ICBC says that it fully believes that all eligible British Columbians will receive their customer rebate cheques before the end of the month.
The auto insurer says that it is on track to mail out all 2.86 million cheques by the end of April for those eligible customers eligible, receiving a portion of $600 million total in COVID-19 related rebates.
ICBC says it is returning money to drivers due to fewer drivers on the road causing fewer crashes during the early stages of the pandemic.
The cheques amount to a one-time average of $190 per insurance policy, according to ICBC, however that number will vary based on the driver’s history.
Customers won’t have to apply, but they must have had a policy between April 1 and Sept. 30 last year in order to receive the money.
Two weeks ago, ICBC began mailing small batches of COVID-19 rebate cheques directly to eligible customers.
According to ICBC, large-scale distribution started April 6 and, as of Thursday, April 8, approximately 940,000 cheques had been issued.
The large-scale mailout was originally slated to begin in early March, however, was delayed due to a cyberattack on the third-party vendor being used to distribute the cheques.
Extra security measures have since been put in place and ICBC is confident that rebate cheques will be arriving soon.
“Most customers who had vehicles insured for all or part of the six-month period between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2020, are receiving a COVID-19 rebate averaging $190 per policy,” reads a statement from ICBC. “The rebate is approximately 19 per cent of the premium a customer paid for coverage during the six-month period.”
ICBC notes that an investigation of the cyberattack confirmed that no customer information was obtained by unauthorized parties and there were no impacts to ICBC’s systems, which remain secure.
Graham Cox
