I HATE ICBC

No Really? DUH!!

As you know by know, I hate ICBC, I Fuc*&% HATE ICBC.

There are many, many reasons - chief among them, though, is that spending the equivalent of a mortgage payment a year to insure our car galls the hell out of me. Thank God and safe driving premiums I’ve managed to stay accident-free. Without such, we’d pay twice that.

This week, the snake-oil salesmen have been shilling ICBC’s latest cash-grab - the $25 top up to add sanctioned drivers to a vehicle insured in your name.

So single car families – that’d be The DeMones of White Rock, B.C. – who will see Momma, Poppa and Baby Bear sharing the wheel, will now pay more to ICBC for exactly the same privilege we’ve enjoyed until now.

I understand we will be blessed with the peace of mind of third party coverage in the event one of those named on the insurance is driving at the time of at at-fault accident. Ah, such bliss…

I am all for whatever fair moves ICBC can make to ease the cost of insurance for safe drivers. Bad drivers should pay more - and often do. But that seldom filters back to lower premiums for good drivers.

ICBC, like most bloated bureaucracies propped up by government-sanctioned monopoly, just finds more ways to retain the excesses they fleece from us. Like they need to have ’sufficient reserves’ - and better double-talk to justify additional charges, fees or fines.

Like this week, when one hack preached how the $25 additional driver fee does indeed equate to lower fees for good drivers because it means ICBC won’t have to raise rates for good drivers.

Now there’s twisted logic for you. We’ll charge you more so we don’t have to charge you more.

I say heap it all on the bad drivers.

Feb. 16 of 2007, I passed a mini van which was moving at glacial speed. Double line, and exceeded the posted limit. The ticket was just shy of $300.

Last week, I got a notice from ICBC that my heinous transgression had earned me three points for each infraction. To a total of six. Which is more than four. Which is the number ICBC allows as grace each year before tarring us as bad drivers.

So I am a bad driver. My name is Rob, and I speed. Or sped.

It cost me another $300 to clear my good name.

Passing that glacial mini van really cost me $600.

I’m not complaining one whit. I deserved it. I like to think I’m a better driver.

But did you good drivers out there get a break as a result? Did my wife, the primary driver of our only car, get a break on her premiums?

Nope and nope.

ICBC, of course, says that’s because all these fees, fines and charges are permutations concocted, devised and otherwise contorted to ensure fairness for all drivers from Yak to Agassiz to Barriere and beyond.

Can’t expect honesty. Can’t expect that snake-oil salesmen to just say ‘Hey, we need to show a 9% bump in bottom line profits for 2009, and rather than work harder or smarter, we’re just going to charge you all $25 more. Sign here…’

I want that job - better still, I want the ICBC talking head on my side when I negotiate my contract.

A Langley family is angry they’re out a car and thousands of dollars in insurance after the Insurance Corporation of B.C. sold their car without their consent.

Brendan Lillies, 19, wanted to fix his 1992 Acura Integra after it was rear-ended — but ICBC sold the car for scrap, and despite a four-month protracted dispute, still hasn’t settled with the family.

“[A reasonable person] would go to the police and report the car stolen,” said Brendan’s dad, Charlie Lillies.

After being contacted by CTV News, ICBC apologized to the family.

“In this case we made an error,” said ICBC’s Adam Grossman. “We acknowledge it and we’re doing everything we can to make that up with the customer.”

In the accident, Brendan was hit from behind and then pushed into a car in front of him. The at-fault driver fled — and ICBC assigned fault to Brendan.

ICBC said they would pay $2,700 for the car, even though only days before Brendan had put in a new engine, rims and tires worth more than $3,000. That, combined with the value of the car itself, should total more than $6,000, said the Lillies.

That’s when Brendan’s dad Charlie decided the family would pay out the claim and just fix the car themselves.

“We asked for the vehicle back, and they said, ‘Sorry, the vehicle’s been sold. You can’t get the car back,’” said Charlie.

Even though they didn’t sign a salvage waiver — the paperwork that transfers the ownership from Brendan to ICBC — ICBC had already sold the car.

That was months ago — but ICBC kept charging Brendan for his insurance premiums. When Brendan tried to get a refund for the premiums, his dad says a clerk demanded that he sign the salvage waiver after the fact.

“It’s just a lesson,” said Charlie. “Do your homework before you make a claim — they’re not going to do it for you. They’ll take advantage of someone who’s just a young guy.”

