Higher premiums to hit BC drivers

You are here:
Home
News

Higher premiums to hit BC drivers

ICBC seeks rate hike as claims rise, economy plummets.

The Canadian Press on November 29, 2011

A skidding global economy and out-of-control claims have hit the bottom line at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) and that means higher rates down the road.

British Columbia drivers are being warned their wallets will endure the biggest impact as ICBC seeks a rate hike, the first since 2007, boosting the average premium by as much as $30.

ICBC’s president Jon Schubert says the corporation’s net income for the first nine months of 2011 was $52 million, down from $331 million last year.

Claims costs rose to $2.47 billion, an increase of $200 million compared to the first nine months of 2010, and Schubert blames bodily injury claims for most of the hike.

Current worldwide economic conditions have also cut into ICBC’s investment income returns, with $341 million received this year, down $38 million over the same period last year.

Schubert says specific details on changes to insurance rates will be revealed when ICBC files an application with the BC Utilities Commission in the next few days.