ICBC will issue a second COVID rebate as part of the plan to respond to fewer crashes during the past year and a half of the pandemic.
ICBC will start distributing rebates averaging $120 per policy in mid-July, returning approximately $350 million in additional rebates to 2.94 million customers. This builds on the first COVID-19 rebate of $600 million for a total of $950 million. Unlike the first rebate, for some this will be put back on their credit card, pending how a driver pays for their insurance.
Most drivers who had an active auto insurance policy from October 2020 to March of this year will be eligible for the rebate. Exceptions include customers with short-term, storage or distance-based policies, whose premiums already reflect lower usage.
The rebate is approximately 11 per cent of the premium customers paid for coverage during this six-month period.
In a statement Friday (June 11), Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the insurance corporation is in a “strong financial position,” receiving about 20 per cent fewer crash claims than expected between October 2020 and March 2021, with an estimated impacts of about $450 million.
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This means that despite a reduction in $100 million in revenue due to drivers reducing or cancelling their insurance policies to reflect working from home and travel restrictions, savings totalled roughly $350 million.
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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