ICBC withdraws rate-restructuring proposal
By Nelson Daily Staff
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has withdrawn its rate-restructuring proposal to raise insurance rates of drivers who get a speeding ticket or other moving violations.
The move followed a meeting Monday with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Shirley Bond, who stated that ICBC has been instructed to ensure it applies a test of, “being reasonable – and a hike in premiums for a single speeding ticket is not reasonable.”
“While the principles of a rate structure that differentiates between good drivers and bad drivers is worth considering, I’ve directed ICBC to go back to the drawing board and rethink the options,” said Bond. “My job is to make sure that I’m looking after what’s best for B.C. families.”
“We didn’t do a good enough job of communicating with the public or with government about the changes we were considering, and we apologize for the concern this caused,” said Jon Schubert, ICBC’s president and CEO. “We’re going to take a step back and rethink the options for a reasonable way to share risk, and we’ll do a much better job of gathering public input.”
ICBC will undertake a province wide consultation to solicit input on a range of options. The consultation will encourage British Columbians to provide input through a range of tools such as stakeholder meetings, open houses and online feedback.
Details on where and how customers can provide feedback will be announced in the coming weeks.
“It is really important for us to get this right for our customers,” said Schubert. “I want to assure customers that we will not recommend any changes without much broader consultation.”
