Victoria, British Columbia — A report by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) alleges that injury claims paid out by Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) are falling more than in previous years, despite a trending increase in the number of accidents.
ICBC has rebuked this claim as misinformation, with IBC saying that these claims were based on ICBC financial reports.
In an interview with the Daily Hive, Aaron Sutherland, vice president at IBC said “the reduction in care and recovery benefits illustrates the painful truth about ICBC’s no-fault model, and those injured are suffering the consequences.”
ICBC’s Enhanced Care operates using a no-fault plan, meaning that anyone involved in a crash could theoretically receive benefits for injuries and wage losses after a crash.
Since the adoption of Enhanced Care, ICBC’s Injury claim payouts in 2021/22 fell to $1.482 billion, according to ICBC’s 2021/22 Annual Service Plan Report.
Prior to the policy shift, ICBC paid $2.11 billion in 2020/21 and $3.498 billion in 2018/19.
Warnett Hallen LLP, a B.C. law firm, claims that the shift to no-fault plans may have saved ICBC around $1.5 billion in legal expenses and fees.
