There has been less traffic on roads in British Columbia during the Covid 19 pandemic. The resulting reduction in accidents and insurance claims has put ICBC squarely in the black, and now some of the money is going back to drivers.
In a joint press conference today, BC Premier John Horgan, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and Nicolas Jimenez, president and CEO, ICBC, announced that $600million will be returned to policy holders, who insured a vehicle between April 1 and September 30 of 2020.
Farnworth says it works out to an average of $190 per policy holder. It is the largest such rebate of all the provinces.
Farnworth encourages people to use the ICBC online calculator to see what you are eligible for.
The province says refunds for the vast majority of eligible customers will be issued from mid-May through to July 2021 and will be returned to you based on how you paid for your insurance.
- If you paid for your insurance through the ICBC payment plan, the refund will be in the form of adjustments to your monthly payments, which will now be lower.
- If you paid by credit card, the refund will be issued to the card you paid with. If your credit card has expired, you will receive a cheque.
- Otherwise, you will receive a cheque in the mail. If you would like to receive your refund directly into your bank account rather than a cheque, you can set up direct deposit on icbc.com now.
