Fire" day in and day out with that same "deer in the headlights" STUPID look on his face.

Can anyone please explain how ICBC is loosing huge money, other than from the thieving politicians B.C. continuously breeds and accident fraud by groups of people that cannot be identified because it would be racist...……..both of which can be greatly eliminated or reduced through prison sentences.

Seems nobody wants to explain or include the over $13 BILLION ICBC has ON HAND in "Claim Reserves" (every insurance company has to have claim reserves) PLUS the $15.6 BILLION ICBC has in "investments" that is GROWING.

This, almost $30 BILLION is the B.C. taxpayers money that we all contribute to and have since ICBC came to be, but these lying "sacks of " politicians are lower-life thieves than our drug and meth thieves.

The idea of government run public insurance was brought in because private insurance was ripping everyone off back in the 60's and 70's. The intention of affordable vehicle insurance back then was a godsend for everyone in provinces that had it. B.C. politicians have taken this system and lined their own pockets for close to 20 years and LIE TO ALL OF US to keep raising rates and now convoluting it to such an extent your ICBC insurance agent cannot explain it to you with any certainty.

How much more of this political, lying BULL do we have take...……..cleaning up ICBC problem areas can be done. I do not need to hear politicians tell me "this part or area of ICBC is losing money and we HAVE TO RAISE RATES"...…...when in fact the BIG PICTURE does not support "dumpster fire".

[my5cents]

Eby claims "Dumpster Fire" day in and day out with that same "deer in the headlights" STUPID look on his face.
Can anyone please explain how ICBC is loosing huge money, other than from the thieving politicians B.C. continuously breeds and accident fraud by groups of people that cannot be identified because it would be racist...……..both of which can be greatly eliminated or reduced through prison sentences.

The Liberals have taken about $1.4 billion from ICBC. Obtaining enough evidence to convict someone of a criminal offense is harder than it looks, contrary to what all the Monday morning quarterbacks think.

Seems nobody wants to explain or include the over $13 BILLION ICBC has ON HAND in "Claim Reserves" (every insurance company has to have claim reserves) PLUS the $15.6 BILLION ICBC has in "investments" that is GROWING.

This, almost $30 BILLION is the B.C. taxpayers money that we all contribute to and have since ICBC came to be, but these lying politicians are lower-life thieves than our drug and meth thieves.

There is no surprize that ICBC has reserves, they have millions of dollars in claims to pay on the books. The money isn't "tax payer" money it is money from the auto insurance buying public. As for investments, that's what every insurance company does with the premiums they receive from customers, be the insurance, auto, property, life, etc.

The idea of government run public insurance was brought in because private insurance was ripping everyone off back in the 60's and 70's. The intention of affordable vehicle insurance back then was a godsend for everyone in provinces that had it. B.C. politicians have taken this system and lined their own pockets for close to 20 years and LIE TO ALL OF US to keep raising rates and now convoluting it to such an extent your ICBC insurance agent cannot explain it to you with any certainty.

Actually the Liberal government has been taking what they have been calling "dividends" for many years. Those ICBC funds and funds from BC Hydro were used to balance the budget. When ICBC was created it was intended to be completely not for profit and was never intended to raise money to offset tax increases.

How much more of this political, lying BULL do we have take...……..cleaning up ICBC problem areas can be done. I do not need to hear politicians tell me "this part or area of ICBC is losing money and we HAVE TO RAISE RATES"...…...when in fact the BIG PICTURE does not support "dumpster fire".

The NDP are taking action to "clean up the problem area. Actually the "big picture" does indicate one main area of concern. It is the mandatory $200,000 third party liability coverage. There are others that need tweaking but the main problem is the costs involved in bodily injury claims stemming from minor collisions. By law, ICBC can not supplement losses from the mandatory coverage (the $200,000 3rd party liability) from the profitable optional coverage.

The repairs are in the works, lets see what happens.

[flamingfingers]

A bit of history on ICBC and the BC Lieberals:

Thursday, August 29, 2019
All Their Bathtubs 'R Them.
WhenTheSmearRevealsThe
IdeologyVille


"My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years," he says, "to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."
Grover Norquist
Field Marshall Of The Bush Plan

****

The BC Liberal Party seems to think they might get some traction with their latest smear if they appeal to their better angels.....errrr....influencers:


Link

But here's the thing.

