Customer savings under enhanced care plan better than projected: ICBC

Signage for ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia) is shown in Victoria, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Chad Hipolito / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

VANCOUVER -

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.