The Steele report

Ever wonder what happens when predetermined laws and rules collide with common sense? This week there is a glowing example of that. ICBC once again put itself in the spotlight’s center stage. The insurance corporation decided to issue refunds of various amounts to customers dependent on a host of predetermined factors. The average refund is said to be 190 dollars, however the sliding scale determined that some would get as little as one dollar while others got considerably more.
What is the saying? Oh, yes “No good deed goes unpunished”

Receiving a one dollar check for me would be and insult and worse would be a gross waste of money. The check, the stamp the envelop, the letter of explanation and the processing costs more than the check. No one could possibly defend such an action it defies common sense. That is until you put on your Unthinking cap and see it through the corporations eyes. That’s when we shine a light in the fog and see how it makes sense to them.

First our perceived insult of one dollar, is seen by them as a gift.
We complain about them taking more and more.
They see it as “Giving a Little Something Back” emphases on a little something.

In the past people have had to get a lawyer to fight for their amount due. Originally government insurance was to mitigate that. Then the rate structure was an issue for many. Even worse and for no fault of their own governments intervened at times taking money to balance the budget. The problem is the Insurance Corporation is of value, but it has management problems Think about this for a moment. Private sector insurance companies in North America have come up with many programs like accident forgiveness. Well not exactly.
See many of the benefit programs were initiated by ICBC and were part of the program for a number of years and were adopted by the private sector for competitive reasons.

The other vexation for the public consisted of rate increases that were not fair increases. It turns out the former government allegedly took nearly a billion dollars to balance their budget. In turn the insurance corporation raised drivers insurance rates. Over time there has been many statements of verbal dissatisfaction with the corporation. Ironically some have never had a problem with them.
More than once I have been involved in an accident, and please note, none of them were my fault. Four times someone with a misplaced show of attention decided for whatever reason they wanted to run into me. Four times I was treated with respect and given fair compensation by ICBC.

The latest gaff, sending out a one dollar refund was not even measured on the common sense scale or the check would never have been sent right? Well it is not that simple. Going to the top of the page, the criteria was one dollar or more. That being the case one dollar checks had to be issued. It was also the intent that all drivers get something. Therefore we have to consider who’s logic is being applied in order to determine whether common sense was used or even considered.
Personally I think ICBC should have left well enough alone and not issued any checks at all. They could have avoided a lot of grief.

Well it’s time to remove my tongue from my cheek and wish all a very Happy Easter Weekend.

Fred Steele