North Vancouver, B.C., February 11, 2008 — Every new-vehicle owner wants the best insurance possible to protect their investment. With this in mind, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) has introduced New Vehicle Replacement Plus, a unique insurance option that provides customers with ICBC’s best coverage for new vehicles.
With New Vehicle Replacement Plus, a vehicle will be written off when the damage exceeds 50 percent of its market value, and the owner gets to replace it with a brand- new version of their vehicle, or receives the cash equivalent. Under a standard insurance policy, a vehicle is written off when the damage is much closer to market value.
“Many new-car owners don’t want a vehicle back that has had major repairs, so we are providing these customers with another option,” says Kellee Irwin, vice-president of Underwriting. “We’ve lowered the threshold for New Vehicle Replacement Plus customers to give them the peace of mind in knowing that if they get in a major crash, they are still going to have a brand new vehicle.”
The other benefits of New Vehicle Replacement Plus are that there is no deductible for written-off vehicles, and when a vehicle is repairable, all repairs will be completed using new parts from the manufacturer. The customer also gets to choose the repair shop, and all repairs are fully guaranteed when using an ICBC c.a.r.shop Accredited Collision Repairs facility as long as the customer owns the vehicle.
New Vehicle Replacement Plus is available to customers with a brand-new vehicle (current or future model years only), and who currently have ICBC optional coverage with a minimum discount of 20 percent.
New Vehicle Replacement Plus represents another choice for ICBC customers wanting to protect their new vehicle. For customers with a vehicle that is three years old or newer, ICBC also offers Replacement Cost Coverage or Limited Depreciation coverage.
Replacement Cost Coverage offers many of the same benefits of New Vehicle Replacement Plus, including having a written-off vehicle replaced with a brand-new vehicle, and having repairs completed using new parts from the manufacturer. The added benefits for New Vehicle Replacement Plus are the 50 percent write-off threshold and no deductible for written-off vehicles. Limited Depreciation coverage provides customers with compensation for the depreciation of their vehicle.
Customers are encouraged to visit an Autoplan broker to find the coverage that’s right for them or visit http://www.icbc.com/insurance/insura_nv_replacement.asp for more information.