With a cell phone in every pocket, distracted driving accidents are on the rise and innocent people are getting hurt in more rear-end collisions than ever before. With more injuries comes more insurance claims, and ICBC is struggling to keep up with demand. The BC Government made matters worse when they expropriated $1.3 billion in ICBC surpluses over recent years. Now that ICBC is in trouble, they’re scrambling for a solution.
How does ICBC and the BC Government propose to solve this funding problem? Increased premiums and deductibles for bad drivers? Accident prevention strategies? Better corporate management at ICBC? No, no and no.
The solution being tabled? Just don’t pay. Cap the damages that would otherwise be owed to victims. Let bad drivers off the hook.
The BC Government is proposing to cap the damages payable by negligent drivers arbitrarily, without regard to the victim’s actual injuries or losses. They are asking victims to absorb the cost so that negligent drivers don’t have to pay for the damage they cause. The proposal would ignore the pain, anxiety, sleepless nights and reduced quality of life that often comes with being the victim of a motor vehicle accident.
In a press release published January 28, 2018 ICBC explained that “older claim…which were initially presented as minor injury claims have since emerged as more complex and costly, large loss claims.” In other words ICBC initially assessed these claims as minor, but their assessment was wrong or, at best, incomplete. These injuries turned out to be more “complex and costly” than originally thought. Rather than work to improve their initial assessment processes and look for ways to resolve claims more efficiently, ICBC’s proposal is to simply not pay.
This is unacceptable. There are better ways to keep premiums reasonable and to make our roads safe for all users. Now is the time to speak up and voice your opposition to this proposal.
Say no to caps.
Learn more and sign the petition at www.roadbc.ca and join the community on facebook: www.facebook.com/ROADforBC. Contact your MLA and make your voice heard.