2022/2023

Year in review

We're staying the course to keep auto insurance working for British Columbians.

How we're helping customers

Holding steady on Basic rates

B.C. drivers benefitted from more affordable insurance in 2022/23, thanks to Enhanced Care. Basic rates will stay the same for the next two years, with interim approval from the BC Utilities Commission.

If this is officially approved, customers will have seen no Basic rate increases over five years. Despite high inflation and global economic pressures, we've kept rates more affordable.

Better care for injured customers

Enhanced Care has been a big step forward for British Columbians, providing more affordable insurance and better care after a crash. Because 2022/23 was Enhanced Care's first full year of operation, we identified opportunities to make it work better for everyone.

For example, we introduced a dedicated phone line for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users to report a crash, so they receive quicker access to the recovery services and care they need.

We also provided training and better support for employees working in this new system and hired more claims specialists.

Rebates brought relief

When gas prices soared in 2022, we provided a $110 relief rebate to each personal insurance customer. In this way — and by working to keep insurance more affordable — we helped ease the financial challenges facing B.C. drivers.

We're responsive to customer needs

We don't shy away from making changes to better care for our customers. For example, we adjusted a policy in mid-2022 that affects when claims costs are sought from pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable road users.

We decided that, in some situations such as when a cyclist or pedestrian has suffered a severe or catastrophic injury, we'd no longer seek recovery for these costs. Now, everyone is more protected in the event of a crash.

Everyone loves discounts

Earlier this year, we made changes to provide a discount for those ICBC optional insurance customers who drive less than 10,000 kilometres a year. Since April 2023, customers have received just over 83,000 discounts related to the distance they drive, including this new optional discount and the Basic low-kilometre discount.

Customers are having better ICBC experiences

Eligible customers can now renew their insurance online. As of May 2022, they can skip the trip to their broker’s office and still benefit from their broker’s support. Customers have renewed nearly 220,000 policies online (as of July 31, 2023). Also starting in 2022, customers no longer need to display insurance decals.

Customers will benefit from improvements to claims efficiency and experience that began in 2022. By improving, streamlining and implementing new processes, like transferring ownership of a vehicle that can't be repaired, we'll reduce the time it takes to resolve claims — making the customer and employee experience better.

Increasing access to driver licensing services

To meet the growing demand for these services, we took steps in 2022 like extending driver licensing office hours and opening on Saturdays in several locations. We also reduced road test wait times by hiring more driver examiners and adding testing locations.

We're making ICBC more diverse, fair and inclusive

Every single British Columbian was in ICBC's focus last year when we launched our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategic action plan, mapped out goals and actions to build a more inclusive workplace, and set principles and priorities for ICBC's first accessibility work plan.

We want to make ICBC work for all our customers and be an even better place work for all our employees. ICBC's DEI work was recognized in 2023 with a Five-Star Diversity, Equity and Inclusion rating from Insurance Business Canada.

Also in 2022/23, our network of employee resource groups (ERGs) — voluntary, employee-driven communities that focus on providing a sense of belonging and connection — were reviewed to help make them stronger. These seven groups, which align closely with our commitments to DEI and to Indigenous reconciliation, held events throughout the year to promote inclusion and encourage dialogue.

Employee Resource Groups:

Indigenous Peoples

Disability & Accessibility

Ethnicity

Caregivers

2SLGBTQIA+

Wellness

Women in Leadership

Our reconciliation journey

The mountain peaks known as the Two Sisters by the Squamish Nation

When it comes to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, we know we have a responsibility to create meaningful and lasting change. In 2022, we began working with Two Worlds Consulting to support the creation of an Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation framework.

This framework will support alignment of ICBC policies with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, and B.C.'s Declaration Act Action Plan.

From this work, we'll have a a detailed action plan to create meaningful and significant change. At the same time, we'll continue to find opportunities to serve the needs of Indigenous Peoples through our driver licensing and community outreach programs.

Last year, we added land acknowledgements to icbc.com and our employee intranet, and encouraged employees to add their own acknowledgements to email signatures. Commitment boards at several ICBC locations give employees an opportunity to express their personal commitment to reconciliation.

Improving roads for everyone

More than 270 road improvement projects around B.C. received a total of $7.7 million in 2022/23. Here are some highlights from the year:

Approximately 80 road authority partners and Indigenous communities received road improvement funding.

The Road Improvement team of engineers completed 14 road safety audit and safety reviews for our municipal partners.

Road Improvement engineers participated in 30 traffic safety communities throughout B.C., providing technical expertise for local road safety stakeholders.

