ICBC Applies to Boost Rates
Prince George, B.C.- ICBC is filing an application to increase its basic rates by 4.9%.
The insurance corporation says the hike is needed to cover what it says are “accelerating” costs, from increases in the number of crashes, the number of claims being filed, and the cost of settling those claims.
According to ICBC, the number of crashes across B.C. jumped from 260,000 in 2013 to 300,000 in 2015, an increase of 15%. The Insurance Corporation also cites higher costs to repair vehicles , increased numbers of people being injured in crashes and increased injury claims.
“We certainly don’t like to have to ask our customers to pay more but these external pressures are very real and they have created a perfect storm which we are struggling to hold off,” said Mark Blucher, ICBC’s president and CEO. “We’ve worked hard to get this rate increase lower than last year’s (5.5%) but the amount of basic premiums we collect will still not cover the increasing amount we’re paying out in basic claims costs.”
If approved, the increase will add about $3.50 a month to the average basic insurance coverage.
Comments
Hell why not? Every other level of government has taken their pound of flesh.
Glad you are not surprised, BC Hydro and now ICBC are hiking their rates, but don’t ever call this the equivalent to the Province raising our taxes… even thought it is the Provincial Government that is transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from these two public corps into the government’s general revenue account.
As if having an illegal monopoly like that wasn’t enough. I hate ICBC with every fiber of my being.
ICBC Applies to Boost Rates
Of course they do! That’s nothing new for ICBC!
Far too many top level executives being paid far too much money! You will note that I stated “being paid” rather than “earning” because I don’t believe that very many at ICBC, pretty much from the top levels to the bottom levels, actually “earn” what they are paid!
I could probably say the same and evidence supports it, for BC Hydro!
Well what a shock… The liberals keep taking money from icbc to spends elsewhere then claims icbc is broke. I think it was 2-3 yrs ago the took 900 million from icbc and since then icbc rates keep increasing. What a crock.
They have never taken 900 million from ICBC in any year
900 million . Wasn’t that right before the last provincial election ?
Hart Guy has it right. ICBC and BC Hydro have many, many, people on the payroll that are not much more than window dressing, however they get paid great salaries, and have great benefits. Every Government department and entity have these people on the payroll. This needs to change.
ICBC’s 2015 financial report. For all the facts. ht tp://www.icbc.com/about-icbc/company-info/Documents/annual-report-2015/ar-15.pdf
Again? Why not go after all the morons that cause these problems? Because it’s the Christy Clark way.
Top 7 executives at ICBC get paid over $2 Million per year in total. CEO gets $334,125.00 and lowest of the seven gets $250,183.00 in 2015.
ICBC has $13,946,347.00 in investments. My guess is that earnings on investments probably go to the Provincial Government, rather than going to reduce premiums.
In any event someone who is more familiar with financial reports can dig out the info if they want it.
As far as I am concerned there is no need for further increases to insurance rates. What they need to do is reduce their costs.
Add three more zeros to the investments, they underwrite losses in premiums by earnings on investments.
Please remember all the increases and other BS the Lib’s have shoved down our throats over the years next May during the election.
Didn’t Chrispy tell us that BC has the lowest income taxes in Canada?
“We’ve worked hard to get this rate increase lower than last year’s (5.5%)” Uhm no, working hard would be announcing no increase at all. Us plebes simply call this status quo from ICBC.
From the latest ICBC stats (2014), there were 3.3 million active insurance polices in BC. An extra $3.50 per month per policy (average) is an extra $138 million in the pot. The Liberals must be licking their chops.
PVal “I think it was 2-3 yrs ago they took 900 million from icbc”
You’re kind of right. They call it the Excess Optional Capital Transfer to the Province of B.C. (private companies call that a dividend). It’s been 768 million since 2011. So not quite 900 million in 3 years, but still, a significant chunk of change.
It’s a tax by any other name. If ICBC didn’t make the transfer, then either the government would have run a higher deficit, or, a lower surplus, or, raised taxes, fees elsewhere.
But it’s also a regressive tax, in as much as people have to buy insurance from ICBC, and the insurance rates are set irregardless of income. So this extra $3.50 a month means more to a low income senior/worker than it does someone working at the pulp mill. If the government didn’t take the dividend, it wouldn’t have had to “tax” these low income people via ICBC.
Note they don’t say anything about optional coverage – that’s because they have competition in that area.
I notice JGalt has been silent. She/he’s been quick to jump on the Liberals for all the good news stories of late, but absent when a bad news story is released before the election. Hope he/she’s okay.
