Tragedy: the reality of ICBCs no-fault insurance.

Featured today in the Vancouver Sun is the infamous West Vancouver case. As you may recall, a Range Rover owned by a neighboring resident crashed into the wedding celebration after breaking through a stone boulder and wrought iron fence. One of the boulders struck and killed 67-year-old Annie Kong. The SUV then trapped another guest, a woman in her 60s, against the base of a garden fountain, resulting in her death.

Sadly, the Kongs learned that under ICBC’s no-fault (and markedly unfair) insurance system, they cannot sue the driver for wrongful death (under the Family Compensation Act).

Tragically, the family also discovered that, under ICBC’s no-fault insurance system, which took effect in May 2021, they cannot sue the driver for wrongful death (under the Family Compensation Act) unless there is a criminal conviction.

Under the previous system, the Kongs could have filed a claim under the Family Compensation Act to recover any financial losses resulting from Annie's death.

Under the new no-fault system, crash victims no longer have the right to sue the other driver.

However, under the new no-fault system, crash victims no longer have the right to sue the other driver, except in cases where "the at-fault driver is convicted of certain Criminal Code offences, such as impaired driving," as stated on ICBC's website.

A Vancouver lawyer remarked, “Even when those exceptions apply, you still cannot claim the same damages that were recoverable under the old system”.

This is the truth of no-fault insurance. The tragic reality. The sad state of ICBC’s monopoly.