B.C.’s Lapu Lapu Day vehicle attack: what’s covered by insurance? 

British Columbia’s public auto insurer says accident benefits are available for pedestrians injured or otherwise affected by the vehicle attack at Lapu Lapu Day Festival.

Eleven people were killed, and more than two dozen others were injured at a neighbourhood street party in South Vancouver Saturday, after a man drove a vehicle into a large crowd of people attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival.  

The Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver is a daylong celebration of Filipino culture. Police said a 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene. 

The suspect, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, was charged Sunday with eight counts of second-degree murder. Vancouver police say further charges are anticipated. 

How will public insurance coverage work? 

B.C.’s public insurer has published information about coverage for those who have been injured or affected by the attack.  

Essentially, ICBC’s “Enhanced Care” accident benefits are available to anybody in B.C. who is injured in a motor vehicle crash for 12 weeks from the incident. 

The following supports are available from ICBC: 

• Everyone injured in a vehicle incident is automatically covered for pre-approved treatments for 12 weeks after the crash, including counselling, psychology, physiotherapy, kinesiology, chiropractor, registered massage therapy and acupuncture. Injured customers may be eligible for additional benefits. 

• Injured customers won’t need a referral from a family physician or a nurse practitioner, or approval from ICBC to access these treatments, and they may be eligible for additional care, depending on their injuries. 

• ICBC has also made counselling available to those impacted by the event, including witnesses, and family members of those injured or killed. 

In B.C.’s public auto system, ICBC is the only provider of mandatory basic auto coverage, which drivers are required by law to obtain if operating a vehicle. Drivers can obtain optional coverage through ICBC or privately owned insurance companies.  

Will Toronto van attack coverages apply? 

The incident is somewhat similar to the 2018 Toronto van attack that killed 11 people, which at the time was the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. 

However, in the case of the Toronto van attack, the accused was driving a rental van. Experts told Canadian Underwriter at the time if a rental vehicle is used as a murder weapon, the insurer could be on the hook if neither the driver nor the person renting the vehicle have auto insurance. That’s because Ontario’s standard auto liability policy does not automatically exclude intentional or criminal acts. 

“The insurer of a rental vehicle is responsible for indemnifying a claimant, but only if the lessee and driver are not insured,” David Contant, an Ottawa-based lawyer, told CU at the time.  

As of press time, it’s not known whether or not the Vancouver attack suspect used his own vehicle. Witnesses describe the vehicle as a black Audi SUV.