Upgrades to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia computers have already borne fruit, identifying almost 100,000 optional insurance customers who have either overpaid or underpaid on their auto coverage – all because of a simple error.
The less than five per cent of our optional insurance customers have an incorrect description assigned to their vehicle which impacts what they pay for their optional insurance.
“The modernization of our systems will ensure this doesn't happen in the future and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers,” says Mark Blucher, president and CEO of the ICBC, who has found errors dating back to 2008. “We are going to ensure all of our customers who overpaid on their optional insurance over the last six years receive full refunds with interest.”
Based on analysis to date, ICBC estimates on average 1.8 per cent or 40,000 optional insurance customers per year had an incorrect vehicle description which resulted in an overpayment on a portion of their optional insurance. The average overpayment per year was $21. ICBC also estimates on average 2.7 per cent or 58,000 optional insurance customers underpaid on a portion of their optional insurance per year. The average underpayment per year was $34.
Over the last few years, ICBC has been investing in much-needed systems upgrades including a new insurance management system, scheduled to be complete in 2015. According to the ICBC, it is committed to having the issue resolved within 90 days.
“ICBC's first responsibility is to our customers,” says Jatinder Rai, chair of ICBC's board. “The board and management have been working to identify and resolve this complex issue as a priority.” (continued.)
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Updates to vehicle descriptions will be made in the coming months. New technology will use the vehicle identification number (VIN) provided by the vehicle's manufacturer to automatically capture the vehicle description (make/model/type).
AT the moment, this process is done manually.
ICBC is working to update vehicle descriptions for affected customers, including looking back over the last six years to July 1, 2008, to reimburse customers who paid too much for their optional insurance. Customers who underpaid will not be charged the difference for prior years.
The vast majority of our customers (95.5 per cent or approximately 3 million) are not affected.
