ICBC to lower car insurance rates

For the first time in more than a decade, motorists in B.C. could see their car insurance go down slightly, following an announcement Tuesday by ICBC.

Citing a significant drop in the number of claims, the insurance corporation said it has asked the the B.C. Utilities Commission for permission to reduce basic insurance rates by 1.9 per cent.

ICBC said claims and related costs for the first six months of 2010 were $1.48 billion compared to $1.46 billion for the same period last year.

The number of claims has dropped because of smart driving decisions and supporting VANOC’s goal of reducing traffic during the 2010 Winter Games,” ICBC said, in a news release.

“Our customers’ smart driving has made a major contribution to our financial results and we have asked for permission to reduce basic insurance rates by 1.9 per cent. This would be in addition to the 3.3 per cent reduction in 2009 optional insurance rates our customers are currently benefiting from,” said Jon Schubert, ICBC’s president and CEO.

On Tuesday, ICBC reported its financial results for the first six months of 2010 with a net income for the first half of the year at $232 million, down from $277 million for the same period in 2009.

Another contributing factor to reducing fees, ICBC said, is a slight increase in new or renewed insurance policies, which went up to $1.87 billion from $1.85 billion for the same period in 2009.

Also, ICBC said operating costs remained low at $285 million during the first half of 2010, compared to $267 million for the same period in 2009.

They are expected to increase in the second half of this year.

Source: The Vancouver Sun