Introduction to ICBC Automobile Insurance (12:I)

From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Revision as of 20:49, 2 August 2024 by LSLAP (talk | contribs)
This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by the Law Students' Legal Advice Program on August 1, 2023.

As of May 1, 2021, ICBC switched to a primarily no-fault system, known as Enhanced Care. This represents one of the biggest changes to the ICBC insurance system since its inception.



Under the former ICBC system, claims were handled through a mix of litigation and no-fault benefits. Although certain benefits were awarded regardless of the fault of the parties, in other situations one party could negotiate for compensation related to various claims, like non-pecuniary damages and loss of future income. These claims were awarded based on fault for the Accident and often a party would need to hire a lawyer and commence litigation in order to receive them.

Under the new system, the vast majority of claims are handled on a no-fault basis, with some limited exceptions. The new no-fault system means that insured parties will file a claim directly with ICBC in the vast majority of cases, and will be compensated for injuries directly by the insurer, regardless of whether or not they were at fault. ICBC will still internally assign fault to the parties when assessing claims in order to determine changes to premiums, but fault will not need to be shown to access injury compensation.

All claims for accidents occurring on or after May 1, 2021 are subject to this new no-fault system, known as Enhanced Care. Parts III - VII of this chapter outlines benefits under this new system. However, because this chapter was written in June of 2022 (shortly after the introduction of the Enhanced Care system), please be aware that ICBC may make changes and clarifications to the system as they roll it out that are not reflected in this manual.

The new Enhanced Care system does not apply to claims for accidents that occurred on or before April 30, 2021. For claims that occurred before this date, please see Parts VIII onwards of this chapter, which outlines the former system as it existed prior to the introduction of Enhanced Care.


© Copyright 2024, The Greater Vancouver Law Students' Legal Advice Society.