A recent CBC news report reported that there is a new ICBC policy where the bonuses for ICBC managers in 2012 will be tied to profits. ( link ).
From a simple business perspective, there are only a few things that a business can do to increase profits. First, you can cut the general business expenses like wages of employees, overtime, benefits, etc. Second, a business can increase the price for their product. For an insurance company, the price is the insurance premium. In B.C., insurance premiums are controlled by the B.C. Utilities Commission, so increasing premiums is not as easy as it sounds. Third, if a business has investments, they can try to earn a higher return on their investments. Everyone knows that the market is quite volatile right now, and making money this way isn't as easy as it sounds. Fourth, for an insurance company, reducing expenses means trying to pay less in claims.
For a material damage claim or that part of your claim that relates to the damage to your vehicle, it could be that they pay less for the value of your vehicle if it is a total loss, or that they try to pay less to the repair shops that fix vehicles. When it comes to bodily injury claims, it is fairly obvious that in order to reduce overall claims costs, what is required is to pay out a little less on every claim or to persuade others not to pursue a claim at all.
The personal injury lawyers at Becker Lavin & Wessler can help guide you through this new policy, as well as the other ICBC corporate policies that can effect you in your ICBC bodily injury claim. Contact us at 604-689-3883.
Labels: ICBC bonus, injury claims, personal injury lawyers
