ICBC Counselling for Motor Vehicle Accident Victims

Provided for under Part 7 of the British Columbia Insurance (Motor Vehicle) Act, these benefits cover the following:

• medical and rehabilitation benefits;
• wage loss benefits;
• homemaker benefits; and
• death benefits (including certain funeral expenses and survivor benefits).

You must promptly notify ICBC of your accident and obtain a claim number. You should also provide ICBC with a brief accident statement, and a completed CL22-Insurance Claim Application. Typically, your lawyer will manage this process for you; however, if you do not have a lawyer, you should be very careful that anything you say to ICBC will be recorded and can be used against you to deny/limit your entitlement to Part 7 benefits, or defeat your personal injury claim.

Part 7 covers medical expenses, such as medication costs, counselling, massage therapy, acupuncture, kinesiology, physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment. It also covers rehabilitation expenses, such as occupational therapy, home modifications, and attendant care.

Physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors and some other treatment providers charge you “user fees” or “visit fees”. Part 7 does not cover these.

If you are at fault for the accident, OR if you are not at fault and your accident is on or after April 1, 2019, ICBC will not reimburse you for these “user fees”.

If you are not at fault for the accident and your accident is before April 1, 2019, ICBC will reimburse you for the “user fees” when you resolve your personal injury claim.

If you are employed on the date of the accident, or worked at least 6 of the 12 months before the accident, you are entitled to Part 7 wage loss benefits if your injury totally disables you from working within 20 days of the accident. If you are entitled to EI or other wage loss benefits (for example, through your employer), Part 7 wage loss benefits do not start until you have exhausted those other benefits. Therefore, it is a good idea to apply for EI soon after your accident.

For accidents on or after April 1, 2019, you will receive 75% of your average gross weekly earnings in the 12 months before the accident, up to a maximum of $740/week.

For accidents before April 1, 2019, you will receive 75% of your average gross weekly earnings, up to a maximum of $300/week. This is the case even if you cannot work beyond April 1, 2019.

You are entitled to Part 7 homemaker benefits, if you are a homemaker and your injuries mean you cannot perform most of your household chores on a regular basis. These benefits are meant to cover the cost of hiring someone else to do your household chores while you are disabled.

For accidents on or after April 1, 2019, you can receive homemaker benefits up to a maximum of $280/week. 

For accidents before April 1, 2019, you can receive homemaker benefits up to a maximum of $145/week.