ICBC insurance spikes after spate of catalytic converter thefts

A Surrey man battling thieves who keep stealing his vehicle’s catalytic converter is warning others to look over their insurance policy closely, as ICBC hiked his comprehensive coverage payment by more than 700 per cent.

Cloverdale resident Ken Hansen, 71, has had the converter on his 2016 Hyundai Sante Fe stolen three times between 2022 and 2023. He has filed multiple claims and in December, he says, he received a notice from the public insurer telling him his comprehensive payment was going from $300 to $2,500.

“[It was] kind of a shock getting this letter,” he told The Leader Spirit.

Ken Hansen, 71, has had the converter on his 2016 Hyundai Sante Fe stolen three times between 2022 and 2023. (Supplied)

Hansen adds he didn’t realize the rate would go up so much, “because the claim value of those three catalytic converters, I guess, hit some peak.”

Hansen is now worried if something else happens to his car, he won’t be able to afford the repairs.

“If we get a crack in the windshield on our vehicle, we really can’t afford to go out and spend $1,000 or more, getting that replaced. So, we’ll just let anything to do with that comprehensive kind of issue slide because we can’t afford to get a windshield replaced at that kind of money, so it becomes a bit of a safety issue for us.”

Hansen adds he has installed cameras in his driveway, where he keeps his car, to help stave off criminals, which he thinks has helped.

For its part, ICBC says it warned Hansen about the change in policy two months ago and told him if he renewed the optional coverage in early February, it would go up from $300 to $2,500.

“This happened after an evaluation showed that in less than a year, he had reported four comprehensive claims with ICBC totaling $13,112 (excluding deductible payments),” ICBC told The Leader Spirit in a statement.

The fourth claim was for a claim unrelated to the catalytic converter thefts.

“The escalating deductible will no longer apply after three years unless another comprehensive claim is reported during this period, meaning Mr. Hansen’s deductible could return to the previous amount if he does not file a Comprehensive claim within the next three years,” added ICBC, which also explained that his overall premium cost went down $85 on his new policy because of a higher deductible.

The theft of catalytic converters has been an ongoing problem in the Lower Mainland, typically for the precious metals they contain.

In 2022, the B.C. government rolled out new regulations to address the issue by tweaking the Metal Dealers and Recyclers Regulation to include that registered metal dealers must report each transaction, including information about the seller, to police on the day of a sale to avoid the items being resold illegally.