iStock photo
iStock photo

(By Sonia Aslam) Faced with criticism, ICBC is now asking for a 5.5 per cent increase for basic insurance rates instead of the 6.7 per cent initially requested. If the BC Utilities Commission approves it, that would mean an average increase of $3.70 a month for customers’ basic insurance coverage.

“We have worked alongside government during the last few weeks to identify strategies to help lower both this year’s rate increase and to attempt to help alleviate the expected ongoing pressure injury claims will continue to put on insurance rates in future years,” says Mark Blucher, president and CEO of ICBC.

The provincial government has already approved a $450 million transfer of capital from ICBC’s optional account to its basic account.

ICBC says the reason it’s asking for an uptick in rates is because injury claims costs are putting a lot of pressure on the insurance corporation.

“The overwhelming majority of customers make honest claims but exaggerated and fraudulent claims are an increasing issue for all insurers,” explains Blucher. “Analytics technology solutions are an emerging opportunity to help detect and further enhance investigation methods and will be a valuable asset in helping us prevent fraud.”

The number of injury claims being reported to ICBC has escalated in recent months with almost 68,000 new injury claims reported between July 2014 to June 2015, that’s roughly 7,000 more than the previous 12 months.

Meanwhile, bodily injury claims costs, which cover payouts for pain and suffering, future care and loss of wages, topped $2 billion for the first time in 2014 and are expected to hit $2.3 billion this year.