ICBC gets green light to hike insurance rates by 6.3%

Insurance rates at ICBC are on the rise once again.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has given the green light to ICBC’s application for an increase in basic insurance rates.

Basic rates will increase by 6.3% on an interim basis for all new and renewal policies with an effective date on or after April 1, 2019.

According to the ICBC, this latest approval is “consistent with past applications” and will “lessen the depletion of ICBC’s already low basic insurance capital while the BCUC reviews the full application.”

The BCUC is also conducting a review on the application and allowing for the public to participate through requesting intervener status, submitting their comments or registering as an interested party.

At the end of this process, which is likely to run through spring 2019, the BCUC will reach a final decision on ICBC’s basic rate application.

Any difference between the approved interim rate and the permanent rate will be refunded or collected, at the time.

Last December, BC Attorney General David Eby explained that the increase of 6.3% could have been much worse, had his government not stepped in.

In fact, he commented that the increase could have been by almost 40%.

“Our government has taken on the difficult work of fixing the problems left behind at ICBC,” Eby said. He also stated that the previous government “not only ignored the warning, they hid the solutions from the public.”

Eby likened the financial situation at the Crown Corporation to a dumpster fire, saying it was struggling with horrific mismanagement and debt.

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