John Rustad says his party would end ICBC’s monopoly and bring fair, competitive car insurance to drivers across the province.
In a press release, Rustad emphasized the need to give British Columbians choice in their insurance options while ensuring fairness for all drivers—young and old—and better support for accident victims.
“ICBC is a bloated monopoly,” said Rustad. “After years of mismanagement, British Columbians are stuck with a broken system. On top of that, David Eby and the NDP have stripped away the rights of accident victims to fight for the support they need to rebuild their lives. That’s not just wrong, it’s cruel.”
The Conservative Party of BC said it would end ICBC’s monopoly on basic auto insurance by allowing competition in the marketplace to drive down costs and improve services for drivers.
“British Columbians deserve the freedom to choose the insurance plan that works best for them rather than being forced into a broken monopoly,” Rustad said. “By opening up the market, the Conservative Party will bring in new competition, leading to lower prices, better customer service, and improved options for all British Columbians.”
The press release states that under the current system, younger and older drivers often face unfairly high rates simply because of their age. Rustad said he is committed to ensuring rate fairness for all drivers, so no one is priced out of the market based on age alone.
“Under ICBC’s monopoly, too many young people are being forced off the road by unaffordable insurance premiums,” Rustad said. “We will ensure that everyone—whether you’re 18 or 80—has access to fair, affordable insurance rates.”
Rustad also condemned David Eby’s decision to strip accident victims of their right to fight for the support they need. Under the NDP’s no-fault insurance system, many individuals with life-altering injuries have found themselves unable to receive the support they deserve.
“David Eby’s no-fault system leaves accident victims out in the cold,” Rustad said. “The Conservative Party will make sure that anyone with life-altering injuries has the right to representation and the ability to fight for the support they need to get their lives back on track.”
Jonathan says
At last! When I lived in Squamish, ICBC seemed to be primarily a welfare scheme for insurance agents, as you couldn’t buy a policy without visiting one; and there seemed to be a lot of agents. Mixing licensing and other fees with insurance is an expensive, and failed, attempt to keep costs down. BC is (or was) in the top 5 for most expensive jurisdictions for motor insurance in North America. No-one was able to explain to me why the people of BC had chosen to foist this behemoth on themselves. The sooner it is euthanized the better.