What's so outrageous?

With all those letters in regard to ICBC rates, privatizing and so on, I noticed (again), that a lot of people don't really know how it works.

Just the other day, somebody mentioned how high his rates are and that his car is 12 years old.

OK, a 12-year-old car, if nothing special, is worth between $500 and $1,500 (on trade-in).

The insurance amount is not to cover that car, it's to cover the car of somebody else, a new car or truck or SUV, worth from $30,000 to close to $100,000. That is the reason, or at least a big part of it, why the rates are so high.

If you buy a new car today, there is basically nothing under $25,000. They don't make basic cars or trucks anymore.

If you want to insure your car, you have to by collision coverage. Now go and find out how much that would cost if you had a new $60,000 truck or car.

Therefore, if your rate is $2,000 a year, that is just under $5.50 a day. About the price of a beer. I am not pro ICBC, but that price is not really that "outrageous" – or is it?

Roger von Dach, Kelowna