ICBC launches tool to show drivers their savings under new insurance system

ICBC has launched an online tool to show drivers how their insurance rates will change once the province's new no-fault insurance system launches in the spring.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, minister in charge of ICBC, said the tool is available Tuesday. It allows drivers to look up the difference between their current coverage and incoming enhanced care model.

The amount is dependent on the customer's renewal date and how much of their current policy is left after the new system arrives May 1.

The province claims premiums will drop by as much as 20 per cent — an average of $400 per year for a single driver — after the insurer moves to the radically overhauled system, which is designed to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees every year to help people who are hurt in car crashes. 

In the months since the pandemic slowed daily life in B.C., the insurance corporation has saved money as there are fewer drivers on the road getting into fewer crashes and filing fewer claims. One of the NDP's campaign promises last fall was to pass those profits directly on to drivers in the form of a rebate.

"You will be hearing about the COVID rebate very soon. As I said, I've had some options before me. There's a tricky board, cabinet process, but it will be coming very soon," said Farnworth.