ICBC to open Expressway driver service centres — August 27

New Expressways will help service the region

In order to provide faster, more efficient service for its customers, ICBC will open two Expressway driver service centres with extended hours of operation in Surrey this fall.

“Surrey is one of the province's busiest centres for driver licensing,” said Sue Carle, ICBC regional vice president for the Fraser Valley region. “The population growth in this area has meant that our services have been stretched, and some customers have faced inappropriate wait times.”

The sites are scheduled to open November 1, 2004. One centre will be located at Clover Square Mall, 17700 56th Avenue, in Cloverdale, and one at Boardwalk Mall, 15285 101st Ave, in the Guildford area.

The two new locations will offer “Expressway” service, similar to the locations in Metrotown Centre and in Coquitlam Centre. Customers can renew licences, complete a change of address or pay fines at an Expressway, but cannot take knowledge or road tests there. As simpler transactions are moved to the two new centres, overall volume will decrease at the existing full-service centres in Surrey and Langley, allowing better customer service at those locations too.

The two new locations will operate 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

In the first six months of 2004, the Surrey and Langley driver service centres have handled more than 125,000 transactions.

For more information contact:
Doug Henderson (604) 982-1332

ICBC reports six month income of $167 million — August 4

ICBC has reported net income of $166.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004, compared to a net income of $77.4 million for the same period in 2003.

ICBC's net income stays in the company to build retained earnings. This protects customers by enabling the company to absorb unanticipated spikes in claims costs or unexpectedly low investment returns and helps keep rates low and stable into the future.

Insurance premiums earned in the first six months increased to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion for the same period last year. The increase is the result of higher sales volumes and the full impact of the 2003 rate increases flowing through. This increase in premiums earned has resulted in a related increase in commissions and premium taxes.

Claims and related costs for the first half of 2004 have increased by 1.8 per cent to $1.3 billion compared to the same period in 2003. There was a slight increase in the number of claims reported compared to last year and an increase in the average cost per claim. There was also a small increase in the number of vehicle theft claims compared to the first half of 2003. Included in the second quarter results is a positive adjustment related to the re-estimate of the unpaid claims related to 2003 and earlier years.

ICBC continues to keep its controllable costs low for the benefit of customers. There was an increase of slightly more than two per cent in controllable costs in the first six months of 2004 compared to last year due to increased investments in traffic enforcement and road safety programs aimed at reducing crashes and claims costs.

Investment income for the first six months of 2004 increased to $215.4 million, compared to $190.0 million for the same period in 2003. The increase is mostly due to increased gains on the sale of equities.

For more information contact:
Doug McClelland (604) 982-2476

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