I wonder what percentage of crash victims decide to go it alone when negotiating with ICBC.
I hear about some of them. One reader of my newspaper column told me about a friend who he has been trying to convince to get a lawyer involved in his ICBC claim. In case his friend chose not to hire a lawyer, he told me about a piece of negotiating advice with ICBC he gave to his friend.
His negotiating advice was not to accept ICBC’s first offer.
I’ve heard that one before. It’s excellent advice. But there is a serious problem with that advice, however. It suggests you should accept ICBC’s second offer.
Yes, the second offer will be less unfair. I say “less unfair” instead of “more fair” because I call a spade a spade. Is a schoolyard bully who slaps a child in the face less nasty or more friendly than the one who delivers a punch?
Here’s a case that followed a very typical pattern when negotiating with ICBC.
ICBC’s first offer was $4,000. The next offer was $6,500. The injured victim held out for the “final” ICBC offer of $7,500 before getting me involved.
I would likely have given my standard advice about whether or not to hire a lawyer.
It would have included the historical fact that I have never had anyone leave my office with less in their pocket, after having paid my percentage fee, than the final offer made after negotiating with ICBC before my involvement.
I am not special. It isn’t any legal brilliance that allows me to get better results than a person can achieve without a lawyer. Any reasonably competent personal injury lawyer will have a similar record. It also isn’t exceptional negotiation. While I consider myself to be a good negotiator with ICBC, I certainly have had clients with more negotiating experience and expertise than I have.
Very simply put, ICBC makes a lot of money by low-balling.
The unrepresented claimants don’t know any different. They are led to believe they have done really well, getting to almost double the first offer. After I got involved, we were offered $12,500. That was offer number four, in case you weren’t keeping track.
Here’s another piece of negotiating advice: Don’t accept ICBC’s fourth offer. Yes, excellent advice when negotiating with ICBC. But once again, it comes with the same serious problem as the first piece of advice. It suggests that you should accept the fifth offer.
The case settled at a mediation.
I will give a detailed description of what a mediation is in another posting. In a nutshell, it is an informal attempt to come to a settlement with the help of a mediator.
ICBC’s final offer came in at $30,000. We ended up settling at $45,000. How did I know that ICBC would pay more than their original $7,500 “final” offer? How did I know to push beyond $30,000? I knew what the claim was worth. I got ICBC to pay the higher dollars by showing the evidence that would support higher dollars at trial. I was able to convince it that my client would go to trial to achieve justice.
It was a simple business transaction. Its representatives knew I could do it. They knew ICBC would pay a lot of money in legal expenses trying to stop me. They knew that they would fail.
Not every ICBC claim is worth $45,000. Many claims are worth less than that and many are worth more than that. With one of my ongoing ICBC claims, the last offer before my involvement was $8,000. We’re now at $120,000.00 with no end in sight.
Want a negotiating tip when negotiating with ICBC?
Find out what your case is worth and then line up the cannons to prove to ICBC that you can achieve a just result. In short, hire a lawyer.
You might also enjoy:
- ICBC negotiation tactics: 24 hour deadlines [part 1 of 5]
- ICBC negotiation tactics – Lowball offers [part 2 of 5]
- ICBC negotiation tactics: Settling based on optimism [part 3 of 5]
- ICBC negotiation tactics: Keeping you in the dark [part 4 of 5]
- ICBC negotiation tactics: Bottom line offer [part 5 of 5]
Malki
Just want to say “Thanks”for your informative articles. I am anxiously awaiting my settlement which are in active negotiations.I met with a terrible car accident in Toronto(a truck made an illegal left turn and crossed our path as we were going straight)–we are lucky to be alive but was left with a permanent metal rod and screws in my leg as a result. That was almost two years ago. The first offer was what seemed to be below fair compensation but my Lawyer(luckily one of top 10 personal injury lawyers in Canada) advised me not to worry and that he would get more. Thank goodness we contacted a Lawyer right after our accident to represent us! Initially we were contacted by the other insurance lawyer representing the defendant and they were offering us $30000 right away. I was wondering why this guy was calling us and oferring us money and I hadn’t even had my first surgery! Anyway it’s good that we sought good advice from family/friends and hired a good lawyer to represent us-Life has not been easy after the accident and it would be good to have a settlement that was fair and would help me take care of me and my family’s future. Thanks. Malki
Ken Bollman
My Asian neighbour across the street has asked me if I would assist him with his claim. He was in a multiple car accident during the last snow fall. The car ahead of him spun around and he hit it head on, and then himself was hit from behind by a truck.
At first ICBC told him that he wasn’t at fault and to go and get his vehicle fixed. The body shop can back with a $ 25,000.00 repair estimate that ICBC then told him that his one year old vehicle was now a write off and offered him $29,000.00 for replacement. And in addition now told him that he is partially to blame and has to pay $ 7,000.00 towards the repair of the first vehicle. They have a cheque waiting for him and I told him not to accept the cheque and to tell ICBC that he is seeking legal advice.
Nicole Fisher
Did you know that it’s not ICBC who has the final say in fault allocation? Sometimes a case has to go to court for a judge to determine the fair allocation of fault. Here is an example of how ICBC’s 100% fault allocation against a young man was overturned to completely exonerate him and find the other driver 100% at fault in a Small Claims trial:
David and Goliath Court Case Delivers Victory for Teenager
Barbara L Piesse
I was rear-ended 3wks ago, in my 1990 Jeep YJ. Idrove it home with police following me. A tow truck came & hauled my Jeep off to their yard to take pics for ICBC. ICBC then sent me a letter saying my Jeep was a write off & made me an offer. I was dumbfounded by their decision & offer.I never asked anyone to take my vehicle
My Jeep is a collector vehicle 30 yrs no accidents. Plse if anyone has advise for me on how I can keep my Jeep & the money offered to me. Plse feel free to drop any info. Thank you in advance…Barb