Victoria, British Columbia — A Liberal government in British Columbia would open up the auto insurance market to competition from private businesses and end the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s (ICBC) monopoly, the political party said in a Tuesday statement.
Aaron Sutherland, vice president Pacific for IBC said the B.C. Liberals’ decision to open the province’s vehicle damage market to full competition would see the province swap to a no-fault system in May 2021. The system, he said, would be “remarkably similar to that of Quebec, a province where injury coverages are provided by the government insurer and vehicle damage coverages are provided by private insurers.”
Under the Quebec model, drivers pay an average of $717 per year or $59.75 per month—the lowest automotive insurance rates in Canada, said IBC, and less than half of the $1,500 average premium ICBC projects under its own no-fault insurance system.
This is the third time IBC has targeted B.C.’s public insurer in recent months. IBC previously criticized ICBC in late July and early September, calling the insurer a “burden to taxpayers” in the September statement.
One Response
This article does not indicate where the funding comes from for the no-fault injury program? Is it added on to the auto rates or paid through provincial taxes?