There sure are lots of great drivers out on B.C.’s roads these days.
What else is there to conclude from ICBC’s numbers? The public insurance provider has 3.3 million customers, and 2.6 million (80 per cent) of them enjoy top rate discounts of 43 per cent.
That number could change soon, as the B.C. government looks to pull ICBC out of what’s been called a “dumpster fire” financial situation.
Coverage of ICBC on Globalnews.ca:
Drivers can currently enjoy up to three free passes on at-fault claims without ever hiking their premiums.
ICBC has said that its rate scale is out of date.
“It doesn’t adequately reflect the level of risk that different drivers present,” said B.C. Attorney General David Eby.
“So the question is, where do we draw the line on rebalancing that?”
READ MORE: B.C. attorney general pledges to fix ICBC ‘dumpster fire’
Suggested changes from ICBC could see as many as two-thirds paying less in basic insurance premiums and one-third seeing higher rates.
That could mean an immediate shift for as many as 462,000 customers.
“They’re just moving the goalposts,” said Kris Sims, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), an organization that has suggested turning ICBC into a Vancity credit union-style co-op that would be owned by policy holders.
“What determines what is and is not a bad driver?”
ICBC’s Rate Fairness survey suggested making it easier for drivers to lose the discount over longer periods of time, and even eliminate the option to pay ICBC back for damage costs, in order to avoid increases to premiums.
The insurance provider already has the highest average basic rate in Canada, and that’s with all but 20 per cent of drivers enjoying a full discount.
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