Victoria – ICBC is making changes to its policy on when cyclists, pedestrians and other active transportation users could be charged with damages to a vehicle when they have some responsibility for a crash.
“Government and ICBC listened to the concerns raised from cycling advocates and Mr. Bolliger about the decision to bill him for vehicle damage after he was involved in a collision,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “The previous approach was not reflective of the changes we’ve made to auto insurance in British Columbia and that needed to be fixed.”
Moving forward, ICBC will no longer seek recovery for costs in some clearly defined situations, including:
- Where a cyclist or pedestrian has suffered a severe or catastrophic injury.
- If there has been a fatality.
- When ICBC must determine liability as 50/50 because there is not enough evidence to determine what happened.
Additionally, claims involving a cyclist or pedestrian who has suffered a non-severe injury will be carefully considered by a committee of experts. These changes mean that, moving forward, the instances of when ICBC may seek recovery from cyclists or pedestrians will be much more limited.
“We are committed to continuing to improve and this claim highlighted a situation where improvements needed to be made, and we are now making those changes,” said Nicolas Jimenez, President and CEO of ICBC. “Our new care-based model is just one year old and we will keep looking for ways to improve on how we deliver Enhanced Care to British Columbians.”
In finalizing these policy changes, ICBC met with the BC Cycling Coalition and Hub Cycling to receive their feedback on how the changes better meet the needs of people cycling and other vulnerable road users.
