Q&A - Pleasure use Only

Published by steve -
Insurance
Q&A

Question: Q&A ImageSo I was rear ended today. There was no damage to my truck, but the car that hit me didn't come out of it too well. I phoned into ICBC to make an accident report. Through the process, I had told them that the guy who hit me was a pizza delivery guy. Turns out he had pleasure use only on his insurance.

My question is, how will this affect his claim seeing he was working with his car at the time?

ICBC image of pleasure use only rating

Pleasure Use Only Defined

According to the ICBC basic insurance tariff:

pleasure use means use of a vehicle for private purposes but does not include business or commercial use.

Rate Class Exemptions

ICBC sells coverage based on rate class. You are allowed six days per month for other uses. Using the vehicle for purposes beyond those allowed or exceeding the number of days means you could face either a penalty fee or a denial of coverage in the event of a collision.

This is part of your contract for insurance and is not worth cheating on.

Denial of Insurance Coverage

I am aware of denials that have happened. One driver actually sued a number of entities including me and the RCMP after they were denied benefits arising from a crash that I investigated.

Denial of coverage can have two consequences. The first is being denied coverage for the damage or loss of your vehicle. The second and likely far more important is being denied third party coverage. This means that you would have to pay the costs for injury and damage suffered by the party that you hit.

Ask Your Autoplan Agent

It's critical to accurately declare how you use your vehicle and who will be driving it most of the time. If you need more information than this, I recommend contacting ICBC or an Autoplan Agent directly.

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Published by my5cents - 2018/12/30 - 14:03 | Permalink

Yes, Tim is 100% correct, a vehicle can be temporarily used for something else.

However, here's what can happen.

You insurance rated for pleasure use only, you have a job that requires you to use your own vehicle to deliver pizzas, or you are using it to drive to and from work, whatever. 

You have an at fault claim and at the time you are to and from work or delivering pizzas.  If the incident isn't your fault, it doesn't matter what, if any insurance you have.  If you are misusing your insurance but at the time you have the claim you actually are using it for pleasure use, you are covered. 

You will be required to make a statement to ICBC.  IF you make a false statement you are in breach of your coverage.  ICBC will establish what your version is and then check with your employer, check gas purchases, co-workers, one little slip and no insurance.

ICBC doesn't have to prove you were delivering Pizza on more days a month than allowed, or using it to drive to work, they just have to prove you didn't tell the truth.

It's called being between a rock and a hard place.

Although the potential for individual vehicle owners to use their personal vehicles for business has always been there, at this point in time it has become all too easy with the advent of GPS, Mobile Phones, etc.

You only need to look at the Indeed Job listings for drivers, and there are numerous "opportunities" available for couriers, delivery drivers, etc who own a vehicle and a phone. And of course Uber are doing their best to break into this lucrative market. It's only going to get worse, unless addressed by regulations and awareness of the risks, if one is not insured for the application; something a lot of younger people in particular are perhaps less likely to consider.

The further irony is that many of these drivers are continuously distracted by their cell phones as part of the job, increasing their risk of collision.