When ICBC writes off a car they sell it to a salvage yard, who sell it for parts. The Lillies tracked down the Acura to a salvage lot in Surrey, where they found its engine had been stripped, its rims and tires were gone, and there wasn’t much left.

“I’m a bit angry about it,” said Brendan. “It’s not like I can walk across the street to my neighbour’s house, grab his keys, throw his truck on Craigslist and sell it.”

ICBC has made another offer on the car, which is about $4,000, said Grossman. If an independent arbitrator decides the car is worth more, then the company will pay more, he said.

Grossman said he couldn’t find any other example of a car being sold for scrap without authorization.

“It’s extremely rare,” he said. “We are making up with an offer that’s more than fair.”

This news just shocked me, startled me, and left me heart-broken (errr, I mean PISSED OFF). At this point, the only thought in my mind was - “WTF?”.

What was happening: ” formerly written-off cars were being resold after their repair histories were altered.” So eight staff members were - let me use the euphemism to cover a variety of issues - ‘let go’.

Most normal people would agree that Fired staff, especially the ones who STEAL, should be getting a Boot in their @#$, not a Severance package. People don’t even get a Thank You card when they get fired, and these bastards are getting severance package, Are you Fuc*$& Serious?

What happened was clearly wrong, certainly a tort for the people who got cars with fraudulent records, probably criminal. Certainly due cause for dismissal. But it now appears that the action was more about PR than good sense. The whole thing was quickly hushed up - so the scandal would “go away”, preferably quickly.

If people are dismissed - or allowed to resign - to avoid other penalties they deserve no severance at all. Indeed those who profitted from this scheme should make restitution. But that would require an investigation, which might well turn up other related issues - who knows? - and all that it seems was to be avoided at all costs. Which is something you might be able to do with a closely held private company. But not with a crown coporation.

The more one knows about ICBC, the less one feels comfortable about it. I have been sitting on some material for some time now on distance based inssurance. This is an idea that Tod Littmann has been promoting for some time - and I did not really want to move onto his turf. But the main concern I have is that ICBC has not - so far as I can determine - ever even considered the idea. It certianly has given no credible reason why it should not be tried. And my question is why should this be? Why is ICBC so reluctant to being open and letting its owners - us - know what it is doing and why.

It is something of a cultural issue in crown corporations - and it is noticeable that the present government is getting increasingly ham fisted at dealing with these government owned and directed operations. BC Ferries and BC Transit are the two I am most familiar with - and neither are any longer examples to be proud of. The way BC Hydro is being chopped up and forced into a corner is even worse. And at least part of the problem is that the right wing does not think public enterprises should be successful. They must be made to fail in order to promote the ideology (there’s a word I havebeen reaching for a lot lately) that private is good public is bad.

FACT: ICBC is constantly trying to justify their rates, but Insurance Comparison shows that Insurance rates are still lower in other provinces and south of the border.

Ever wonder how ICBC sets your insurance rates? There are a number of factors including how well your car would weather a fender bender.

Recent low speed crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety were a real eye opener. Some vehicles like the Ford Focus weren’t badly damaged. Others like the Toyota Prius took a pounding– an expensive pounding.

This rear crash test at low speed caused nearly $4,000 in damage. In comparison the Ford Focus in a rear accident had only about $500 in damage. These are the types of tests insurance companies like ICBC pay close attention to.

“We look at claims cost and history of claims cost for different types of vehicles,” said Doug Henderson of ICBC.

The tests also showed that minor modifications to the Prius front bumper

The crash damage goes from over $1200 to under $300.

“I think the real positive thing about these types of tests is it encourages manufacturers to look at what other manufacturers are doing and look at ways to improve vehicles,” explained Henderson.

So how is your insurance affected? The Ford Focus insurance is about $100 cheaper than a Prius. But it’s not always the case. The Hyundai Elantra didn’t do very well in the test but it’s actually cheaper to insure than the Ford Focus. So what’s going on?

“We look at the claims cost the historical claims cost and we look at the theft rate for those vehicles and we also look at the frequency . The amount those vehicles are getting into crashes,” said Henderson.

So if other drivers of the same vehicle are better drivers that don’t get into crashes — you pay less. Even if it’s more expensive to repair.

“Exactly that’s one of the considerations here. Certain vehicles get into less crashes,” confirmed Henderson.

Buying a vehicle preferred by older more conservative drivers also keeps your premiums down because they get into fewer accidents. Also your choice of engine can make a difference a car with a more powerful six cylinder engine may be more expensive to ensure than a four cylinder version. So before you buy, get an insurance quote — it could affect your purchasing decision. And remember safe drivers pay less. So if you want to keep your rates low don’t cause an accident.

