Squamish drivers are among a small group in the Lower Mainland who will be experiencing a slight drop in insurance rates this May. The change comes as ICBC rebalances rates across the province to catch up with high claims in areas such as the Fraser Valley.
After a story in The Chief last week that rates were going up in the Sea to Sky corridor, a local ICBC agent researched what the changes would mean for Squamish drivers, and found that Squamish and Whistler are not getting the rate hike slated for residents in the Greater Vancouver Area - although questions remain over what the changes will mean for further points north, such as Pemberton. In Squamish and Whistler, a low number of claims means rates will drop about one per cent. In places with higher densities, rates could jump as much as six per cent.
"More and more congestion means more and more crashes," said ICBC Spokesperson Doug McClelland.McClelland said the change is meant to benefit clients by making the system more fair, noting it will bring no extra money to the organization.
"It wouldn't be sustainable for ICBC to leave these imbalances in place," he said."We knew that things have gotten unfair. It's unfair to ask people in one side of the province to subsidize people in other parts of the province."He said the old rate model has become outdated since it was established five years ago.While the Sea to Sky Highway has a poor reputation for its dangerous curves, McClelland said crashes on the highway do not necessarily impact Squamish residents since the claim is associated with the driver-at-fault's own area.
If people from West Vancouver were causing accidents on the highway on their way home from a ski or bike ride along the corridor, rates would eventually be raised in their area, not the place where the crashes happened, McClelland said. Based on anecdotal information, construction on the highway may be an impediment to drivers, but it is actually keeping them safer, he noted."There's not necessarily been a decrease in crashes, but there does appear to be a decrease in the severity."
Although several Squamish residents expressed frustration for ICBC last week, McClelland said the organization provides some of the best coverage in Canada since drivers have no limit on how much they can sue drivers-at-fault. "Obviously, it's the insurance company that pays."
