ICBC’s policies don’t restrict competition, bureau finds

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)’s policies relating to optional auto insurance do not contravene the Competition Act, a federal Competition Bureau investigation has concluded.
The Bureau initiated its inquiry after receiving a complaint alleging that ICBC’s policies were anti-competitive and had prevented and substantially lessened competition in the optional auto insurance market in British Columbia, a Competition Bureau release says.
The inquiry focused on policies that:
prevent brokers affiliated with competing insurance companies from selling optional auto insurance from both their affiliate and ICBC; and
prohibit screen scraping by brokers, which means not allowing brokers to capture customer data from ICBC’s information system in order to process transactions on behalf of another insurance company.
The bureau found that although ICBC’s actions and policies restrict how its competitors conduct their business, reasonable alternatives are readily available, the release continues.
“Consequently, any resulting impact on competition from these policies is unlikely to be substantial.”