"More than a little biased": ICBC claim of being among cheapest insurers in Canada being disputed

Dec 12 2022, 8:01 pm

Fresh off the heels of ICBC announcing its hope to freeze rates for the next two years, a claim made by the insurance provider that it’s among the cheapest or most affordable in Canada is being disputed.

On December 8, ICBC put out a press release essentially tooting its own horn, suggesting that, after comparing insurance rates across Canada, it emerged as one of the most affordable.

However, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says ICBC skewed the numbers in its favour and didn’t get accurate numbers from the other providers in Canada.

Aaron Sutherland is the IBC vice president, and after the ICBC release, he put out a series of tweets attempting to contextualize ICBC’s celebration of its prices.

“It’s always interesting when a monopoly like @ICBC puts out a report extolling how wonderful their monopoly is,” tweeted Sutherland to kick off the thread.

One point Sutherland notes is that in its comparison, ICBC omits Quebec, “the only no-fault province with competition and choice.”

“I wonder why?” Sutherland asks rhetorically.

The main concern from Sutherland seemed to stem from how ICBC calculated prices in other provinces.

Sutherland also said that when multiple quotes were received, they dropped the lowest and took an average of the higher prices.

“I don’t know about you, but when I shop online, I buy from the site with the lowest price for the same product.”

Sutherland also says discounts were declined.

“Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that a monopoly doesn’t know how to shop around, but it’s making their report appear more than a little biased.”

Lastly, Sutherland says the release didn’t address a fundamental question: “is no-fault working, and can BC drivers save if given a choice?”

“With ICBC spending far more on its operations than other insurers, the answer is yes. I think they know this. If not, they wouldn’t need to create reports like this.”

IBC recently reported that accidents were up and payouts were down since ICBC introduced the no-fault model.

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