ICBC rates are set to jump again — this time by 6.4 percent. This follows the insurance corporation’s largest annual loss ever — a loss caused in large part when BC’s previous Liberal government withdrew massive amounts of money from the corporation and put the money into provincial coffers.
Will the rate increase fix the problem? I think not. Much more needs to be done.
As a lawyer practising in the field of personal injury, much of my bread and butter comes from ICBC cases. Too often, ICBC unnecessarily delays the settlement of files. Too often, ICBC is unwilling to offer my clients fair settlement for their injury. As a result, many years ago, I instituted a policy of starting a lawsuit on behalf of my clients on the day I am retained.
The sooner I can nail down a trial date, the better for my client. But this would not be necessary if ICBC had a practice of offering fair settlement without the prospect of being forced to go to trial.
Let’s hope that with a new government in office in Victoria, the winds of change will blow through the corporate head office at ICBC, and they will take a first step in cutting costs and increasing revenue by offering fair compensation without needing to be forced to go to trial.
UPDATE: I was interviewed on this topic recently on CTV — you can see the article and video here.
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My late husband was in a car accident in 2010 that caused him severe whiplash that took many months of medical intervention before it finally subsided. He retained a lawyer shortly after the accident and it did, indeed, take quite some time before ICBC came up with something remotely adequate. It was almost as if ICBC expected to play the game.