Even the Dean of the Legislative Press Gallery, the VSun's Mr. Vaughn Palmer, was able to call this one, straight-up, with no cynical 'both-sides' shading three years ago:

And make sure you read the rest by Vaughn Palmer here:

http://pacificgazette.blogspot.com/

[OKkayak]

The repairs are in the works, lets see what happens.

With the amount of knowledge and defending comments you post about ICBC, my guts telling me that you have some sort of personal investment in ICBC and while your posts are very informative, I take them with a very small grain of salt.

Fact is, if we had private insurance, no Government would have been able to steal our money.
Fact is, ICBC is inefficient and uncompetitive and we are paying for that.
Fact is that no amount of monkeying around to “fix” ICBC won’t fix the base issue and that is zero competition and it’s too easy for any government to come back in and help themselves.

[jimmy4321]

The repairs are in the works, lets see what happens.

With the amount of knowledge and defending comments you post about ICBC, my guts telling me that you have some sort of personal investment in ICBC and while your posts are very informative, I take them with a very small grain of salt.

I agree 100% but my5cents a few post back said no connection


It's funny no party wants to get rid of it cause it's their piggy bank if elected. I'm thinkn BC is pretty successfully BS'd in thinking this is the best solution.

[my5cents]

The repairs are in the works, lets see what happens.

With the amount of knowledge and defending comments you post about ICBC, my guts telling me that you have some sort of personal investment in ICBC and while your posts are very informative, I take them with a very small grain of salt.

Fact is, if we had private insurance, no Government would have been able to steal our money.
Fact is, ICBC is inefficient and uncompetitive and we are paying for that.
Fact is that no amount of monkeying around to “fix” ICBC won’t fix the base issue and that is zero competition and it’s too easy for any government to come back in and help themselves.

"Fact is, if we had private insurance, no Government would have been able to steal our money."
Fact is, although the amount "stolen" is substantial at $1.4 Billion, in the world of BC auto insurance it really wouldn't make a significant difference. For example it lost $860 Million in the first 9 month of the fiscal year. The $1.4 Billion was syphoned off over about an 8 year period. Easy way to prevent that, don't vote for a government that would do such a thing.

You state : "ICBC is inefficient and uncompetitive" Do you have anything to back that up ?

Fact is the bulk of the losses are coming from low end litigated bodily injury claims, where legal fees and awards are eating up our insurance dollars faster than we are putting them in.

All the competition in the world isn't going to stop lawyers from recruiting clients and suing, dragging out litigation all costing we the insurance buying public. We all see the ads, "Before you got to ICBC call...." If ICBC were replaced by competitive auto insurance companies, they would be facing the exact same problem.

When the rates went out of sight, there'd be no politicians to scream at, or who could take action.... Purchased fuel for your car lately ???

Once a form of threshold no fault is instituted as we've seen across the country with all the provinces that have opted for a threshold no fault system, has eased the pressure on insurance prices.

Fact is ICBC is in full competition with private auto insurance companies for every part of the auto insurance we purchase, except for the basic $200,000 third party liability. That $200,000 is the legal minimum to put plates on a car. I don't think it's a bad idea that the government provides the plates and the basic insurance. All the rest, full competition.

That portion, the basic $200,000 liability, is always the loosing or low profit area for every auto insurance company in all jurisdictions. It always has been.

Lets look at the portion of our insurance that ICBC is in full competition with private auto insurance... You say, "ICBC is inefficient and uncompetitive", so how is ICBC doing against the competition in this area ?

Before you wish too hard for ICBC's demise you should inform yourself on the situation in Alberta, you know that bastion of competitive private insurance. They have full competition and even have a threshold no fault system so they should be in great shape, right ?

[WheelWeaves]

I don't see why they need competition. I am already paying minimal amounts for car insurance, and i am posed to save at least 20-30 dollars a month with the upcoming changes that don't punish me for the previous owner of my cars mistakes.

You've caused some accidents? Good, you should be subsidizing everyone else, you're a menace.

[flamingfingers]

my5cents wrote:

Fact is ICBC is in full competition with private auto insurance companies for every part of the auto insurance we purchase, except for the basic $200,000 third party liability. That $200,000 is the legal minimum to put plates on a car. I don't think it's a bad idea that the government provides the plates and the basic insurance. All the rest, full competition.

