The Benefits of ICBC Coverage
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) is a great corporation – one of the best insurance companies in Canada. And we own it!
As members of the Trial Lawyers of British Columbia, we fight for your rights for coverage and protection with ICBC, but at the end of the day, we need to be cognizant of the fact that ICBC offers a lot when you approach a claim correctly.
That is where we at Chouinard and Company step in, to assist people in making claims in a timely and correct fashion.
ICBC offers different levels of coverage. We recommend you take into consideration who and how many people ride with you when you drive. For most people, $5 million Third Party coverage is not that much more expensive than $1 million or $2 million coverage. You should explore these options when you renew your insurance with them.
The minimum coverage under any plan in BC is $200,000 – we do not recommend buying just minimum coverage in any circumstance.
We also recommend you look at increasing your UMP coverage (Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Protection). Often, getting an extra $1 million coverage may cost you as little as $27 per year.
At the end of the day, you want to make sure you have enough coverage for you and your family, should you be in an auto collision, even if it is your own fault. People make mistakes, that is why we buy insurance.
So far, getting reasonable coverage at reasonable rates has been the norm in BC.
Here are some basic facts about the cost of auto insurance in BC, compared to other provinces, which have either private insurers or worse basic coverage than we have in our Province:
| Province | Auto Insurance Costs, year ending 31 March 2015 |
| British Columbia | $1,717.00 |
| Alberta | $2,897.00 |
| Saskatchewan | $1,163.00 |
| Manitoba | $1,211.00 |
| Ontario | $5,567.00 |
| Quebec | $1,364.00 |
| New Brunswick | $1,849.00 |
| Nova Scotia | $1,887.00 |
| Prince Edward Island | $1,937.00 |
| Newfoundland | $1,933.00 |
| Average | $2,153.00 |
* Source: Deloitte Rate Increase Application for MPIC 2016.
The above table shows that our insurance rates remain reasonable, in no small part because we British Columbians own the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
Let’s make sure we keep it that way.
Andreas Kuntze
Chouinard and Company
Trial Lawyer
Member: Trial Lawyers of British Columbia
Member: Law Society of British Columbia