ICBC receives more than $100,000 on suspicious claims

B.C.’s public insurer has received more than $100,000 in payments as a result of investigation into suspicious claims.In one case, Langley resident Marcus John Lowe was ordered to pay back $40,000 on a claim and assessed a $3,000 for giving false information on a claim statement to the Insurance Corp. of B.C. (ICBC). His Jeep was reported stolen six years ago, but three years later the RCMP located the vehicle under a tarp with the VIN removed. The police also discovered documents indicating Lowe rented a storage unit on the day of the reported theft. Lowe pled guilty to making the false statements.In another unrelated case, ICBC has received over $72,000 related to a stolen vehicles. Thomas Horner, Laura Horner and Ronald Harrington must pay $62,000 compensation and the two men must pay punitive damages of $5,000 each following an investigation begun in 2000 which located several vehicles on the Horner property that had been reported stolen. Thomas Horner also faces charges on 12 counts of possession of stolen property filed by the RCMP.”We want to make it clear that we do no tolerate people trying to cheat ICBC,” says ICBC COO Bill Goble. “Insurance fraud is theft, driving up costs for our honest customers.”