If you are traveling in a foreign jurisdiction outside of British Columbia you may feel that if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, ICBC is not involved in the process. However, ICBC is often involved in the process.
If you are driving an ICBC insured vehicle outside the Province and cause an accident then ICBC is very much involved in the defense of any claim advanced against you.
If you are driving a rental vehicle or a vehicle licensed outside the Province of British Columbia, ICBC may still be involved.
To start with, some of your insurance coverage applies out of Province especially if you are a Road Star individual. Check your insurance brochure for coverage details.
If you are injured outside the Province then you may still have access to ICBC coverage. In many jurisdictions in the United States, the amount of third-party liability coverage that is available to pay your damages suffered in an accident is very modest and sometimes as low as $10,000. Also, in the United States it is not uncommon for vehicles to be driven without insurance. In situation where there is not enough insurance coverage to pay the full extent of your damages, ICBC may have to compensate you for your damages under the underinsured motorist protection (“U.M.P.”) plan.
U.M.P. works like this. If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured/underinsured vehicle say in the United States and that vehicle is at fault for the accident, ICBC is required to provide U.M.P. coverage for the injured BC resident assuming the uninsured/underinsured driver cannot pay all the damages owing to the injured BC resident.
Please see the section on U.M.P. coverage for a full description.
In other situations where you are injured outside the Province, Part VII benefits (no-fault benefits) which cover disability benefits and medical expenses may not be available to the same extent as Part VII benefits available through ICBC. Your entitlement to Part VII benefits applies regardless of the location of the accident but Part VII benefits are secondary insurance meaning that you have to claim against other insurance first before going to ICBC for the Part VII benefits.
If the injury occurs in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or Ontario, ICBC will have to comply with the legislated higher limits of coverage in those jurisdictions.
The best suggestion is that whenever you are involved in an out of province accident, you should contact ICBC and report the accident to dial-a-claim. It may be that any dealings you have with respect to this out of province accident do not involve ICBC but to be safe you should report the accident to ICBC.
