Political scientist wouldn't be surprised to see even higher premiums for high-risk, bad drivers

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Get ready for changes to ICBC. The province is set to announce its plans to overhaul how it calculates your insurance premiums.

Attorney General David Eby has already given some indication of what we can expect in the new legislation.

“A limit on pain and suffering awards for minor injuries. It is going to ensure that disputes under $50,000 don’t go to B.C. Supreme Court, which is very expensive,” he said in April.

But Eby has already ruled out switching to a no-fault insurance system, saying B.C. drivers have the right to go to court over car accidents. Earlier this year, he called problems at ICBC a “financial dumpster fire,” prompting rate hikes to help recover losses of more than a billion dollars.

Political scientist Hamish Telford wouldn’t be surprised to see even higher premiums for high-risk and bad drivers — something Eby asked for back in May.

“That’s how private insurance is done in other jurisdictions and I think that’s something that might be on the table here, as well.”

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Telford said the ICBC file is likely a “no-win” situation for the BC NDP government. “I think at this point in time, they cannot blame the Liberals for creating this mess… They have to present solutions, going forward. That’s what the public expects of a new government.”

But he pointed out solutions aren’t easy to create and implement.

“It’ll be difficult to put the company back onto a solid financial footing without people having to pay more. And that will make people angry at the government. So, it’s obviously been a very difficult file to manage for both governments, for quite some time.”

He said while the NDP may continue to point fingers at the Liberals, “I don’t think the public is going to put much stock in that answer anymore… You ran to be government, you formed government — and because you said you would be better than the last guys, we expect you to fix the mess.”

Telford is a bit surprised the announcement is coming on a Thursday, “rather than a Friday afternoon, when people are heading off for the weekend. It’s not a ‘duck and cover’ move by the government. They are to be commended for that, at least.”

ICBC faces a forecasted deficit of $1.3 billion.

– With files from Jonathan Szekeres and the Canadian Press