Car Insurance in BC: How ICBC Works, Enhanced Care and Optional Coverage

British Columbia is one of three provinces where a government insurer sells the mandatory coverage. Every vehicle registered in BC must carry Basic Autoplan from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), so the mandatory part of your premium cannot be shopped. The optional part, which covers your own car and extra liability, can be bought from ICBC or from private insurers. This page explains how ICBC prices basic coverage, what Enhanced Care pays, where private insurers fit, and how costs differ across the province. For how BC compares with other provinces, see the car insurance hub.

How the BC system is split

What Basic Autoplan includes

Basic insurance covers you only in Canada and the US. If you are responsible for a crash, Basic does not pay to repair your own car: that needs optional Collision coverage. Many Basic coverages may not pay if the vehicle is rated for the wrong use, the driver has no valid licence or is impaired, the crash happened while avoiding police or in illegal use, the vehicle was used deliberately to cause damage, or the claim is fraudulent or exaggerated.

Separately from Basic, BC residents with no other insurance for it are covered up to $200,000 for non-vehicle property, such as a fence or bicycle, damaged by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver on a BC highway, with a $750 deductible on hit-and-run claims.

How ICBC prices Basic coverage: the driver factor

ICBC prices Basic insurance with a driver factor: a three-decimal number that reflects your driving experience and crash history.

• The driver factor's baseline is 1.000, and a lower number means a lower premium.
• The driver factor improves as the driver gains driving experience and for each year they stay crash-free.
• Up to 40 years of driving experience count toward Basic insurance discounts.
• ICBC looks at at-fault claims in up to 10 previous years, but no earlier than March 1, 2017 (so the full 10-year period applies from 2027).
• More recent claims weigh more than older ones.
• At-fault crashes follow the driver, not the vehicle.
• The principal driver's factor accounts for 75% of the driver portion of the premium and the highest-risk listed driver's for the other 25%.
• If another listed driver is lower-risk than the principal driver, the premium is reduced only if that driver is a household member or employee.

Everyone who drives the vehicle, including household members, employees and learners who drive it regularly, is listed on the policy. If an unlisted driver causes a crash, the owner can face a one-time financial consequence unless they bought Unlisted Driver Protection, which doesn’t apply when the driver is a household member, employee, regular driver or unlicensed.

A Collision claim can affect your premium if you are found more than 25% responsible for the crash; Comprehensive claims do not affect ICBC premiums.

Driver Risk Premium

Tickets are handled separately from the driver factor, although two minor convictions (such as speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign) or one serious conviction (such as excessive speeding or distracted driving) also raise the premiums for optional Collision and Extended Third Party Liability coverage. Drivers with serious or repeated offences pay a Driver Risk Premium. According to ICBC, it applies to a driver with at least one of the following:

• one or more driving-related Criminal Code convictions
• one or more 10-point Motor Vehicle Act convictions
• one or more excessive speeding convictions
• two or more roadside suspensions or prohibitions
• two or more convictions over a three-year period for using an electronic device while driving

ICBC reviews the driving record for offences in the previous 3 years. The Driver Risk Premium is separate from Autoplan insurance premiums and is billed even if the driver doesn't own or insure a vehicle.

Other things that change a Basic premium

The vehicle’s rate class (how it is used, such as pleasure, driving to work or school, or business) and the territory where it is kept also set the rate. A vehicle rated for pleasure use can still be driven to work or school, or for business, on up to 6 days a month. If the declared rate class or territory is wrong, a claim can be denied or a penalty charged. Ride-hailing trips are covered by a blanket Basic policy that the ride-hailing company buys from ICBC, and ride-hailing drivers need a Class 1, 2 or 4 commercial licence.

Drivers moving to BC can have up to 15 years of driving experience from outside BC credited, proven with a driver’s abstract or letter of experience from the licensing authority that issued their first non-learner licence. Drivers new to BC who got their BC licence on or after September 1, 2019 also get a temporary increase in their driver factor, which ends once they go 3 years without being responsible for a crash. Drivers returning to BC who previously held a BC licence keep their BC experience and don’t get the adjustment. New BC drivers go through the Graduated Licensing Program; what that means for insurance is covered in car insurance for new drivers.

Enhanced Care accident benefits

On May 1, 2021, BC moved to Enhanced Care, a care-based model that ICBC says largely removed legal costs from the system. It is no longer possible to sue for compensation except in limited circumstances; in exchange, benefits are available to anyone injured in a crash regardless of fault. Fault still matters, because drivers who cause crashes pay higher rates.

Figures below are effective April 1, 2026 and are adjusted each year (source: ICBC).

Optional coverage: ICBC or a private insurer

Optional coverage is where BC drivers have a real choice. Many buy everything from ICBC, but private insurers also sell collision, comprehensive and extra liability, and some offer a discount for combining auto with home insurance. A broker can quote ICBC’s optional coverage alongside private options.

The difference between the two physical-damage coverages is explained in collision vs comprehensive insurance.

Basic third-party liability is $200,000, and ICBC notes that many drivers raise it to $1 million or more because a serious crash can cause damages well above that limit.

Ways to lower a BC premium

The broader list of discounts, most of which apply only to the optional part in BC, is in our guide to lowering a car insurance premium.

How costs differ across BC

Where the car is kept affects the premium. ICBC divides the province into territories based on geography and population, because a vehicle driven in a sparsely populated area is less likely to be in a crash than one in a densely populated area. Vehicles used for pleasure or commuting are rated in the territory where they are kept when not in use, usually your home address.

Metro Vancouver

For commuters in Metro Vancouver, as elsewhere, a change to pleasure use after moving to remote work (if the car is used for commuting on 6 days a month or fewer), or a distance-based discount for lower mileage, are among the few levers on the Basic premium.

Kelowna and the Okanagan

Two risks shape coverage choices in the Okanagan. Wildfire is real: in August 2023 the McDougall Creek wildfire led to evacuation orders in West Kelowna and nearby areas, and a car damaged by fire is covered only under comprehensive or specified perils. On mountain highways, a rollover is a collision claim, while hitting an animal or being struck by falling rock is a comprehensive claim.

BC winter tire rules

Winter tires or chains are required on most BC highway routes from October 1 to April 30; on some routes outside mountain passes and high-snowfall areas the requirement ends March 31. A legal winter tire is marked with the M+S letters or the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol and has a minimum tread depth; chains on summer tires don’t count on signed highways. The routes are marked by signs, drivers who aren’t equipped can be turned away and fined, and cities and private roads such as ski hills can set their own rules.

Reporting a claim to ICBC

Report a crash to ICBC online at icbc.com, or by phone at 1-800-910-4222 (604-520-8222 in Vancouver) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Under Enhanced Care your own benefits don’t depend on fault, but the fault decision still affects your premium. For a hit-and-run, ICBC needs a police report if there is a suspect or someone was injured, ideally made within 24 hours; damage to your own vehicle is covered only by Collision or ICBC’s optional Hit and Run coverage, and a hit-and-run claim doesn’t affect your premium. If you disagree with a decision, ICBC offers an internal review, and many disputes, including accident benefit decisions and ICBC’s assessment of responsibility when it costs you money, can then go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

A vehicle declared a total loss is settled at its actual cash value at the time of the crash, including depreciation; how that is calculated and challenged is in what happens when your car is written off. Most vehicles brought in from another province need a passed inspection from a BC designated inspection facility before registration, although some recent or recently inspected vehicles from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are exempt, and salvage or rebuilt vehicles don’t qualify for that exemption.

Related reading

• Average car insurance by province
• Car insurance cost by age
• Car affordability calculator
• Lease vs buy calculator
• Cost of living in Canada