by Michael Mata
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) says its customers should expect some delays as it’s currently undergoing the largest technological upgrade in its history. The provincial Crown corporation is soft launching a computer system upgrade—the first time it has done so in four decades.
"We have launched one product and a few transactions to test them in a real system," stated Nicolas Jimenez, ICBC's vice president of insurance and driver licensing. "We are going to do that for two weeks, and then we will evaluate how it has gone. Then, we will flip the switch on the entire program."
ICBC’s technological upgrade is a $400-million project that is designed to revamp the old computer system that brokers use to register vehicles and sell auto insurance. So far, the newly upgraded computer system has handled about 10,000 transactions, with only a handful of technical issues.
As for the delays, Jimenez noted that brokers needed some time to master the new system. "You can take [training courses], and you can do all the prep you want, but it's always different when you have a customer live in front of you. There will be a period of adjustment as brokers learn the new system, and customers are probably seeing some delays."
In the first few days of using the new system, brokers have reported minor issues when processing registrations and renewals. Nevertheless, Chuck Byrne, executive director and chief operations officer at Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia, assured that the "worst is behind us after the initial shock of the look and the feel of the new system." He noted that the new system faced a rather complicated rollout, mainly because of the numerous tie-ins with the databases of ICBC.
ICBC expects the new system to be up and running by August 21, 2016.
