A village in BC is being charged auto insurance rates based on a city 350 kilometres away, and the mayor has reached out to the insurer to reconsider its pricing arrangement.
Many locals of the village of Telkwa consider the nearby city of Smithers their second home; villagers come to the city for their shopping, recreation, work, and even schooling needs. However, Telkwa’s rates are not based on Smithers’, but rather on Prince George’s instead.
Telkwa’s mayor, Darcy Repen, sent a letter to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) asking the insurer to re-evaluate the village’s regional boundaries, but found the corporation unwilling.
“Despite our argument that as a bedroom community of Smithers where our residents are spending their time driving, ICBC just doesn’t seem to be willing to look at resolving the situation,” Repen told CBC News.
In his letter, Repen proposed that the dividing regional boundary line be moved 19 kilometres east of Telkwa to Wakefield Road, allowing the village to be included in the same region as Smithers.
“When they responded to us they didn’t actually mention Telkwa at all in the response. They didn’t mention our specific concerns or our solutions, so it was really disappointing for us,” the mayor remarked.
According to Repen, since Telkwa shares the same region as Prince George, the village’s drivers pay higher insurance rates due to the higher number of crashes in the larger city.
A representative from the insurer said that while Telkwa residents actually do not pay more for their insurance than the residents of Smithers, a driver’s home address is only one factor in determining insurance rates.
“What actually has greater impact ... on how much you pay for your insurance, is based on your level of driving experience and the number of at-fault crashes you’ve been in,” ICBC spokesperson Joanna Linsangan explained.
Linsangan added that the ICBC is currently focused on making insurance more sustainable and that reviewing boundary lines is a complex process.
