ICBC announces "redesign" of its collision, glass repair programs

ICBC has announced a redesign of its pre-existing collision and glass repair programs, with the aim of saving money and improving accountability.

The announcement was made on Monday morning by the Ministry of Attorney General. According to a statement, the new programs are expected to “generate savings for ICBC and promote high-performing shops to serve drivers better.”

The redesign is said to include a number of new features, including a ranking system, a “strengthened governance model,” and updating equipment and training requirements. The provincial government also notes that the redesign comes after “more than a year of consultation with the industry,” including over 30 sessions with both collision shops and glass repair shops in BC.

Ranking collision and glass repair shops

Once both programs are fully implemented, the Ministry of Attorney General says that “repair shops will be ranked by performance based on various metrics.”

The ranking will be located on the ICBC website where users locate various repair shops across British Columbia. This, in turn, will hopefully aid drivers in making more informed decisions, while “encouraging shops to be top performers.”

“After consulting with industry leaders, the redesign of the collision and glass repair programs will improve transparency and accountability of repair shops for drivers who get into accidents and need to choose which repair shop they go to,” says David Eby, Attorney General in a written statement. “By publicly ranking the repair shops by performance, where repair shops strive to be the top performers, we expect that this will help curb some of the rising claims costs and pressures that ICBC is facing.”

Improving conduct within repair shops

The redesigned programs are said to also contain key elements that will improve how shops operate.

Some factors include implementing “random and targeted reviews” which will “help reduce when shops have charged for repairs inappropriately,” as well as decrease “drop-in visits with shops exhibiting deteriorating performance.”

The ministry also says that an update will also be made to equipment and training requirements, and implementing a “quality-assessment measure of the shop’s ability to provide a fair and accurate estimate.”

Another small change is encouraging shops to choose glass repair over glass replacement when appropriate, as another means of “increasing savings for ICBC ratepayers.”

New programs to take effect this winter

The new collision programs are scheduled to take effect over the next two months. ICBC’s collision program will take effect on February 3, 2020, while the glass program will take effect on March 2, 2020.

Approximately 1,000 collision and glass repair shops will be included in the new program. The provincial government notes, however, that rankings will only be made available after “significant data is collected.”