The B.C. government is grabbing the bull by the horns to keep ICBC from collapsing. Going head-to-head with the lawyers, Attorney General David Eby said Tuesday he is bringing in a list of changes to auto insurance in the province, to limit payouts and stem the flow of red ink at the corporation.
With ICBC facing a $1.3-billion loss by the end of the fiscal year, something had to be done to save it without hitting drivers with massive premium increases. Eby and other members of the NDP have been blaming the recently departed B.C. Liberal government for ducking the difficult decisions, but they can take no joy in saying: “I told you so.” Any fixes they suggest are going to make some people angry.
The changes include putting a $5,500 cap on pain and suffering payouts for people who suffer minor injuries in a crash, and doubling the medical care and recovery allowance available to anyone seriously injured in a crash to $300,000. Compensation for lost wages will increase to $740 a week. People with minor injuries will still get medical treatment and compensation for time off work.
Lawyers say the cap is arbitrary and unfair.
“We’re making it cheaper for drunk drivers to injure other drivers,” said Paul Pearson, a defence lawyer
It will take some work to create a useful definition of minor injuries, but with minor-injury claims now accounting for 60 per cent of injury claims (compared with 30 per cent in 2000), the current situation can’t be sustained.
The reforms should help restore the corporation’s finances, but it will take time to discover what they mean for people who are injured.