We're helping B.C. communities stay safer

In 2022/23, we added new road safety approaches to our crash prevention strategy and continued our support for more vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians.
We’re also keeping an eye on trends in driver behaviour and mobility, as well as shifts in vehicle technology use.
Our Road Safety team educated the public about high-risk driving behaviours like speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving. Their outreach throughout B.C. — including in remote Indigenous communities — promoted safety with events such as car seat clinics.
The team worked with volunteers to help pedestrians stay visible by handing out reflectors and providing safety tips in high-pedestrian traffic areas across the province.
We’ve teamed up with the BC Lions to show our support for a safer B.C. by reminding their fans to plan for a safe ride home. Find us at home games, where we’ll be showing impaired driving ads and leading fun and informative activities on the field during intermission.

Supporting a sustainable repair industry

Helping the repair industry remain sustainable will ensure our customers continue to have access to the repairs they need. To help attract and retain key technical roles in automotive trades, we are collaborating with our repair industry partners on labor attraction and retention, education and training, and safety (LETS).

Launched in 2022, LETS is a long-term program that aims to:

Increase attraction of new talent to the industry with incentives, grants and training

Help offset training costs

Support our partners with access to new training for existing workers

Our financial performance in 2022/23

Following two years of positive net income, a $195 million net loss in 2022/23 was largely the result of low investment income and higher claims costs. Rising interest rates due to high inflation were felt around the world in 2022/23 and ICBC was no exception.
While these costs impacted our investment portfolio, ICBC’s investment team worked to stay the course and ensure its funds were well managed. ICBC’s capital reserves — which help to ensure we will be able to pay all customer claims — continued to grow in 2022/23 in support of long-term financial stability.
Many claims remain unsettled from crashes that occured before Enhanced Care. Although these claims are often complex and costly to settle, ICBC has sufficient reserves to cover these claims costs.
A 2022/23 net loss is a snapshot of just one year’s financial performance. British Columbians can rest assured that ICBC remains on solid financial ground.

How your premium dollars are spent

Five-year average (2018/19 to 2022/23)

Enhanced Care has lowered claims costs by removing legal expenses. This means our insurance system is more sustainable for the future.

Income from our investments helps to reduce the gap between premiums collected and ICBC's expenses, including the claims we pay out. This ensures a more affordable and sustainable auto insurance system for British Columbians.

Total expenses:

$0.84

Claims costs

$0.05

ICBC operations

$0.15

Other (premium tax, commission, Road Safety and other expenses)

For every $1 we collect, we pay out $1.04

Giving in your community

Communities around the province were made safer last year through the community grant program, which focuses on preventing crashes through grants and by supporting community groups like injury recovery organizations.

Road Safety coordinators were in our communities delivering on initiatives such as P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth) and Seniors on the Move.

ICBC supports a number of charitable initiatives each year and matches employee generosity dollar-for-dollar. Employees gave more than $300,000 in donations to local United Way foundations last year, and Jean Up donations supported BC Children's Hospital by raising enough funds to treat approximately 96,000 children.

Caring for our environment

We take climate change, and the impact it has on British Columbians, seriously. When extreme weather hits, we're there for our customers with safety information, efficient claims processing, and often, employee and company humanitarian responses.
We've exceeded our 2030 target for emissions reduction and are striving to do more. Our most significant reduction come from lessening our building footprint.
We've downsized facilities and switched from florescent lights to networked LEDs. Our vehicle fleet is smaller and we're replaced some of our gas vehicles with hybrids.
In 2023, ICBC was recognized as one of Canada's Greenest Employers. Many employees work from home up to three days a week, reducing the number of commuters on the road.
We'll be moving our head office to a more central Metro Vancouver location, increasing employee access to transit and decreasing commute times.

Making ICBC an even better place to work

One of B.C.'s largest employers with nearly 6,000 full-time employees, ICBC was named one of B.C.'s top employers in 2022.

In 2022 and this year, in recognition of our employees' evolving needs, we have implemented and approved improvements in our benefits plans including significant increases in mental health coverage.

We also launched an employee referral pilot program that rewards employees for helping us find the best candidates for job openings. We're continuing to build a diverse and inclusive workforce and are evolving to attract and retain talent.

What's next?

More customers will save on their insurance as we introduce more usage-based discounts.
Customer convenience will increase as we improve our online services and develop a customer experience strategy that will lead to service improvements for all of us.
We'll keep working to ensure Enhanced Care is performing for everyone as intended.
We're working to manage repair-related costs, which have been increasing due to inflation and other cost pressures.
As a step towards our commitment to reconciliation, ICBC has now started providing five annual paid days of Indigenous cultural leave for Indigenous employees to attend ceremonial, cultural and spiritual events.

We're taking care of British Columbians in more ways than just their auto insurance. By improving customer care and experience, working on employee satisfaction, and collaborating with our partners, communities and the environment around us, we're contributing to a British Columbia that works for everyone.