A family in Port Alberni is struggling to cope with the aftermath of a recent car crash due to what they have described as the inadequacy of ICBC’s no-fault model.
Jonathan Tranfield recounted his family’s experience to CHEK News and said the crash involved a stolen truck.
Tranfield said he was driving his family home from Nanaimo last month when the truck came flying out of the Nanoose Bay Petro Canada parking lot and crashed into their vehicle.
“The vehicle straightened out then hit the throttle again one more time and then ended up shifting completely sideways and I hit the driver’s door,” he told CHEK News.
The driver of the stolen vehicle walked away while the family’s injuries were being tended to by paramedics and they have not yet been apprehended by the police.
Despite the experience, Tranfield and his wife said the most frustrating aspect of the ordeal has been dealing with ICBC, stating that they might have been better off without the no-fault insurance system.
Because the crash left their vehicle undrivable, ICBC provided the family with a rental truck that they could use in the interim until their own truck is fixed.
However, Tranfield said the rental truck is not suitable for his landscaping business.
The family also voiced frustration over how they were told that they must pay a deductible of $1000, adding that their $2000 loss-of-use coverage quickly ran out while waiting for their truck to be fixed.
“We were hit by an intoxicated person in a stolen vehicle with our kids in the car and you’re telling me we have no coverage, and we owe a thousand dollars,” said Angela Murray, Tranfield’s wife. “I just don’t understand.”
Responding to the family’s concerns, ICBC spokesperson Greg Harper said the family have appropriate insurance coverage.
“They will have to pay that deductible to activate their collision coverage,” he told CHEK News, adding that the family would have still had to pay a $750 deductible under ICBC’s previous system.
As for the long wait for the repairs, Harper said this is due to a shortage of technicians and parts.
“The collision repair industry is facing some challenges, and these are challenges that we are not only seeing here in BC but throughout North America,” he said.
The Tranfields have received massage and physiotherapy services for their injuries without paying out of pocket, CHEK News reported, which the family said is something they do appreciate about ICBC’s no-fault model.
ICBC rolled out its no-fault Enhanced Care system in 2021, stating that it could help drivers save as much as $400 a year by addressing litigation costs.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has been a vocal critic of the system, noting that it has led to a “dramatic reduction” in recovery benefits.
In a report published last year, IBC found that ICBC paid $1.48 billion in injury claims during the 2021/2022 fiscal year, compared to $2.11 billion in 2020/21 before the no-fault regime was implemented.
“The purpose of auto insurance is to ensure that people get the benefits they need to recover from injuries sustained in an accident,” said IBC Pacific and Western vice president Aaron Sutherland. "ICBC's dramatic reduction in claims costs calls that key tenet of insurance into question.”
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