ICBC waste of taxpayer dollars
B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba all have government Crown corporations in regards to insurance. These three insurance corporations were all created by previous NDP provincial governments. The other seven provinces have never considered creating insurance corporations because of being a total waste of taxpayer dollars.
Manitoba has a total of 1,800 employees in their insurance corporation, Saskatchewan has a total of 1,700 employees in their insurance corporation, and B.C. has 5,200 employees in their insurance corporation.
From the 2019 ICBC financial statements, ICBC had revenue of $6.1 billion. Total accounts payable was $3,362.271.374 dollars, or 55 per cent of total revenue. 56.5 per cent of the accounts payable total was money paid out to lawyers to cover their legal billings and money to be paid out to their clients in regards to injury claims. A total of $1.9 billion paid out in legal billings.
This just proves that ICBC lawyers are taking the easy way out instead of putting up a legal fight in injury claims. That is what happens when governments have insurance corporations spending taxpayer dollars. Total amounts paid out to lawyers and injury claims are much lower under private insurance.
Total payroll in 2019 for ICBC was $422,691,574. 46.7 per cent or $197,729.157 was the amount to employees earning $75,000 per year and above. Under the old Medical Services Plan, ICBC paid out $42,000 on behalf of their employees and added these amounts as a taxable benefit to their wages, which is Revenue Canada law.
Now with the new NDP government math of eliminating the Medical Services Plan and creating an employer health care tax of 1.95 per cent of the total yearly payroll, ICBC is now paying $82,424 per year. An increase of 96.2 per cent or $40,424. This added expense has to be added to vehicle insurance rates.
ICBC presently is an out-of-control cancer. Too many employees. Too many employees earning more than $75,000 year. Too much money going out to lawyers. Insurance vehicle rates will not go down unless these three problem areas are corrected as soon as possible.
In summary, ICBC needs a complete overhaul, not Mickey Mouse solutions put in by the B.C. NDP government.
Unbelievable!
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan