Insurance

Would you voluntarily submit to electronic monitoring of your vehicle in order to save money on insurance? I've been thinking about this lately in the context of my experience with an electronic driver monitoring app, our current concerns with ICBC rates and the seeming lack of consequences for drivers who don't follow the rules. With the right privacy safeguards this could safely and efficiently solve a number of problems.

According to this report for ICBC and the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure from Ernst & Young our provincial auto insurance program is currently facing the following five challenges:

Ouch! My ICBC insurance rates are going up as much as 42% over the next five years according to an article in the Province newspaper. I already paid $630 this year for the privilege of having my fellow British Columbians help me pay for collision liability if I make a mistake and crash my pickup. I’m not looking forward to paying $895 in 2021, but when you consider how much you could be on the hook for if you didn’t have insurance, even that doesn’t look too bad.

Should I become an Uber driver? It looks like a good way to pick up some easy money and provide a lower cost service to people at the same time. Before you visit the Uber web site and sign up, you should consider very carefully what risks you might be taking and how it could affect you. That little bit of pocket money could quickly become a mere drop in the bucket when it comes to covering your losses if a collision should occur.

Marnetta Felix and her boyfriend Kevin Hearne attended a soccer tournament. Following his last game of the day Kevin went to the concession and started drinking beer. He consumed enough over the next two or more hours that he became quite intoxicated. At one point he saw Marnette with her arm around another man and became angry. When they left the tournament, Marnetta driving and Kevin as passenger the two began to argue.

I recently received a ticket for driving without insurance. At the time I had a passenger in my vehicle with me. I produced expired insurance papers to the officer and was given a ticket. I then had to have my car towed home.

Question: Is whether it is illegal to park a car that is uninsured on a residental street? The driveway is full up and I wonder if parking anywhere else near the house uninsured can be fined or towed?

In my current position I come across a large amount of drivers who seem to live in British Columbia but have Alberta licence plates and insurance. The story goes that they husband works in Alberta and commutes back to British Columbia on their days off. Most of the time their wife and children live full time in BC, kids attend a BC school etc.

My questions are these:

When plaintiff Yu Jung Lau purchased, licensed and insured a 2005 Subaru Impreza with ICBC he declared that he would be the vehicle’s principal operator.

It’s a sunny July weekend.  You’re on your way with your family to Tickleberry’s, that beautiful ice cream joint in Okanagan Falls.  An oncoming driver chooses to respond to a text message and crosses over into your lane.  There’s a head-on crash.

You and your family suffer serious injuries.