Bears repeating. I did at one point insure for all but the $200,000 third party liability which was good the first year and saved me some money but the next year, the rates for private went up and I went back to ICBC.

[Smurf]

My wife and I have perfect records for 50 years and have checked around with nothing cheaper enough to be bothered leaving ICBC on any of our vehicles. I've even gone on line and looked at Alberta, no real difference. I remember when my son moved here from Alberta he was very happy. No accidents but poor driving record was killing him in Alberta. He actually bought a new vehicle shortly after because he could afford the insurance. I have to think that if someone is paying a lot more they must have some skeletons in their closet.

[Smurf]

I think also it really and should does depend on the vehicles you drive. If you drive a vehicle a vehicle that is expensive to repair you pay a premium price. Even the area you live in in the province makes a big difference. It is very difficult to compare prices.

[Urban Cowboy]

The repairs are in the works, lets see what happens.

With the amount of knowledge and defending comments you post about ICBC, my guts telling me that you have some sort of personal investment in ICBC and while your posts are very informative, I take them with a very small grain of salt.

Fact is, if we had private insurance, no Government would have been able to steal our money.
Fact is, ICBC is inefficient and uncompetitive and we are paying for that.
Fact is that no amount of monkeying around to “fix” ICBC won’t fix the base issue and that is zero competition and it’s too easy for any government to come back in and help themselves.

I tend to disagree with that statement.

The money wasn't "stolen" but rather redirected and put towards other services we demand from government.

Saying it was stolen simply makes for a more dramatic statement, without indicating what really happened to the funds.

Said funds were also taken when ICBC had a surplus of cash on hand, and it's worth repeating that the amount taken would make virtually no difference in regards to the current challenges facing ICBC, as in large part, the relatively new practise of manufacturers patenting auto parts, and in so doing drastically increasing repair costs, in order to allow them to line their own pockets.

[DetectivePikachu]

Big Changes in Alberta Private auto.

Government removing the 5% rate increase cap on premiums.
Article says rates can increase by 20%+ Starting next Saturday

Premiums also must be paid up front. No more monthly payment plans allowed.

Yikes!

https://globalnews.ca/news/5839389/albe ... p-expires/

[1791]

So let them compete here in BC then. If ICBC is really offering good value. They will do just fine. If not. We will all know soon enuff. Why not let them compete ?

[lesliepaul]

[

Said funds were also taken when ICBC had a surplus of cash on hand, and it's worth repeating that the amount taken would make virtually no difference in regards to the current challenges facing ICBC, as in large part, the relatively new practise of manufacturers patenting auto parts, and in so doing drastically increasing repair costs, in order to allow them to line their own pockets.

[/quote]

I forgot to add that part about the "cost of parts" that all the manufacturers are getting in on and then again marked up by retailers. This is not just parts for "high-end" vehicles that are ridiculous...……..over $2,000 for a newer Toyota or Honda headlight assembly???? Rest assured, cost to manufacture I am betting $100. This is PURE GREED by ALL of the vehicle manufacturers and can be addressed when insurance companies start to deny coverage on certain vehicles. Denying coverage on certain vehicle brands because of parts cost has been going on in the U.S. for at least 40 years. Last year I had a friend with a Mercedes Benz windshield claim...…….aftermarket glass...….X amount, Mercedes Glass, well over double. At the end of the day he got the Mercedes glass for VERY close to the aftermarket price. Even with the reduced price of "factory" glass, profit was still made for the suppliers...…...just not as high as what they wished for.

Body shops in B.C. are a license to print money and can almost be looked at in the same way as "money laundering"...……..ICBC, like any private insurance company can have a say in "parts cost" but right now just goes along with whatever is submitted. I look at this the same way I look at accident injury fraud in B.C.

[Hurtlander]

The Horgan NDP are just as stupid and dishonest as the C Clark Liberals...
So much for all the Horgan NDP promises that ICBC rates will be going down for long term drivers with a clean driving record.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/it-would-be-nice- ... -1.4580234

“Power told CTV News despite his unblemished driving record of 39 years, and his wife’s accident and claim-free 35 years, his rate is jumping an estimated $31 a year, to $1861.
And when he went through the renewal process, Power, who is in his 50s, said he was told he “wouldn’t experience a rate reduction unless [he] was turning 65, and [he] was driving less than six days per month.”