No more lawyers will be involved in crash claims with ICBC starting next year, according to the province.
The B.C. government says people involved in crashes can only sue the driver at fault if that driver is convicted of a driving offense, or if the vehicle that is at fault is found to be faulty.
The major change to the system has been announced today, which will start on May 1, 2021 if it’s approved in the Legislature this spring.
“You shouldn’t need a lawyer to access the benefits you’ve paid for,” said Attorney General David Eby. “By removing expensive lawyers and legal fees from the system, we are making ICBC work for British Columbians again with more affordable insurance rates and much better coverage.”
There are currently about 90,000 claims that will be dealt under the old, litigated system. It will take four to seven years to deal with backed-up claims.
The government says this move will lower costs at ICBC by $1.5 billion per year, and it says care and treatment benefits will rise from at least $300,000 to at least $7.5 million.
It says the lower costs will mean that drivers will save $400 a year, on average, on their insurance costs.
“It’s time for change at ICBC,” said Premier John Horgan.
“The old government ignored ICBC’s problems, allowing it to become a system that made lawyers rich, while drivers paid too much for insurance. We’re going to transform ICBC to lower rates for B.C. drivers.”
Settlement amounts will be based on entitlement, by severity of injuries, income and other factors. If drivers have a dispute about their crash settlement, they can go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, the B.C. Ombudsperson, or the soon-to-appointed Fairness Officer if they have a complaint, but can’t directly sue ICBC.
Meanwhile, the government has also announced that for this coming fiscal year, there will be a zero per cent rate change at ICBC for the first time since 2011. It says under the current insurance system, rates would have to go up by 36 per cent in the next five years to keep up with costs at ICBC.
The government says ICBC expects to pay $700 million in legal costs this year, and would pay $960 million in 2022 if the system stays the same.
There are 90,000 open crash claims worth $10 billion, which the province says will still take five-to-six years to settle. The government also says drivers have up to May 1, 2023 to file a crash claim under the current system, as long as the crash happened before May 1, 2021.
Meanwhile, BC’s former Transportation Minister says there is trust gap between British Columbians and the NDP government when it comes to ICBC.
Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone says the NDP promised on numerous occasions to not bring in a no-fault insurance model, but says they’ve now broken that promise.
“As part of doing that they are abolishing the right of British Columbians to pursue compensation for pain and suffering,” he said. “The NDP through this scheme that they’ve announced are saying to British Columbians that they want you to deal with ICBC for the rest of your life if you have any kind of a significant injury.”
Stone says the Liberals will have questions about the changes when the Legislature resumes next week.
“You know everything that has been tried with ICBC has failed to this point and we’re being asked to trust ICBC which has demonstrated clearly over the years that they certainly don’t have the best interest of British Columbians at heart,” he added.
And he thinks ICBC will be a huge election issue, adding that the previous Liberal government had also promised to not bring in no-fault insurance while they were in power.
“A high degree of skepticism that this is truly going to prove out as its being advertised,” Stone said.
“We will continue to hammer away at our belief that motorists deserve lower insurance rates today not two years from now after an election campaign, and that British Columbians deserve choice in auto insurance which is available to residents in several other provinces.”
The Law Society of British Columbia says the changes will have significant effects on the compensation of victims of damages arising from motor vehicle accidents. Society President Craig Ferris says they will be taking a closer look at what is being proposed by the government.
– With files from Victor Kaisar
