If you have been involved in a car accident, ICBC should be among the first numbers you call. After all, it’s the law. You will need to report the damage and they need to create a file to gather as much information as possible right away. However, just because you are in the process of dealing with BC’s largest insurance company doesn’t mean you have to accept whatever offer they happen to throw your way.
Read MoreThere is a hierarchy in how “lucky” you can be when suffering from a personal injury accident. The gold standard is being rear-ended by an ICBC insured driver. As “who-is-at-fault” (liability in legalize) is not an issue, coverage—as in an eventual cash settlement—is not a problem and all you have to focus on is recovering from your injuries, which is not to downplay those who have been seriously injured in this manner, but merely to emphasize you have one less difficulty to deal with in an already miserable and stressful situation.
Read MoreAs you may have seen, ICBC has a new ad campaign toting the considerable resources that they have devoted to catching fraudsters on social media. It works. For example, a Williams Lake man had rolled his truck after drinking on New Years Eve. In order to make a claim with ICBC, he convinced his sober passenger to tell them that she was driving. He was caught after he bragged on Facebook about his plan and ended up pleading guilty to fraud and obstruction of justice. Real fraud is a crime and affects all our premiums and social media is an invaluable tool for detecting it.
Read MoreYou can probably recall a time where you were waiting to turn left, across oncoming traffic, to either enter a parking lot or another street. Sometimes, your view is obstructed and another motorist “waves” or “gestures” for you to go ahead. The Courts have been clear that reliance on another motorist’s “wave” or “gesture” will not absolve your responsibility should an accident occur.
Read MoreWhile out on the road, it’s not uncommon to spot a gap in traffic, decide to take a chance, and turn through that gap. This is particularly true when attempting to turn into a parking lot during rush hour. However, the recent case Vahman v. Cutt et al. is an important reminder that when it comes to proceeding through gaps, caution should be exercised.
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