Re: “Car insurance without all the drama,” column, Jan. 31.
We get what we pay for. It’s simple and not dramatic. If we want good insurance coverage that we can rely upon when things go wrong, we have to pay commensurate premiums.
We could quickly and easily bring ICBC’s balance sheet into line by reducing coverage, but if we do that, what would we be buying with the premiums we pay? Would we be buying insurance or really just paying a tax to drive?
Just because some other provinces have elected to curtail insurance coverage to keep premiums low does not mean that is the obvious way for this province to go.
If my house gets burned down and my insurance pays only the cost of rebuilding half of my house, I would have certainly enjoyed low premiums. I wouldn’t, however, consider myself particularly well insured.
In Ontario, there is a $30,000 deductible for injured motorists and they still pay the highest premiums in the country. Wow! And it is British Columbia motorists who are concerned.
ICBC came to be as a result of an NDP government’s desire to socialize car insurance. While getting “in” is inevitably easier than getting “out,” I suggest trying to get our provincial government “out” of the insurance business.
The private insurance industry is suited, in a way the government is not, to provide drivers with some options. Some drivers might opt for cheap and minimal coverage and some might want to go for something more expensive because they want to know they are well covered. That’s insurance.
Roxanne P. Helme, QC
Victoria
