Customer savings under enhanced care plan better than projected: ICBC
ICBC customers renewing their personal auto insurance under the Crown-run auto insurer's enhanced care plan are saving more than the average of $400 originally projected when the new system was first announced in February of last year.
In a news release Thursday, ICBC said customers renewed more than 1.3 million personal insurance policies under its enhanced care program – also known as no-fault insurance – between May 1 and Aug. 31, 2021. During that time, customers saw an average of $496, or about 28 per cent, in savings compared to last year's premiums.
"While these savings reflect just the first four months of enhanced care and may vary over the coming months, ICBC anticipates the majority of customers will continue to save more than $400 on average when they renew their full ICBC coverage," said ICBC media relations advisor Brent Shearer in the release.
How much money customers can save through the enhanced care model depends on a number of factors, which include whether they purchase both basic and optional ICBC coverage, their driving experience and crash history, where they live and how they use their vehicle, ICBC said.
For example, an 18-year-old in West Kelowna with a novice licence driving a 2014 Hyundai Elantra could expect to pay approximately $2,379 annually under the enhanced care program.
Meantime, that rate goes down significantly for someone who has more driving experience.
A 42-year-old in Abbotsford driving a 2017 Ford F150 SuperCrew with 26 years of driving experience and no crashes could expect to pay about $1,517 annually, ICBC said.
"When B.C.'s auto insurance system transitioned to enhanced care, millions of customers also became eligible for a one-time, pro-rated refund for the portion of their existing policy that extended past May 1," Shearer said.
Since then, ICBC has processed 3.6 million enhanced care refunds averaging $150 per customer, for a total of approximately $594 million.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.