No to private insurance

It seems the vast majority of BC residents want to see privatized auto insurance. This is going to put us in a whole world of hurt if this happens and this is why:

Private insurers get to pick and chose who they want to insure and for what rates. They will have the ability to decline insuring a driver based on how many years experience driving they have, what type of car they drive, sex, age and driving history record among many other factors. They will also be able to decline or limit claims to within the province or country, as well as limit payouts as far as their interpretation of market value and they may have certain warranties in place as a way to escape paying out a claim. They may also limit coverages that are available. So you are going to have new or younger drivers paying astronomical rates like we saw in Alberta and Ontario over the years where a rate could quite easily be $3000 to $5000 a year or more simply based on someones sex, and age where the next "low risk" person with the same vehicle may pay around $1500/yr.  

With these "high risk" groups that can only obtain insurance from a minimal amount of insurers (if any) or get refused all together, this will drive the more "acceptable" risk clients to flock to insurers that recognize huge discounts. If the rates are so low and only the low risk are accepted what do you think will happen when there is a claim? Well the whole low risk company is based on just that so most likely you will get less customer service, less claims promptness, the lowest payout possible for your vehicle or personal injury among a whole host of other things that only reflect the "lowest rate" and with that you will get the lowest rate of return that's for sure.  

There will be a huge sway in the view of insurance as a whole and your going to get an exorbitant amount of fraud and misrepresentation. Everything from parents insuring vehicles for their kids to people applying for out of province insurance lying about where they reside. In the long run it's going to cost everyone more and many people are going to be very disappointed. 

When is the last time you saw a private insurance company offer a 43% or better discount on rates, insure any vehicle you may own and cover you 24/7 throughout north America? Let alone subrogate on your behalf if another motorist is not insured. Furthermore offer roadside assistance anywhere in North America and pay you market value for your vehicle which in most cases is more than what you paid for it. Personal injury claims seem to be more than fair payouts if you look across the entire industry. Furthermore ICBC accepts almost anyone even newer drivers with a sports car and they won't surcharge you or decline you based on that alone like privatized can.

I'm all for ICBC, yes they need to restructure thats a given. But to simply say free enterprise and privatize, people need to research and really think about that. 

Kevin Keraiff