Transportation Minister Disappointed at Proposed Level of ICBC Rate Increase
Prince George, B.C. – Provincial Minister of Transportation, Todd Stone says the Province has been “working hard with ICBC to identify strategies to keep the 2015 basic insurance increase as low as possible.”
Earlier today, ICBC announced it is applying to the BC Utilities Commission to raise its basic insurance rates by 5.5%
“I am actually disappointed the actual rate increase couldn’t be lower than the 5.5%” says Stone, but recognizes the growing trend of high injury claims, along with fraudulent and exaggerated claims are placing a great deal of pressure on the Insurance Corporation of BC.
He says the increase was trimmed from the initial proposed 6.7% when the Province approved shifting $450 million from its Optional Insurance funds, to its Basic Insurance side of operations.
This is not the first time that such a shift has taken place, Stone says in 2013 Government approved moving $113 million from Optional to Basic. “We will not be able to do this next year ” says Stone, as there likely won’t be sufficient excess capital in the Optional funds to allow such a shift of funds. There is a requirement that the Optional insurance side of business have 145% of what is projected to be needed to cover any claims.
Comments
Absolute BS. Propose a 6.7% increase, then they put in 5.5% increase, and he says he is disappointed.
We will have to wait to see what the BC Utilities Commission says, however I still think we should be seriously considering a huge petition to get the attention of ICBC and the Government.
This is incompetence at its best, and needs to be addressed.
Government needs to stop using ICBC as a cash cow! It doesn’t seem to matter which party is in power, they all raid ICBC’s coffers!
Leave ICBC alone! ICBC must get it’s costs, claims, wages, benefits, severance, etc. under control. Profits must then be used to facilitate adequate policy reserves!
After funding policy reserves, any profits left over should be refunded to policy holders either by cheque or by reducing future rates!
After all of this, only then and as a last resort, should premium increases be considered!
Good cop , bad cop ? Really Todd ? Just how stupid do you think we are ?
John Dilenger was once asked . Why do you rob banks ? He answered , because that’s where the money is !
If he was really disappointed and concerned he would tell ICBC not to transfer any money into his gov’s general revenue fund.
Notice he didn’t go there?
I call BS! The Liberals are always pulling money out of ICBC as well BC Hydro. They’re just cash cows to them. Another form of taxation.
Today I was waiting about 3/4 of an hour in the car (for a dental appointment to be completed) facing the Tim Hortons drive-through. 12 out of about twice as many women drivers were on the *smart* phone, one male out of about a dozen. Engine running, inching ahead, glancing ahead every once in a while = for all practical purposes DRIVING!
The RCMP could have made a fortune in less than one hour! As long as so many people blatantly flaunt and disobey the law ICBC rates are never going to decrease! I bet they can not stay away from the stupid phone wile driving in town and on the highway either!
Yep, total pant-load! ICBC has been shoveling money off the back of the truck into general coffers for years and now they want to raise rates? This belongs to the province (i.e. the public) so why can’t the government “just say no”? Cut the swollen wages and bonuses for execs and cut costs for all of us.
At the same time, persecute abusers and fraudsters to the max and figure out where the biggest problems are geographically and fix the problems.
Prince George. Accidents are down. Its the claim settlements that have been rising. ICBC needs to get with it.
I agree that people need to quit using their phones. I also agree (from my observations) that women seem to be using them more than men. Why either one of them find it so necessary to be on their phone or ipads is beyond me. I suspect 99% of the conversations and texting taking place is nothing more that gibberish.
It’s time that people who break the rules get the full brunt of the punishment. If you have a history of infractions and do something stupid pay full cost of the repairs/claims. Ignorance is not an excuse. Commit insurance fraud once NO SECOND CHANCES. No house insurance, no vehicle insurance, no life insurance maybe that will get their attention.
We are TOO tolerant. I’m tired of paying for someone who thinks insurance is free money. It’s the insurance companies fault because they are greedy and the risk is low if we are UNWITTINGLY supplementing premiums for those high risk drivers. Are fraudulent people prosecuted? Names publicized?
I think we are at the brink of seeing either this current government realize that having private insurance companies compete for the insurance business can be a good thing. I am tired of having a monopoly for our vehicle insurance and until then we will never know if there is a better deal out there somewhere for our auto insurance.
LMAO. He’s disappointed?
workingstiff could not have said it better.
Thanks monkeyseemonkeydo. I have so many hands in my pocket I don’t have room to put my own in there.
Fatalities caused by distracted driving have now surpassed fatalities caused by impaired driving. If it wasn’t for the phenomenon of distracted driving fatality and injury claims could be even more down. There has always been distracted driving but there is now the new added threat caused by hand held and even non-hand held communication gadgets.
So you don’t like the increase in ICBC rates — Maybe try voting something other than Liberal in this Province.
Let this be the catalyst to kill the monopoly and bring back free enterprise. My out-of-province friend has the same vehicle as I and pays about 40% of my ICBC cost. That’s not the worst of it. If he has an accident his insurance company will not automatically rule that it was 50/50 just so everyone gets to pay.
If he is talking about being upset at the rate increase he should be talking about a review of ICBC and how the rates are being increase and for the reasons of the increases. Instead he just says he is upset with the proposed increase. I would be looking for the mechanisms of the reasons and why ICBC is increasing rates (like investment strategies, executive pay, bonuses, transfers to government revenue) and look into mechanisms to ensure the money stays within ICBC so that it could manage insurance rates.
oldman1
The NDP are the party that started ICBC and have had several terms to get rid of it. I doubt any government will relinquish the opportunity to cash in on herd. Having said that, you only have to purchase basic coverage from ICBC, and comprehensive can be purchased privately. Not too many people ask that question though
ICBC was brought in by Dave Barrett’s NDP with the sole purpose of syphoning profits off and into the provincial government’s coffers! Profits normally made by private insurers would be promptly confiscated by the government! No surprise that all successive governments followed the initial intent! NDPers are complaining now, but as usual they make no sense!
BTW, BCRail was another cow to be milked continuously by the NDP until it carried an enormous debt, thereby becoming a candidate for a quick sale.
cougs79–I have to agree with you but this government is always looking for ways to pick your pocket.I think ICBC is a good thing but it is not being used for what it was meant to be. I would not want to see private insurance only.
Has to be a way to find out how much over the $560 million from 2006 they are taking from ICBC now ?? freedom of information?? lies ,lies and more lies and we just pay more, plus the hit to our transportation industry, higher cost all around. Stone really thinks we are just clueless minions and will direct our frustration at ICBC not his government…. really.
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