Orders

ORDER NUMBER

F-25-19

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

the Insurance Corporation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 228, as amended

and

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia

2019 Revenue Requirements Application

Participant Assistance/Cost Award Application

BEFORE:

K. A. Keilty, Panel Chair

E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner

T. A. Loski, Commissioner

R. D. Revel, Commissioner

on October 7, 2019

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On December 14, 2018, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for its 2019 Revenue Requirements for Universal Compulsory Automobile Insurance (Basic insurance), seeking a Basic insurance rate increase of 6.3 percent for the policy year commencing April 1, 2019, among other requests (Application);

B.      By Orders G-1-19, G-57-19 and G-73-19, the BCUC established, among other things, regulatory timetables for the review of the Application, which included intervener and interested party registration, two rounds of information requests to ICBC, a procedural conference, and followed by written final and reply arguments;

C.      On August 19, 2019, by Decision and Order G-192-19, the BCUC approved a permanent +6.3 percent Basic insurance rate increase for the policy year commencing April 1, 2019, among other matters;

D.      The following interveners filed Participant Assistance/Cost Award (PACA) applications with the BCUC with respect to their participation in the proceeding:

E.       By letter dated September 24, 2019, ICBC provided its comments on the PACA applications. ICBC notes that the number of days submitted in BCOAPO’s PACA application for its participation in the March 26, 2019 Procedural Conference of 0.2 days is greater than MoveUP’s submission of 0.125 days and, according to the transcripts, the proceeding only lasted approximately one hour. ICBC leaves it, however, to the BCUC's discretion to decide whether to award the full amount of BCOAPO's application or to reduce it to account for the difference in days. With respect to the PACA funding sought by the other participants, ICBC views that the PACA applications are fair and reasonable;

F.       No interveners submitted a response to ICBC’s comments; and

G.     The BCUC has reviewed the PACA applications in accordance with the criteria and rates set out in the PACA Guidelines attached to BCUC Order G-97-17 and ICBC’s comments regarding the PACA applications. The BCUC considers that the applied-for cost awards are reasonable overall for each participant and should be approved.

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 118(1) of the Utilities Commission Act, the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       Funding is awarded to the following interveners in the listed amounts for their participation in the ICBC 2019 Revenue Requirements Application proceeding:

2.       ICBC is directed to reimburse the above-noted participants for the awarded amount in a timely manner.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this              7th            day of October 2019.

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

K.A. Keilty

Commissioner