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“Things like speculative future wages you hadn’t actually earned but thought you had a chance to earn, I think that’s become disconnected from what British Columbians thought insurance was for, and what they were willing to pay for,” said Eby.

ICBC paid $435 million in future wage losses in 2019, an increase of 88 per cent since 2015. The average payment was $104,562 last year, a rise of 30 per cent since 2016, according to the corporation.

Mussio said ICBC’s cost pressures are caused by its aggressive litigation approach and changes to settlement policies. Eby said the problem appears more prevalent in B.C. than other provinces, and reflects the unacceptably high legal costs facing ICBC.

Currently, B.C. courts routinely award “loss of earning capacity” to people injured in vehicle accidents that reflects someone being less capable of earning income in the future, less marketable to future employers, less valuable in the competitive labour market and less able to take advantage of future job opportunities that might otherwise have been available without the injuries.

Under B.C.’s new no-fault auto insurance system, to begin May 2021, ICBC will pay someone roughly 90 per cent of what they were earning, up to $1,200 a week, if their injuries prevent them from working. But the amount will be linked to the job and wages at the time of the crash, with no future earning losses.

Mussio, who owns the Nanaimo Clippers junior hockey team, said if any of his players were injured in a bus crash, like the Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos team in 2018, they would receive minuscule wage coverage because they are young athletes in school and not yet earning their full potential.