Ooops, see my comment near the top of this discussion thread, I posted it and then read your’s… good comment by the way ;-)
ICBC was instituted by the Dave Barrett NDP’s in 1973. Another reason not to vote NDP.
@ detoe44; ICBC has been a cash cow for the BC Liberals over these past 16 years, they have been using it like a bank but only to withdraw money from it! LOL, your comment makes no sense.
PeopleBeingSophicJGaltFirst, my comment was suppose to be a reply to your post below about “sheeple” & who to vote for in the upcoming election, much like your posts before the last election that prematurely trumpeted an NDP victory. You seem to jump all over anything that the Liberals do, good or bad, yet seem to overlook any similar NDP practices,as Ski51 pointed out as to the NDP using ICBC as a cash cow as well? So my comment makes perfect sense as ICBC was/is an NDP creation.
It’s interesting that people quote ICBC as having 16.7 billion in assets, but they also have 13.5 billion in liabilities. Their equity is only 3.1 billion. Sounds like a lot,but their provision for unpaid claims is 9 billion – that’s what they think they’ll have to pay, if they’re wrong by a third, ICBC has no equity at all. Suddenly that 768 million capital transfer matters. I think it’s time the government quit milking this particular cash cow.
Pay for insurance, have an accident, pay to use your insurance! A big pile of BS!!!😡
My word!!! Reading most of these comments, I do believe some sheeple are starting to wake up!
Now just remember issues like this ICBC rate hike, and BC Hydro’s rate hikes, in ten (10) months, when you walk into those Prince George and region polling stations.
Thing is, NDP did it too. They also used ICBC and Hydro as cash cows. So this particular problem won’t be solved by an NDP government. My Dad was found of saying, when you go to the polls, it’s not a question of whether or not you’re going to be screwed, it’s just a choice of whose going to do it, and if they’ll give you a cuddle after they’re done.
Really? Can you post a source as proof? Besides, even if the NDP dipped into ICBC profits for a couple million, nothing comes close to the nearly $1 Billion dollars the BC Liberals have transferred out of that Public Corporation. Cash cow indeed!
I have only the basic insurance through ICBC, the rest I have privately. It is comparable in price and there is a better chance that the private insurance company will go to bat for you in your time of need, as opposed to ICBC finding 50/50 fault.
You can also save on other insurance if you stay with one insurance agency, ie, if you have a membership, home insurance, multiple cars insured, etc.
Don’t forget, we are subsidizing all other drivers in the province and their bad driving skills.
I get a 43% discount on my insurance, and that helps a lot, but I think it could be better. Maybe more incentives for good drivers and hammer the bad ones even more.
Bingo. Crank the rates for bad drivers and leave those of us with 43% discounts alone. We’re not the problem.
The big monetary contributors to political parties seem to get the best cuddles after their party wins.
This Vancouver Sun news article was from two (2) years ago, nothing has changed it would seem!
.vancouversun.com/business/Government+grabbing+cash+from+ICBC+Hydro+they+raise+rates+charges/9527548/story.html
LOL, copied and pasted the above Vancouver Sun link and got some kids video story. From now on I will use another way of posting reference links that support my comments, particularly when those original, rather lengthy, links post outside the comment box area as it did above.
Here is the same referenced link to the Vancouver Sun news story:
ht tp://tinyurl.com/jd6k7zo
4.9 per cent why not 5. sounds like we are buying gas. I could just see the crying if someone now asked for a 4.9 per cent wage increase. Anyone out there now think the min wage should be increased? Many young drivers now can not afford vehicle insurance.
So why doesn’t the BC Liberals operate ICBC the same way they operate our Public Education system?
Why doesn’t the BC Liberals say no to rate increases and tell ICBC executives they will have to do more with less….just like they tell school boards across the Province that they have to balance budgets with less money…… Didn’t they tell school boards across the Province to pick the low hanging fruit?…… ICBC Executive bonuses and the BC Liberals using British Columbia ICBC rate payers as their own piggy bank seems like pretty low hanging fruit to me.
Instead every time ICBC executives whine they need rates to go up, the BC Liberals grant the wish and the executive bonuses continue to be paid out.
The BC Liberals clearly have their priorities wrong.
The BC Liberals have to go. This government is the most corrupt that we have ever had in this province. I just hope the people of this province will wake up and have them removed in the next election and I do not care who you vote for as long as it is not CC and her crew.
While agree with the emotions oldman1, that is the wrong approach. Voting for “anybody” but the Liberals will split the vote and guarantee them another win.
They are counting on that.
Comments for this article are closed.