Are you wondering “Will ICBC investigate me for my claim?”

Anyone who has been in a car accident likely knows just how stressful the aftermath can be, but depending on the severity of the crash, it can range from a mild inconvenience to a life-altering injury.

Those recovering from motor vehicle accidents, in turn, have to ask themselves a number of questions about how to deal with the other driver, their damaged vehicle, and inevitably, their insurance company.

In British Columbia, of course, everyone with a vehicle on the road has to deal with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia through autoplan brokers each and every year. Depending on the value of your vehicle and your level of coverage, a big insurance payout after a car crash could be possible, but what can people reasonably expect from ICBC?

Many people, especially those who have suffered serious injuries in car accidents, they’re left wondering what the future will hold after a crash. They may ask themselves all kinds of things after suffering their injuries. Will I be off work for an extended period of time? Will I require surgery or prolonged physiotherapy to properly heal from my injuries?

What can I expect to pay in medical expenses? How do I make a personal injury claim? Should I get a personal injury lawyer? In the case of a hit-and-run, how do ICBC adjusters investigate such claims? Also, will ICBC investigate me if they think I’m lying?

Filing an ICBC claim in Vancouver or elsewhere in BC

Like any other insurance company, the government-owned and operated Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has an obvious financial interest in minimizing fraudulent insurance claims. As the company states on its website, people who make fake injury claims essentially “cheat the system” that every driver pays into.

Insurance fraud can take many forms, though, and can be anything from falsely claiming an injury or damage to a vehicle, lying to the company to get lower premiums, or using fake insurance or licensing documents.

Over the years, the company has stumbled onto several fraud schemes, some involving staged accidents, others involving elaborate yet unsuccessful deceptions. The corporation in 2014 even released a list of the most “bizarre” attempts by drivers to fleece the company out of money.

One driver, according to the company, had a rear-end accident with another car while driving with an expired licence. She reportedly asked the driver of the other car to report that he’d been hit the day after, but he wouldn’t go along with the lie. Afterwards, she bought an optional insurance policy and filed a claim, but the company found out and stuck her with the bill for the damage to both cars.

Getting investigated over an injury claim

Another case involved a driver whose licence was under prohibition. After getting into a car accident, he falsely reported his car had been stolen and claimed he hadn’t been driving. The company, however, found the guy’s DNA on the deployed airbag and he was fined and on the hook for the entire cost of the damage to the vehicles.

The list also highlighted a brazen attempt to defraud the company by a policyholder who claimed his truck had been stolen before being set ablaze. The driver claimed to have been watching a movie at the time of the theft and fire, but the insurance company’s investigators found the vehicle was in need of serious repairs at the time and got ahold of the claimant’s cell phone records showing he was at the place where the truck had been destroyed. He was fined and billed for the damage.

Other scammers who tried to fleece ICBC included a man who claimed his car had been the victim of a hit-and-run. But the company’s investigators noticed something odd about how the vehicle had supposedly been damaged and eventually used paint chips to link the car to another hit-and-run claim. The false victim was fined and had to pay back thousands of dollars in wrongfully claimed insurance payouts.

ICBC investigations

The use of technology to catch fraudsters by ICBC is also highlighted on the list, some more sophisticated than others though. One woman feigning a serious injury from a car accident was found by an investigator to have an online blog about going on a months-long motorcycle vacation in South America. At trial, a jury gave her about a third of what she was seeking for the injuries.

In another case, a driver pulled over by police was found to be under a three-month driving suspension and was later banned from driving for a year. The man then used the name of a friend to get an interim licence and transferred ownership of his car into the name of the friend he was impersonating. However, the man’s attempt was thwarted by ICBC’s facial recognition software and he was caught, charged, and fined after all was said and done.

If anything, the cases above exemplify the lengths ICBC will go to in order to weed out fraudulent claims. Whether it’s going through your public social media posts, hiring a private investigator, DNA testing your vehicle after a crash, or using facial recognition software, it’s clear that the company will spare little expense if it believes you’re lying about a crash and any resulting injuries or vehicle damage.

Motor vehicle accident fraud

The company claims that fraud is evident in up to 20 percent of cases, however, some personal injury lawyers and law firms dispute that number and doubt that fraud is actually that costly or prevalent in British Columbia.

Nonetheless, the company warns that exaggerated claims or “opportunistic fraud” is rampant enough to necessitate thousands of investigations a year, topping nearly 20,000 in fiscal 2018/2019, for example. In an eight-year period, ICBC’s particular investigation unit spurred hundreds of criminal charges and nearly 600 convictions for fraud, leading to prison terms and large fines, as well as denied and reduced claim amounts.

The company’s use of private investigators, meanwhile, has been controversial over the years although ICBC is well within its rights to use them if they believe a claim to be fraudulent. In one case from 2019, for example, the company was found to have used more than a dozen investigators for several years after a crash involving a recreational hockey player seeking a big payout for his injury claim.

The judge, in that case, outlined the three types of investigations the company engages in, including “open source” investigations, full-on video surveillance, as well as witness interviews.

The plaintiff had claimed that the insurance firm’s investigators had gone too far, “grossly” exceeding the company’s reach and causing him to suffer depression and anxiety. While the judge found some of the investigative conduct to be “troublesome” and “inherently invasive,” he found most of it to be “entirely appropriate.” That sunk the plaintiff’s bid for a special costs award, and the injured party was eventually awarded just over $850,000.

Submitting an ICBC claim and investigations

An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you through the claims process or investigation, and help you get fair compensation. If there was an injured person, then the case becomes even more important.

Just remember that at the time of the accident, it’s important to get testimonials from everyone who witnesses the crash. That will really help your ICBC injury lawyer.

ICBC investigations conclusion

Under British Columbia’s Insurance (Vehicle) Act, every driver needs a minimum amount of coverage from ICBC to be legally allowed on the road.

In the case of an accident, drivers do have a range of options to seek compensation, although a systemic overhaul by the NDP government has seen the introduction of a so-called no-fault insurance scheme, which prevents some drivers from suing in the B.C. Supreme Court over car crashes, except in certain cases such as getting hit by a drunk driver.

If you’ve been in a car crash and suffered mild or serious injuries, it’s likely a good step to seek a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer or law firm, of which there are dozens all over the lower mainland.

While it may be stressful to be under investigation if ICBC thinks you’re lying about your injuries, only you can know the extent of your pain and suffering and as long as you have nothing to hide, you likely have nothing to worry about except for your recovery and getting your life back on track.

If you are still wondering “Will ICBC investigate me” speak to a lawyer.

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