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ICBC lashes out at whiplash claims

ICBC head Robyn Allan is going af- ter insurance cheats in an attempt to cut costs and premiums.

The new president vowed recently to institute a strict whiplash policy that will not pay for accidents in which a car is not damaged.

Allan said whiplash claims account for 70 per cent of claims and 50 per cent of the $900 million paid out last year. She was adamant that no body damage to vehicles means no “body” damage to vehicle occupants.

“We have people claiming injuries after collisions in which the impact took place at a normal person’s walk- ing speed, maybe fire kilometres per hour,” she told reporters.

“What concerns us is the fact that most people who wrench their backs or necks skiing or moving things around the house recover and get back to nor- mal quickly. However, some who suffer

exactly the same injuries in a car acci- dent will immediately come to ICBC looking for money.”

Allan announced the new approach to whiplash claims as part of a new “firm and fair” approach to managing cost#and the existing $150-million deficit.”

Under the new policy, whiplash cas- es will be classed as mild, moderate or severe by adjusters and paid based on a set scale.

“We will vigorously resist any at- tempt to manufacture these claims,” she said.

Allan was unable to say if the corpo- ration’s budget-cutting tactics will keep next year’s premium increase out of the double digits.

“This is not the total solution to our projected $150-million deficit this year, or to next year’s premium increase which, if we do nothing, could exceed

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14 per cent,” she said.

Allan took a swipe at lawyers, many of whom take a percentage of monies their clients receive from ICBC.

“Some lawyers acting on behalf of claimants refuse ICBC’s reasonable and legal requests for information .. . information that we need to calculate fair settlements,” she said. “Frankly, these actions waste our time and your money, with very little benefit to the person making the claim.”

In her attempt to cut $8 million from the operating budget, Allan detailed a number of other improvements:

¢ Body shops will be reimbursed every 30 days rather than twice a month to allow ICBC to hang on to cash longer and generate more invest- ment income.

© ICBC staff will receive more train- ing to cut down on the need for outside adjusters, engineers and private in-

vestigators. Those used, such as lawyers doing defense work, will re- ceive more direction from ICBC to speed up the legal process.

*ICBC is considering once again op- erating its own body shop, as it did un- til 1984. The shop would be used to test new repair methods, provide enhanced training and find new ways to speed repairs and lower costs.

¢ The amount of documentation from chiropractors will be limited to re- duce costs.

* Therapists who opt out of the med- ical services plan will have to bill pa- tients rather than ICBC. Patients will be responsible for recovering their money from ICBC.

* The corporation will ask glass and parts manufacturers to reduce prices.

© More mediation will be used to settle claims quickly and more cheap- ly.

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NewsFLASH

a ~

r\s Clearing Thursday’ with warmer temperatures and sun-

shine Friday and Saturday.

@ OUR PEOPLE Today’s seniors are more in-

dependent than ever, but ser-

vices are still required. A recent

public forum allowed some se-

niors to voice their concerns, but others were not so fortu-

nate. page 9

The Hi Arrow Devils and Dexter's Dynamos met up in West Kootenay soccer action last Sunday and when it was all over, the Devils had swept the season series from their cross-

town rivals. page 13

A good time was had by all at this year’s Golden City Days in Rossland. Chilly weather and low attendance could not dampen the spirits of organiz- ers, local shopkeepers or par-

Our People

Local Sports 13 Action Ads 16 Arts & Leisure preview 2 TV Listings preview 5 Dining Guide preview 3

CE 1947

Wednesday

September 16, 1992

News photo by Jonathan Green

Castlegar Rebels head coach Gary Sauer offers some pointers to his blue squad during a team scrimmage at the opening of the Rebels training camp Monday. The Rebels home exhibition season gets underway Saturday against Beaver Valley.

Mayor reacts to Price Waterhouse

Neil Rachynski NEWS REPORTER

Audrey Moore has finally spoken out on the controversial Price Waterhouse report.

Absent since the report was released on Aug. 31, Moore says she nor the council ofthe day is responsible for the prob- lems outlined in the two-year-old study.

“We sit here and make policy decisions,” Moore said. “We don’t do hands-on management of the city. We don’t work that way, we shouldn't work that way.”

The $24,000 study, commissioned by the city, states that “the mayor requires that mail addressed to her and/or the council not be opened by city staff.” The report claims as a re- sult “managers feel that this practice implies they can’t be trusted.”

“(That) is not (true),” responded Moore. “There was misin- formation in the draft report.”

The report also states that city staff “have been instructed not to deal directly with the mayor and council members.”

Moore says she wasn’t aware those things occurred.

“We didn’t know that was happening,” she said. “(The re- port) is a snapshot in time. The city had been managed by dif- ferent management teams.”

Michael O’Connor, president of the Coalition Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy, asked Moore to explain why municipal

equipment was so out of date, as outlined in the study. Moore replied, “council sets policy and staff carry it out. In view of where the economy was... we didn’t have very much extra funds available.”

The report, using a zero to 10 scale, gave the city grades of four on honesty, teamwork and pride. The highest mark was a five for service.

“You know what I think is amazing, is that our workers were able to get.a five when they were handicapped by so many other things,” Moore said.

“Eighty to 85 per cent of the recommendations have been actioned. The price of the report more than paid for itself.”

After pressure from The News and Councillor Kirk Duff, Castlegar turned the study over to Victoria lawyer Murray Rankin, who used B.C.’s new Freedom of Information and Pri- vacy Protection Act to determine what could be released.

In his opening remarks about the edited report, Rankin mentioned the existence of a second report. And even though the lawyer agrees the second study contains no additional in- formation, Moore has asked council to release it.

The mayor would not say if the results of the Price Water- house study would have any impact on her decision to run in the next municipal election.

“Personally, I think that I took extremely responsible ac- tion,” Moore said. “For a report like that to be commissioned, you need a council that is courageous.”

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