Providing proper notification about decisions can prevent unnecessary confusion and frustration.

Brian was having trouble renewing his car insurance. He received a letter from ICBC informing him of a $40,000 debt and that he would not be able to renew his insurance until this debt was paid.

Not understanding where this substantial debt came from, Brian, and his mother Shelley, tried to get answers from ICBC. After multiple attempts to contact them, Brian and Shelley still didn’t have the answers they were looking for and came to us looking for help.

Our Intake and Early Resolution Team contacted a Customer Relations Advisor at ICBC regarding Brian’s account. ICBC explained that the debt was a result of a 2012 bodily injury settlement claim from a car accident Brian was found at fault for. When the car accident occurred, Brian did not have valid car insurance. The injured party initiated a lawsuit to recover damages, and under legislation, ICBC became party to the lawsuit in order to settle the claim. However, Brian was never provided with any notification regarding the court proceedings. We questioned a letter that ICBC sent to Brian in March 2017 that confirmed that his debt payment had been paid in full. We also enquired about the statute of limitations on the collection of a debt and why Brian wasn’t able to renew his car insurance.

Our enquiries were sent to ICBC’s corporate law department for review. Following the review, Brian received an email from ICBC informing him of its decision not to pursue the $40,000 debt associated with the 2012 bodily injury settlement claim. Brian’s account balance was zero and he was able to renew his car insurance without incident. As ICBC resolved the unfairness issues identified we considered the complaint settled and closed the file.