ICBC

ICBC premiums are rising! The corporation is losing billions, we have to get costs under control! Let's put out the ICBC dumpster fire by reducing what we pay out in claims, but assure crash victims that they will be properly taken care of.

ICBC's current corporate slogan is "Building Trust, Driving Confidence." Pair that with this week's announcement of a $582 million loss for the first six months of the corporation's fiscal year and one begins to wonder about the confidence part. That loss is being blamed on the rising number and cost of claims.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has announced that effective at the end of July, 2018 all 140 intersection safety cameras in our province will be operational at all times. The Intersection Camera Safety Program has also increased its staff to review incidents and process additional tickets in a timely manner.

Everyone else is the problem, I'm a good driver! Despite the current average of about 960 crashes each day in B.C. we all tend to think that we are better than average drivers. Well, it's time to prove it to yourself (or not).

In this article Paul describes a David vs Goliath case where Frank Kristen disagreed with the ICBC claims adjuster finding him 100% at fault for a collision. Mr. Kristen proceeded to a Claims Assessment Review where the adjudicator agreed with the claims adjuster. The final step was to have the issue heard before the court and the case against ICBC was commenced.

I was curious about the outcome of ICBC's rate fairness survey so I checked the box to be notified when the report became available. The notification arrived in my inbox this week and I've made a quick scan of the document. The diverse opinions on who should be held accountable for what and how rates should be set is interesting.

Q: I have a question about legality around modifying the exterior of my car. I have seen many modified (often lowered suspension as well) cars with front lip spoilers/splitters and I was wondering around the legality of them for a street car.

Would you voluntarily submit to electronic monitoring of your vehicle in order to save money on insurance? I've been thinking about this lately in the context of my experience with an electronic driver monitoring app, our current concerns with ICBC rates and the seeming lack of consequences for drivers who don't follow the rules. With the right privacy safeguards this could safely and efficiently solve a number of problems.

Last week we looked at how we might define a bad driver. Views were varied, but there were two well thought out responses that did more than just express an opinion. This week, let's look at how bad drivers pay for the risk that they present to others using our highways.

ICBC has published the latest edition of Quick Statistics containing general information about crashes, injured and fatal victims, auto crime and vehicle and driver populations.