Alberta pays higher auto insurance than BC, national study finds

The first results of a national study on auto insurance rates, recently released by the Consumers’ Association of Canada, found that consumers in Alberta pay an average of 30% more for their auto insurance than BC consumers. Auto insurance rates in Alberta averaged at around $1,714 as compared to $1,324 in BC. A comparison of the province’s two capital cities shows that Edmonton’s average rate was $1,864 vs. Victoria’s of $944. Auto insurance rates could be lower by hundreds of dollars some say, if the BC Government had not interfered with ICBC’s operations.”ICBC’s mandate is to serve all consumers across the province at the lowest possible cost and they are no longer doing so”, Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association, says. “By the end of this year ICBC will have a billion dollar profit. So, what is ICBC going to do with the other $900 million of consumer’s money."Cran says this profit should be returned to BC consumers by way of lower rates, otherwise ICBC should increase minimum insurance benefits to victims of crashes.