B.C. to limit auto insurance claims, speed up process to settle disputes

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has introduced legislation that will attempt to restore the finances of the public auto insurance agency.

Attorney General David Eby has promised changes to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as it faced a forecasted deficit of $1.3 billion.

The proposed changes introduced Monday in the legislature include a limit of $5,500 for pain and suffering on minor injury claims and faster resolutions of disputes.

If approved, the changes will set up a resolution process for cases under $50,000 that allows them to be resolved in as little as 90 days instead of two to three years.

Eby says for years, drivers have had to pay more to cover the agency’s spiralling legal and administrative costs.

The government says the changes are necessary to help address the massive growth in the cost of injury claims, which jumped 80 per cent between 2009 and 2016.