Buried in Wednesday’s announcement of speed limits going up on some of British Columbia’s highways was an important statistic showing the number of serious crashes on provincial highways has decreased by 28 per cent since 2003.
ICBC rates over that same period have climbed significantly with mandatory basic coverage going up by almost 26 per cent.
That has some critics wondering why insurance rates have continued to rise.
In response, ICBC has issued a statement to Global News saying its rates are driven by the cost of claims, which are increasing every year, particularly our injury claims costs.
Meanwhile, ICBC is forecast to hand over $480 million to the provincial government as general revenue over the next three years.
“ICBC is being used as cash cow by the government,” says NDP finance critic Mike Farnworth. “We see it in budget after budget. We also see requests for rate increases each year.”
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