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The British Columbia Conservative Party is calling for a major overhaul of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) to reduce the insurance rates of the province’s drivers.
The party believes that ICBC should be turned into a co-operative, so that B.C. drivers who pay premiums are the ones who own the organization. ICBC is currently a provincial crown corporation, which means it is overseen by the government.
“A co-operative will work in drivers’ best interest, rather than serving the government of the day. The BC Conservatives will also open the industry to private competition, to help drive rates lower,” said the party in a statement.
Other groups, such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, have also called for ICBC to be transformed into a co-operative. According to an Ernst & Young report leaked earlier this year, auto insurance rates in the province would have to surge by nearly 30% to balance out the ICBC’s struggling books.
“Competition also must be opened up to private companies for basic insurance in order to reduce insurance rates for everyone… A guaranteed way to ensure that BC drivers no longer pay the highest insurance rates in Canada is to turn ICBC into a co-op, then open up basic insurance to competition,” said Scott Anderson, interim leader of the B.C. Conservatives.