Published: Oct 02, 2008
Source: CTV

ICBC ignored Burnaby auto repair scam: report

Insurance Corporation of B.C. has released the findings of an independent investigation into the sale of vehicles repaired at its Burnaby, B.C. research and training facility.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was retained by ICBC to conduct an independent, external investigation into concerns that some vehicles repaired at the facility were sold with a repair history that was incorrectly documented and not disclosed to buyers. The probe was launched while ICBC was conducting its own investigation.

Pricewaterhouse found that:

Concerns about practices at the research and training facility were reported on three previous occasions, but were not appropriately investigated and not escalated to the chief executive officer level.

A total of 55 vehicles repaired at the research facility were purchased by ICBC employees and connected parties.

Internal policies on purchasing salvage were contradictory.

B.C.’s acting solicitor-general John Van Dongen recently apologized on behalf of the government, the ICBC board, and ICBC workers not involved in the scheme, to anyone who may have purchased wrecked vehicles that had been rebuilt at an ICBC research facility in Burnaby.

ICBC says the PwC’s report substantiated ICBC’s initial findings that there was a general lack of controls and conflicting policies and procedures regarding the appropriate vehicle designation and around employee purchase of vehicles repaired at the facility.

ICBC said the report found that appropriate actions were not taken by the management responsible when concerns were raised about the facility prior to January, 2008.

“PricewaterhouseCoopers has thoroughly investigated the issues at our research and training facility,” said ICBC interim president and CEO Geri Prior. “We are committed to implementing all the recommendations in their report.”

Published: July 17, 2008
Source: CTV

Source: CBC News. April 2, 2008.

Acting Solicitor General John van Dongen has issued a public apology for the activities at the ICBC repair and research centre in Burnaby, B.C., that were revealed in an internal investigation released this week.

The conduct at the facility was unacceptable to him and to the government, van Dongen said in the legislature in Victoria on Wednesday.

“I want to apologize, first of all, to the purchasers of vehicles that may have been deficient or where there was improper disclosure,” he said.

“And I want to apologize to all of British Columbia who have a right to expect integrity within their Crown corporations.”

In February, the ICBC closed the facility when it was learned that 98 repaired vehicles were being sold without full disclosure of their accident history.

At least 22 of the 98 wrecked vehicles repaired at the facility were bought by ICBC managers at rigged auctions, an internal investigation revealed Tuesday.

Van Dongen, whose portfolio is in charge of ICBC, apologized to all those who have been affected.

ICBC has refused comment on reports that at least three managers were fired over the scandal, but said PricewaterhouseCoopers is auditing the research centre’s activities and the findings will eventually be made public.

Source: CBC News. April 16, 2008.

Complaints about misconduct by employees at ICBC’s Burnaby repair facility that were made as far back as 2006 weren’t dealt with appropriately, an internal report obtained by CBC News Wednesday says.

In February, ICBC closed this Burnaby research and training facility when it was learned that repaired vehicles were being sold without full disclosure of their accident history. (CBC)In February, ICBC closed this Burnaby research and training facility when it was learned that repaired vehicles were being sold without full disclosure of their accident history. (CBC)

Concerns about activities at the Research and Training Centre were raised on three separate occasions in 2006 and 2007 but were not forwarded to senior management, wrote Richard Turner, chairman of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.

The report, addressed to the province’s solicitor general, says it wasn’t until January of this year that some employees blew the whistle, chief executive Paul Taylor was informed, and an investigation was launched.

Turner’s report also reveals “staff time [was] occasionally used for non-business purposes such as repairing employee vehicles.”

B.C. Solicitor General John van Dongen says independent auditors are trying to find out why no one acted on complaints made earlier. (CBC)B.C. Solicitor General John van Dongen says independent auditors are trying to find out why no one acted on complaints made earlier. (CBC)
(CBC)

In February, the Crown corporation closed its Burnaby facility when it was learned that 98 repaired vehicles were being sold without full disclosure of their accident history.

At least 22 of the 98 repaired vehicles were bought by ICBC managers at rigged auctions, ICBC’s an internal investigation revealed in early April.

Solicitor General John van Dongen said Wednesday he’s satisfied with the ICBC board’s response.

“The CEO and the board acted immediately when they became aware on Jan. 24,” van Dongen said. “They acted immediately to start an investigation.”

