Last week we wrote about ICBC Driver Penalty points. But does getting penalty points and the payment premium affect my annual insurance premiums?
The answer is yes and no. Confused yet? The actual points do not affect your insurance premiums as Driver Penalty Points and Driver Risk Premiums are separate from Autoplan insurance premiums, but in order to renew your annual insurance your driver penalty points will have to be paid or ICBC will not re-new your insurance. These penalty point premiums can be issued to a driver even if they don’t own or insure a car. According to the insurance agent at Chambers Olsen on West Broadway, any traffic debt owing to the province such as speeding tickets, or bridge tolls must be paid before a person can renew their ICBC Autoplan insurance.
However, ICBC does offer some solutions that will save money. If you cannot pay your driver penalty points premium – you can surrender your driver’s license for a period of time to reduce or negate the premium. I guess ICBC feels that people who receive driver penalty points are high risk drivers, so removing them from the system will save everyone money in the long run and increase safety on our roads.
