ICBC president resigns

Just a few short months after taking the post, new Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) president Kevin Benson is resigning. In a press release, the public insurance notes that Benson is leaving “to pursue a unique opportunity in Ontario”, beginning in September.In the interim, ICBC chair will take over the duties of president and CEO.The change comes at a pivotal time, as ICBC awaits the ruling of the province’s Core Services Review, set up to evaluate the viability of Crown corporations. When elected, the provincial Liberals has promised to bring more competition to the B.C. auto insurance market, but as yet no steps have been taken to accomplish this.ICBC has taken a course of restructuring, reducing its staff significantly and attempting to cut costs. Following last year’s financial losses, ICBC reported net income of $9.2 million for the first half of this year and expects to have a break-even 2002.Benson alludes to the potential opening of the market in his farewell remarks, thanking ICBC staff “for the tremendous effort they have made to so quickly position ICBC to succeed in a more competitive”.Addressing a conference of bodyshop owners and insurers in Mont Tremblant, PQ, this week, Dominion of Canada CEO George Cooke called the resignation “encouraging”. A vocal proponent of privatization, Cooke did admit that it is getting very late in the Liberal’s mandate for the privatization plan to be pushed through. The current struggle of insurers on a global basis as they seek to return to profitability is also a concern should the market be opened up to competition, he adds. “Three years ago it would have been a lot easier for companies to make the case to their parent companies to invest in this new market.” Nonetheless, he says B.C. auto represents a “$2.5 billion opportunity” for insurers, and says many insurers have indicated their desire to compete in B.C.