Chances
are good that when you think about car insurance your first thought is
about how much it is going to cost you rather than how well it is going
to protect you if something goes wrong. You might even be tempted to
shade the truth about who will be
driving your vehicle or how they will be using it to reduce those
costs. Be very careful how you make decisions about insurance as making
poor choices can put you at huge financial risk post crash.
Insurance is a contract between you and an insurance company. Pay the
premiums and the company will protect you from financial losses
specified in the contract.
The risk is spread among all the policy holders in an effort to make the
premiums more affordable, but you may have to pay a higher premium if
you are at higher risk for making a claim. Penalty point and driver risk
premiums are used by ICBC in addition to
your collision history to set rates.
The surest way to keep premiums low is to keep the number of claims low.
This concept appears to be lost on many drivers today. Some make no
connection between the way they drive and the risk that they present.
We consider insurance so important that a policy must be in effect in
order to drive. You must carry a liability card while driving and
produce it to police on demand. Should you be involved in a collision,
you must produce particulars of the liability card
in writing to anyone suffering loss or injury or who witnessed the
collision if they request it.
In British Columbia, we all have to buy our third party liability
insurance from ICBC. This protects us from the damage that we do to
others if we are at fault in a collision. Basic Autoplan covers up to
$200,000.00 but a quick look at some of the case law
on this site will suggest that this is nowhere near enough. An honest,
careful discussion with your Autoplan Agent can help you decide what is
appropriate for your circumstances.
We can buy insurance for our own damage; collision, fire, theft,
vandalism and other losses from ICBC or other private insurance
companies. In this case, it could pay you to compare the best car
insurance companies to see if their rates for similar or better
coverage costs less than an ICBC policy.
According to Hergott Law, the best $25.00 that you will ever spend on insurance is for Underinsured Motorist Protection.
Now that you are insured, be careful not to do anything that would
breach your contract. Driving while impaired, without a driver’s licence
or with a suspended licence, evading police action, racing or making a
misrepresentation on the application for insurance
can all void your coverage.
In some contract breaches ICBC will pay for damages done to others and
then expect you to reimburse the cost. The corporation may also cancel
or refuse to issue a driver’s licence or vehicle licence and number
plates for outstanding motor vehicle related debts.
Story URL:
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/insurance/overview-car-insurance-bc-drivers
—
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average road users satisfy their curiosity.