Large hike in ICBC rates needed says secret report

The report by Ernst & Young, commissioned under the previous government and leakedto the media says a massive overhaul to the Insurance Corp. of B.C. must happen immediately in order to avoid steep rate hikes forecast over the next two years.

“B.C.’s auto insurance system is facing unprecedented challenges,” says the report. “The average driver in B.C. may need to pay almost $2,000 in annual total premiums for auto insurance by 2019.”

The report points to a spike in the number of car crashes and a jump in the cost of vehicle repairs and injury claims as some of the main reasons for growing financial pressure at the Crown corporation. The government has also sheltered B.C. drivers for years from necessary rate increases, it says.

“This rate protection has eroded ICBC’s financial situation to a point where such efforts are not sustainable.”

The previous Liberal government directed the board of ICBC to commission the report last year, months before the May election.

The report suggests changes that include capping payments for pain and suffering, making high-risk drivers pay more, charging higher rates for luxury vehicles and bringing back speed cameras, commonly referred to as photo radar.