A: You should not agree to meeting with the adjuster at this time if you were:

• a passenger, cyclist or pedestrian, whether or not you may have been partly at fault, or
• a driver and it is very clear that you did not in any way contribute to the accident.

ICBC’s regulations state that you have to:

• not later than 30 days from the date of the accident, mail to the corporation by registered mail, or deliver to the nearest claims centre of the corporation, a written report on the accident with particulars of the circumstances in which the accident occurred and the consequences of the accident, and
• within 90 days from the date of the accident furnish the corporation with a proof of claim in a form authorized by the corporation.

You may be in need of home care as soon as you are released from the hospital. It is unlikely that ICBC will fund this assistance until you have provided them with a statement and an ICBC Insurance Claim form. If you chose to hire a lawyer at this time, he or she can prepare a statement and Insurance Claim form for you and send it to ICBC without your ever having to meet with an adjuster. The lawyer will visit you at the hospital or your home.

If you were a driver in an accident and there’s a chance you may be even partly to blame for this accident, then you are in a difficult position. ICBC may not cover damage claims against you if you don’t agree to meet with its adjuster soon after the accident. You may not be thinking entirely clearly if you are confined to the hospital or your home. Therefore, you may want to speak to a lawyer, even just by telephone, before you meet with an adjuster. A lawyer may be able to persuade the adjuster to agree to postpone your meeting until your mind is clearer.

Your insurance contract with ICBC requires you to:

• “promptly give the corporation written notice, with all available particulars, of:
  • any accident involving death, injury, damage or loss in which he or a vehicle owned or operated by him has been involved,
  • any claim made in respect of the accident…
• co-operate with the corporation in the investigation…
• or defence of a claim or action
• allow the corporation to inspect an insured vehicle or its equipment or both at any reasonable time.”

It also states that the corporation is not liable to an insured who, to the prejudice of the corporation, fails to comply with this section.