Provincial governments should force anyone riding a bicycle to wear a helmet, says the co-author of a new report that found helmet use varies greatly across Canada. “I mean, it’s atrocious that in 2010, every province does not have some sort of helmet legislation,” said Ryan Zarychanski, an assistant professor of medicine at the University [...]
ICBC customers who need language assistance during the handling of their claims will now be able to converse freely in more than 170 languages through an interpreter. The initiative – provided by Language Line Services – is an on-demand, over-the-telephone translation service that was piloted this year in nine Lower Mainland claim centres and earlier [...]
A report from the Central 1 Credit Union predicts the mountain pine beetle’s gluttonous binge of B.C.’s forests will cost 11,250 forestry jobs in the next two decades. And because of the lack of alternative industries, the economic analysis said another 9,500 indirect jobs will be lost in the Interior. It’s estimated that by 2020 [...]
Canada’s richest provinces saw the smallest increases in household net worth last year, as real estate values in some of the country’s major markets declined. British Columbia and Alberta posted the smallest increases in net worth by far, with gains of 2.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively, according to a survey by WealthScapes [...]
Summer: long weekends, longer days, BBQs and road trips. They all go hand-in-hand. ICBC has issued a tip list for safe summer road trips. The provincial insurer says that in British Columbia, in July and August, over the years 2005 to 2009, there is an average of 1,232 crashes and 361 injured victims on B.C. [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. Some of the them look like scooters. And some of them look like something your Grandma would ride. But one thing electric bikes have in common in common in BC, is they have special insurance requirements. Michaela Pitt of Coast Country Insurance explains: Michaela Pitt: First of [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. A classic car owner discusses the special insurance requirements for his 1978 Trans Am Do you know how to insure a collector car in British Columbia? One man tells us what it took to insure his classic Trans Am. Gord Hentze: Back in 1977 Carol and I [...]
Ladner, B.C.’s Westland Insurance Group Ltd. today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Peninsula & Bay Lands Ltd., an independent insurance agency with two locations on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in the towns of Ucluelet and Tofino, BC. The transaction marks the continuation of Westland’s acquisition strategy of insurance agencies [...]
The B.C. government says it has tightened the way it handles personal and private information after hundreds of government documents were found in the home of a public employee under police investigation. Citizen’s Services Minister Ben Stewart says the government is acting on three investigations after files with personal information for more than 1,400 clients [...]
A 27-year-old British Columbia man is suing the provincial government after he was banned for life from receiving disability assistance for defrauding the system out of $250. Justin Mitchell of Vancouver has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction since he was a young teenager and has received [...]
A new special prosecutor has been appointed to review allegations involving the election campaign of B.C.’s on-again, off-again solicitor general. In the first week of May, special prosecutor Terrence Robertson cleared Kash Heed of wrongdoing and recommended charges against three people involved in his campaign. But hours later Robertson resigned over his law firm’s political [...]
The introduction of the harmonized sales tax in two of Canada’s largest provinces and a wave of other new expenses could take a toll just as Canadians begin to feel confident about opening their wallets again, experts say. Shoppers in British Columbia and Ontario started paying the HST on May 1 on a number of [...]
British Columbia has appointed Nancy McKinstry as chair of the board of directors of ICBC. McKinstry, who received the Order of Canada in 2005 has served on corporate, university and non-profit boards in recent years, and spent more than two decades with Odlum Brown Ltd., most recently as a senior vice president and director. Her [...]
The death of a four-year-old girl killed by an alleged drunk driver two years ago in Delta has prompted the B.C. government to get tougher with impaired drivers. Solicitor General Mike de Jong says the B.C. government wants to cut drunk driving deaths in the province by 35 per cent by 2013. The parents of [...]
B.C. credit unions collectively earned a record $294 million before dividends and taxes last year, topping the previous high mark of $277 million set in 2008 by 6.2 per cent. Earnings growth resulted from improved operating efficiency, lower loan loss expense and higher income from subsidiaries. Total assets increased by 6.5 per cent to $48.4 [...]
When it comes to getting from point A to B, more and more British Columbians are discovering less is more and are switching from four wheels to two. BCAA Insurance says it recognizes the steady growth in motorcycle riding throughout the province and amongst its members, and is responding to motorcyclists’ calls for more choice [...]
ICBC has reported its 2009 year-end financial results, with a net income of $563 million, up from $497 million for 2008. Its investment portfolio made a strong contribution, with returns rising to $532 million in 2009 from $280 million in 2008. ICBC says this is reflective of a well-managed and diversified portfolio. Claims and related [...]
B.C. Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety Kash Heed, a former police chief and star Liberal candidate in last year’s provincial election, resigned from cabinet on April 9 because of an investigation into Elections Act violations. Heed said he had been informed by RCMP that they are investigating alleged breaches of the act during [...]
