Lee was acting as his mother’s agent to finalize an insurance claim for an accident that occurred when
he was driving her car. ICBC inspected the car and determined it could not be repaired because the costs of doing so exceeded the car’s declared value. However, when the repair shop requested that ICBC cover the cost of a test to check the engine’s viability, ICBC refused because its inspection indicated engine damage had occurred.

Lee disagreed with this decision and felt ICBC was pressuring his mother into accepting an undervalued
cash payout. After he contacted our office, we reached out to ICBC. They told us that they were in fact prepared to pay for an engine viability test, but Lee went ahead with engine viability testing on his own and proved the engine was not damaged. The repair shop told Lee that it estimated the cost of repairing the car was 56 percent of what ICBC valued the car to be, which Lee understood was within the standards which ICBC would repair a vehicle. As such, Lee did not understand why ICBC was refusing to repair the vehicle.

We relayed Lee’s concerns to ICBC, and ICBC decided to reimburse Lee for the cost of the engine viability test and the associated investigative costs, as well as provide his mother the opportunity to accept a cash payout but retain the vehicle as salvage. Ultimately, Lee and ICBC reached an agreement for his mother’s claim that was to her satisfaction.