Ward Branch Approves Icbc Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, $13 Million
Ward Branch approved the icbc class action lawsuit settlement on two class-action claims against ICBC and the province, putting nearly $13 million toward allegations that insurance premiums were illegally driven up since 1973. The B.C. Supreme Court justice said the terms were fair and reasonable and ended what he called a long and difficult fight.
Under the deal, the province will pay $12.2 million on behalf of all drivers who have paid for ICBC insurance over the past 53 years. ICBC will pay almost $700,000 to 275 people whose accident benefits fell short of what they were entitled to.
Ward Branch ruling
Branch said the settlements were fair and reasonable after a two-day hearing held last month. He added, “Given these risks, $12.2 million is fair and reasonable,” in ruling on the claim tied to drivers who paid premiums over 53 years.
The case had been moving toward a September trial before the settlements were approved. Plaintiffs’ lawyers said the premiums claim could top out at $300 million, but they also put their chance of success at five per cent.
ICBC premiums claim
That five per cent chance, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers, would have meant about $15 million. They also said the payout could fall to about $5 million if ICBC succeeded in limiting the time period covered.
The allegations centered on premiums that were said to have been illegally driven up since 1973. The province’s $12.2 million share covers drivers who paid for ICBC insurance during those 53 years, while ICBC’s separate payment addresses the 275 people with accident-benefit shortfalls.
Charities and drivers
Most of the settlement money will go to charities, not to the millions of insured drivers who paid the premiums. For drivers who were part of the broader claim, the practical result is that the lawsuit ends without a direct payout to each payer, while the court-ordered settlement funds move to the uses set out in the agreement.
The ruling closes the litigation path that had been set for trial in September and settles both class actions at once. For the people named in the second claim, the ICBC payment addresses accident benefits that fell short of what they were entitled to receive.
