The Insurance Corporation of B.C. announced Monday it has applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission to reduce basic auto insurance rates by an average of 1.9 per cent, effective Nov. 1, 2010.
“Rate changes are mainly driven by claims costs, and fewer crashes help us keep our rates low and stable,” said ICBC’s president and CEO, Jon Schubert. “Our customers are the ones to primarily thank for this reduction — it’s their smart driving that has helped us control our claims costs and apply for this rate reduction.”
The number of crashes occurring across the province have been declining in the last three years, said spokesperson Adam Grossman. In 2007, 281,000 collisions were reported, compared to 276,000 in 2008, and 268,000 in 2009.
Currently 3.1 million drivers in B.C are registered with ICBC.
Last year, the insurance provider made $3.7 billion from premiums, said Grossman. During the first quarter of 2010, it has made $860 million. ICBC would lose $39 million in revenue because of the rate reduction.
ICBC enacted a 3.3 per cent increase in basic insurance rates in 2007.
Applications for rate changes must be filed with the BCUC, which is responsible for regulating basic insurance rates and service in British Columbia, BCUC has 90 days to respond.
ICBC has kept basic insurance rates unchanged for the last two years.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
