A BC woman went head to head against ICBC in a tribunal hearing, claiming it incorrectly placed her at fault for damaging her vehicle during the atmospheric river of November 2021.
The incident was classified as a collision, and the woman wanted it removed from her insurance as well as reimbursement for her $500 deductible.
ICBC claims it accurately classified the incident involving Michelle Kovacs and denied that she was entitled to reimbursement.
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The tribunal had to figure out whether Kovacs acted in a way that caused the damage that led to the collision claim.
On November 16, 2021, Kovacs said she was driving on 208th Street near 96th Avenue in Langley, BC. She noticed the road in front of her was flooded and said she stopped her vehicle and kept it running before driving into the water on the road.
Several large commercial trucks passed by her and caused waves of water to hit her vehicle, causing her engine and interior to flood.
The tribunal states, “She says her engine cut out, and when she tried to restart it, it would not run.”
Her vehicle was towed home, and it is undisputed that the problems impacting her car were caused by water damage.
ICBC had determined her vehicle was not worth repairing and wrote it off, and Kovacs paid a $500 deductible.
Kovacs added that ICBC improperly classified it as a collision claim when it should’ve been a claim under her comprehensive insurance, meaning that she would have at least paid $300, which is the comprehensive claim deductible as per her policy.
ICBC claims it was a collision because she collided with the body of water by driving into it.
“Kovacs stated there was some flooding on the road, but it ‘did not look deep’ as other vehicles and a cyclist went through ahead of her. She stated ‘when I went to drive through my car seized up and died’, and that her car ‘started to flood on the inside’ so she gathered her belongings and waited for a tow truck.”
The tribunal agreed that Kovacs drove into the flooded road, causing her engine to seize, which forced her to get stuck.
An expert added that based on a tow truck photo, Kovacs drove 80 metres through the flooded road and ultimately, the tribunal sided with ICBC.