By Tiffany Goodwein

New ‘Fairness Office’ promises to increase ICBC accountability and transparency

Jan 29, 2020 | 1:54 PM

In an effort to ease ongoing public scrutiny, the province has announced the creation of a new fairness office for B.C. drivers.

A press release from the provincial government stated the purpose is to “give British Columbians greater confidence that the corporations is treating them fairly when challenges arise while better supporting people injured in crashes.”

The new office will work slightly independent from ICBC. It will be responsible for providing public reports on the type and number of issues and provide recommendations to ICBC. The public insurer will also have to publicly report on their response to the recommendations.

“British Columbians should have the peace of mind that they will be treated fairly after they’ve been injured in a crash,” David Eby, the province’s attorney general said. “With this change, British Columbians can have confidence that the fairness office has greater independence from ICBC and has the impartial authority to review the fairness of their situation with the ability to make recommendations to ICBC.”

The fairness office will be independent from ICBC’s claims arm. It will review and make recommendations to ICBC to resolve individual customer complaints, as well as policy and process, related to customer fairness. The new office will be in place by spring 2021.

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The province insists the new office does not overshadow or replace the role of the B.C. ombudsperson who is the independent body responsible for resolving ICBC issues.

For ICBC insurance claims under $50,000 the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) will continue to be tasked with resolving the disputes, separately from the court system and independent of ICBC.

When there is a disagreement between the customer and ICBC on certain decisions made by ICBC (e.g., matters involving minor injury determinations, accident benefit entitlement and fault determinations or claimed amounts $50,000 and under) the matter will be decided by the CRT, rather than the fairness office.

“Each of our three million customers should have confidence in knowing that they’ll be treated fairly when they deal with us, and we welcome the fairness office to assist in that regard,” Nicolas Jimenez, the president and CEO of ICBC said. “British Columbians must also have the opportunity to tell us directly about how ICBC can be improved, and I believe today’s changes will give our customers confidence in knowing that when they speak up, ICBC will be listening and accountable to them.”

Pre-litigation payments have also been introduced as an option that province hopes will further support people injured in an accident. Pre-litigation payments will be available up front to those who qualify without the need to waive the ability to sue if they so choose. Previously, if a person decided to take ICBC’s settlement, they had to agree to not seek additional settlement money through the courts.

The province says the intent of this program is to help injured customers receive full and fair compensation as quickly as possible. It will also help those injured keep more of their settlement, instead of paying it to a lawyer and legal fees, which can total as much as 33 per cent of the total settlement and can require a lengthy court process.

The ability for ICBC to offer pre-litigation payments will take effect as of Jan. 29, 2020, and will be formalized through legislation in spring 2020. The new fairness office will be formalized in legislation in fall 2020.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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