Independent auditors are trying to find out why no one acted on the complaints earlier, van Dongen said.

Source: The Canadian Press. April 3, 2008.

The Insurance Corporation of B.C. has turned over more information to police about a scandal involving rebuilt cars, but it’s still not clear if the Mounties will launch a criminal investigation.

The scheme saw nearly 100 written-off vehicles repaired at ICBC’s training facility in Burnaby and then sold without proper documentation of the repairs.

Twenty-two of the vehicles were bought by ICBC staff and managers at auctions that may have involved in rigged bidding.

ICBC spokesman Doug Henderson said the company initially provided the RCMP with information from an internal probe, but now it’s passed along additional details that will allow the Mounties to assess whether they need to do their own investigation.

But an RCMP spokesman said ICBC would have to make a formal complaint before a criminal investigation could be launched.

The NDP has demanded the ICBC internal probe be made public, but acting Solicitor General John van Dongen has said an independent audit being done by PricewaterhouseCoopers will eventually be made public.

Source: Globe and Mail. July 18, 2008.

Senior managers at the government-run auto insurance corporation in B.C., some employees, and their family and friends bought vehicles that had been repaired at an ICBC facility after being written off, an independent review has found.

In a highly critical forensic audit that cost $700,000, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 55 repaired vehicles over the past 10 years were purchased by insiders at the Insurance Corp. of B.C. The audit identified 22 employees and 18 people who were either friends or relatives of employees who purchased the vehicles.

Five of the vehicles were later resold for a profit. In one instance, an unidentified employee made a profit of $2,376 on the sale of a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible that had been purchased from ICBC for $17,124.

Another employee made $1,689 on the resale of a GMC Yukon. As well, three people connected to ICBC employees - a relative and friends of two employees - made a profit on reselling repaired vehicles.

Geri Prior, the corporation’s interim chief executive officer, admitted the situation created “an appearance of conflict of interest.” She said she accepted changes recommended by PricewaterhouseCoopers to ban employees from purchasing repaired vehicles and to tighten administrative procedures.

“I would like to acknowledge that actions taken by management within ICBC were not appropriate,” Ms. Prior said. “Those who condone this activity are no longer with ICBC.”

Despite repeated questioning, Ms. Prior refused at a news conference to say whether any managers or employees were disciplined as a result of their activities. She also refused to specify how many managers are no longer with ICBC. “Our focus is on making things right for our customers,” she said.

She told reporters yesterday the corporation’s internal polices on whether employees could purchase repaired vehicles were not clear. Also, some managers condoned the practice of employees purchasing repaired vehicles, which led to concerns raised by whistle-blowers two years ago to be ignored, she said.

The corporation’s revised code of ethics will “make it very clear no employee can purchase ICBC salvage,” Ms. Prior said, adding that whistle-blowing procedures will also be improved.

NDP public safety critic Mike Farnworth said he was “very disappointed” with the lack of transparency concerning the number of people who were disciplined and the severance that was paid. Taxpayers have a right to know, he said.

“This scandal has people asking a lot of questions. They do not have to get into details but they can certainly give an indication of the number of people who were let go or who were disciplined,” he said.

However, Public Safety Minister John van Dongen, who is responsible for ICBC, said the corporation has been as transparent as possible subject to legal constraints.

“I believe they have done everything possible within the law to make individuals accountable for their actions,” he said. He also said he did not anticipate the controversy would affect public confidence in ICBC.

The audit found that an unidentified person who was either a relative or a friend of an employee made $3,715 on the sale of a 1999 Mazda Miata that had been bought for $8,285. In another instance, a friend of an employee bought a 2003 GMC Envoy in June, 2005, for $20,982. The car was sold 17 days later for a profit of $3,703. A third unidentified person with a link to an employee made $415 by reselling a 2002 Ford two months after purchasing the repaired vehicle from ICBC.

The audit also identified ICBC employees who had work done on their personal vehicles at an ICBC facility, and 94 vehicles that had been repaired and resold without proper identification of damage they had sustained.

Source: CTV. Jan. 25 2008

ICBC will increase auto insurance rates according to “high growth rate” areas as of May 1st.

People who live in higher density areas will get an increase in premiums. ICBC says there are more accidents in areas where there are more cars.

The Fraser Valley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Pemberton and Hope areas will get an increase in their premiums by no more than six per cent.

Rates in Greater Vancouver will remain the same. In the rest of the province, rates will be slightly decreased.