ICBC wants to raise basic rate
Posted August 31, 2015 3:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – ICBC will be asking to raise your basic rate by 6.7 per cent unless it can find a way to save some money. The insurance corporation is blaming a giant leap in the number of injury claims.
ICBC has started to file its rate increase application with the BC Utilities Corporation. It has put off finalizing its application in hopes it can use the time to work with the BC government to find some savings.
The number of accidents and claims for damage to vehicles isn’t rising at the same pace injury claims are according to ICBC President Mark Blucher. “We know that soft tissue injury claims and those who are represented is increasing and we also suspect we are going to need to look a little harder to see if there are claims in there without merit of claims that have an element of fraud in them.”
Transportation Minister Todd Stone says a near seven per cent increase is unacceptable. “The rate can and should be lower than that. I have made staff from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure as well as the Ministry of Finance available to ICBC to work with them through their numbers to help identify some additional strategies that ICBC could embrace to mitigate these cost pressures.”
ICBC has another two months to finalize its application.
