Trick or Treat and it’s not even Halloween

You’ve no doubt seen the ICBC ads on TV and heard them on the radio. ICBC is spending millions of dollars in trying to win the hearts and minds of car accident victims. What are the treats they are handing out?:

-if you don’t hire a lawyer, we will pay your full wages and even do a direct deposit into your bank account
-if you don’t hire a lawyer, we will pay the full costs of your treatment

What are they trying to achieve? The percentage of people in B.C. who hire lawyers to assist them with their ICBC claims has been steadily climbing over the past five years. This ad campaign is designed to try to reverse the trend, to try to convince people that ICBC are the good guys and that people with ICBC claims don’t need lawyers.

This is the same ICBC that has been caught red handed many times over the years doing things that nobody would consider proper. ICBC employees caught writing off cars, then buying them back and selling them for a profit. ICBC managers bringing their personal cars in for free paint jobs in ICBC approved shops. ICBC managers and adjustors getting so called bonuses for settling files short of their actual value. ICBC employees using their computers to illegally obtain information about potential jurors to allow them to unfairly and illegally influence them. Using investigators to intimidate members of vulnerable groups such as young people and new Canadians. These are just some of the scandals that have come to light. How many other schemes are out there of which the public is not even aware?

But what is the trick? Why is ICBC trying so hard to keep people away from lawyers? You would think that ICBC would want people to have the information that they need to make intelligent and informed decisions. But keeping car accident victims away from the information is exactly the point of ICBC’s efforts. Information is power and he who controls the information wields the power.

The trick is simple – convince people that they don’t need lawyers, put a slant on the information they receive and ultimately settle files for pennies on the dollar.

And where is all this money coming from for these massive ICBC trick and treat ad campaigns? You guessed it. From you and me and everybody else who pays car insurance in B.C. That’s quite the trick, don’t you think? ICBC is using your money to fool you into playing their game.

Do your family members, friends and co-workers a big favour by telling them all about ICBC’s early Halloween trick and treat campaign. At the very least, every person injured in a car accident in B.C. should consult with a lawyer to learn his or her rights and responsibilities. At Cowley & Company, consultations are free of charge.