30 — Friday, February 15, 1991 ~ North Shore News

AUTOMOTIVES
ICBC redefines policy on misrated vehicles

ICBC HAS just announced a new process to deal with the
serious problem of motorists who deliberately misrate their
vehicle for insurance purposes and whose accident claims

have been denied.

The new proredure allows the
claim to be paid, but requires the
motorist to pay an amount equal
to ten times the difference be-
tween the cost of the coverage ac-
tually purchased and the coverage
that should have been purchased.
The minimum is $500 and the
maximum is $10,000.

Here’s some background to ex-
plain what misrating is, and why
it’s such a problem.

A fundamental element of any
insurance contract is something

called ‘‘utmost good faith.’’ In
simple terms, it means that the
person who buys the policy will
truthfully disclose all information
about the property being insured.
The insurer, in turn, lives up to
the conditions of the contract.

An Autoplan premium is based
in part on the type of vehicle use
a motorist reports to an Autoplan
broker when buying the insurance
policy. Misrating often involves a
deliberate attempt to avoid paying
a higher premium, such as rating
a vehicle for the less-expensive

mudder
could love.

S$ SUZUKI

All Right

91 SWIFT
3 door hatchback
LISIGLIGT

From $7,885

Ot SIDEKICK CONVERTIBLE
2 door, JA/JX/JLX

$41,795

From

SAMURAI
CONVERTIBLE
From °8,995

91 SWIFT SEDAN

4 door
L/S/GLIGT

From 58,995

"H SIDEKICK HARDTOP
2 door or 4 door,
power pack, JX/JLX

$14,395

From

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Call for an appointment

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988-7973

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Pleasure Use Only coverage when
it is actually used to travel to and
from work.

Other misrating could involve
any of the nearly 200 commercial
rate classes where the difference in
premiums can be in the thousands
of dollars.

While the motorist has not
made a fair contribution to the
Autoplan fund, and that’s not fair
to everyone else paying for auto
insurance, under the terms of
B.C.’s Insurance (Motor Vehicle)
Act any claims he or she makes
could be denied with potentially
devastating results.

Here’s an example.

The typical premium difference
between the Pleasure Use Only

1990 MAZDA 323 PROTEGE
4-Door, Power Steering, All Season Radials,
Automatic Trans, AM/FM Cassette. Stk.#90246.

12,947 *14,995% |

;

FROM

Ken
Hardie

INSURANCE
CORPORATION

OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
AUTOTOPIC

and To and From Work coverages
is $120. Misrating a vehicle to
avoid paying this relatively small
amount could cost a motorist tens
of thousands of dollars in the
event of an accident because,

PDI. & FREIGHT $595.00

under terms of the Act, any dam-
age claims for the misrated vehicle
would not be paid, and all
amounts paid to those injured in
the accident would be recovered
from the motorist.

This new process has been in-
troduced to provide a fair, consis-
tent formula to deal with
misrating situations. It allows the
motorist in this example to pay
$1,200 and ICBC would handle
the claim in the normal fashion.

We urge all motorists to check
their Autoplan policies to ensure
their vehicle is properly rated.
Anyone needing assistance can
consult any Autoplan broker or
call ICBC at 681-2800.

1990 MAZDA 626
4—Door, 5-Speed Transmission, AM/FM Radio, All
Season Radials. Stk.#90351.

OVER 106 f & TRUCKS READY TO GO! COME ON DOWN AND
MAKE YOUR BEST DEAL TODAY - EVERYBODY WINS!

Ot 7847

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