As a general rule, ICBC does not allow Beneficial Owners or Lessees to purchase their total loss vehicles unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Eligibility
The policy applies to all total loss vehicles and when a Beneficial Owner or Lessee wants to keep their vehicle salvage after it has been declared a total loss by ICBC. Generally, this policy is most common amongst claims within the Commercial Claims Department.
Policy
ICBC does not allow Beneficial Owners or Lessees to buy back their total loss vehicles.
Exception: The Estimating Services manager or Commercial Estimating Services manager may approve exceptions for an owner buy back request if there are extenuating circumstances.
ICBC does not allow owner buy back for Lessees or Renters on non-owned, out of province (OOP) vehicles. In some cases ICBC may cash settle at
actual cash value (ACV), less salvage value with the out of province owner.
Note: Contact the Commercial Claims MD Manager for more assistance.
All potential payees of the settlement proposal must be advised in advance. They must also agree to the proposal in order for the net payment amount to be enough for all insureds and lienholders. In addition, ICBC does not send copies of the settlement cheques to payees. Cheque numbers may be released, but only after at least one day from the date the cheque is issued.
A salvage vehicle must be sold
- using the ICBC salvage procedures to ensure an appropriate recovery is completed
- with the proper designation applied and notice of the vehicle registration status given to the Vehicle Registration Support (VRS) department, and
- with consideration to any potential environmental risk for which ICBC could be held responsible.
Exceptions
An Estimating Services manager, Commercial Estimating Services manager, or designate may permit an owner buy back on an exception-only basis under extenuating circumstances, such as but not limited to when the vehicle
- has a special value to the owner:
- a collector vehicle
- a vehicle with specialized equipment, or
- a fleet operator vehicle
- poses no environmental risk or health safety risk, and
- owner acknowledges and agrees that the:
- vehicle’s registration will be changed as appropriate, and
- Vehicle Registration Support (VRS) Department will be informed of the required vehicle status change to Salvage or Non-repairable, and will process the change before any payment is issued by the claim office.