ICBC proposes no insurance hikes for two years

By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle

The province recently announced on Dec. 12 that ICBC filed an application to freeze basic car insurance rates for another two years. If successful, the result would be five years with no increases in the province.

This announcement comes two weeks after ICBC reported a $625 million decline in its bottom line leading to criticism of the NDP insisting they cannot afford a two-year rate freeze.

Kevin Falcon, leader of the BC United party, opposes the plan, but Falcon himself has been heavily criticized for increasing rates 11.2 per cent, and taking half a billion dollars from the public car insurance company which he still defends, when he served as Finance Minister from 2011-2012.

This rate pause follows the introduction of Enhanced Care in May 2021, a new auto insurance model focused on stabilizing rates in the province, and has resulted in more affordable insurance for British Columbians.
According to a report by Ernst & Young, auto insurance rates in BC have gone from some of the most expensive in Canada to being among the most affordable.

Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General said, “a key priority with Enhanced Care was to make insurance rates more affordable and to keep them that way, and this rate application continues to deliver on that.”

Farnworth highlighted that the government was moving to freeze the rates during this time of rising inflation. Eby echoed this affordability sentiment saying: “Holding firm on ICBC’s basic insurance rate for two more years will help millions of drivers with their monthly bills amid global inflation.”

Premier David Eby’s government has been criticized for not delivering on affordability and inflation, making the insurance rate freeze a win for the government while perhaps appearing for others as simply a win in optics.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has the task of approving or rejecting the application to freeze rates, but ultimately that decision can be vetoed by the sitting government who initiated the application.