climate change

The consequences of the flooding and devastation in BC right now will lead to massive payouts from ICBC. In fact, climate change will affect your ICBC insurance rates and the cost of owning a vehicle in ways that we have not really considered.

This morning, it was reported that roughly 5000 cars were stopped in some fashion on Highway 1 leading out of the Lower Mainland. There were cars trapped in mudslides, cars that have floated away in communities throughout Southern British Columbia, and cars partly or mostly submerged in places like Merritt, Abbotsford, and the Cowichan Valley.

Each of these cars will require repairs – at the very least – to the significant water damage. While it is easy to imagine those vehicles that are no longer drivable and the replacement cost associated with them, there are also vehicles with lesser forms of damage: water damage to seats and interior fabrics, vehicles that have damage to the paint, dents from debris striking against vehicles, and the cleaning costs associated with removing mud, debris, and water from inside vehicles.

ICBC is, in many circumstances, going to be obligated to pay for these costs.

But the ICBC costs associated with the BC floods are likely going to impact people negatively overall.

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