After nearly two decades steering the public auto insurer through a period of hard repair, Nicolas Jimenez is turning toward a different kind of crossing: the ferries that bind British Columbia's coastal communities together. His departure from ICBC, announced from Victoria in January 2023, closes a chapter in which a troubled institution was restored to financial health and its rates were held steady. Now he takes on a service strained by crew shortages and the disruption they bring, and the public will judge whether the discipline that mended one system can steady another.
ICBC President Nicolas Jimenez Departs to Lead BC Ferries After Nearly 20 Years at the Insurer
Credited with steadying an insurer, he inherits a ferry system short of crew.
Mark
Why does this one move matter beyond a name on a door?
Mimi
Because it's a turnaround story changing hands. ICBC went from what David Eby called a "dumpster fire" to a rate freeze through March 2025, and the man credited with that is now heading to BC Ferries.
Luke
Worth noting who is doing the crediting. The praise comes from ICBC's board chair, Catherine Holt, and from Joy MacPhail, who now chairs BC Ferries. These are people with a stake in the appointment.
Mark
So it's not independent assessment.
Luke
Right. The facts that ICBC froze rates and adopted no-fault are on the record. Attributing the recovery mainly to Jimenez is the institutions' framing.
Mimi
And there's a link between the two organizations. MacPhail left ICBC as chair in June to lead the BC Ferries board, and now Jimenez follows her.
Mark
What does he walk into?
Mimi
Staffing shortages that keep forcing cancellations and delays.
Luke
And that's where the comparison may strain. Fixing an insurer's finances through structural reform is a different problem from a crew shortage. Nothing in the reporting says how he'll approach it.
Mark
What's still unknown?
Luke
His start date, his successor at ICBC, and any specific plan for the ferries. None of that is in what we have.
Il Polso
- ICBC's longtime chief Nicolas Jimenez is walking away from a corporation he helped rebuild, heading for the same title at BC Ferries.
- Ferry riders are feeling the strain as staffing shortages keep forcing cancellations and delays on routes that many communities cannot do without.
- Jimenez inherits a service short of crew, and his reform playbook from ICBC will be tested on the decks and docks of the ferry system.
- The move lands as a high-stakes test: early signs of fewer cancellations would show whether his touch can carry from insurance to the open water.
After nearly two decades steering the public auto insurer through a period of hard repair, Nicolas Jimenez is turning toward a different kind of crossing: the ferries that bind British Columbia's coastal communities together. His departure from ICBC, announced from Victoria in January 2023, closes a chapter in which a troubled institution was restored to financial health and its rates were held steady. Now he takes on a service strained by crew shortages and the disruption they bring, and the public will judge whether the discipline that mended one system can steady another.
The head of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is leaving the public auto insurer to become CEO of BC Ferries. Nicolas Jimenez spent almost twenty years at ICBC, and the board chair, Catherine Holt, praised what she called a remarkable transformation of the corporation during his tenure. That change is easier to appreciate against the picture of ICBC when the NDP took office, when then-attorney general David Eby called its finances a dumpster fire. Reforms since then, including a move to a no-fault insurance model, have let ICBC freeze rates until March 2025.
His new post follows a familiar path. Joy MacPhail left ICBC's board chair role last June to lead the board at BC Ferries, and in her own statement she called Jimenez a change leader who is customer focused and committed to financial accountability and rate affordability. She credited him with the structural reforms that brought the insurer back to health.
He arrives at a hard moment. Staffing shortages have persisted at the ferry service, forcing cancellations and delays. The reporting does not say how he intends to address them, when he starts, or who will replace him at ICBC. The open question is whether the skills that steadied an insurer can keep a ferry system sailing with the crew it needs.
The president and CEO of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is leaving the public auto insurer for the same title at BC Ferries. Nicolas Jimenez, who has been with ICBC for almost 20 years, is the executive making the move, according to a news release the insurer issued from Victoria on Jan. 17, 2023.
Board chair Catherine Holt credited Jimenez with many contributions over his tenure. Chief among them, she said, was what she called the "remarkable transformation" of the corporation.
The scale of that change is easier to see against where ICBC stood when the NDP took office. David Eby, then the attorney general, described the insurer's financial situation as a "dumpster fire." Reforms introduced since then, including a move to a no-fault insurance model, have allowed ICBC to freeze rates until March 2025.
The move has a precedent at the top of BC Ferries. Jimenez will follow Joy MacPhail, who left her post as ICBC's board chair in June of last year to take over the board at BC Ferries. In a separate news release, MacPhail described Jimenez as a "change leader" with a proven track record of success. She also said he is "customer focused with a deep commitment to financial accountability and rate affordability."
MacPhail said Jimenez led the structural reforms that returned the insurance corporation to financial health. That recovery, she said, is what allowed ICBC to offer more affordable insurance to customers.
He arrives at BC Ferries at a difficult moment. Staffing shortages at the ferry service have persisted, forcing cancellations and delays. The reporting does not say how he plans to address them, and it does not say when he will start or who will replace him at ICBC.
The question now is whether the skills credited with steadying an insurer can be applied to a ferry system short of crew. Whether the cancellations and delays ease under his leadership will be the early measure of the move.
Citazioni salienti
He is customer focused with a deep commitment to financial accountability and rate affordability.— Joy MacPhail, BC Ferries board chair
Jimenez made many contributions, including the "remarkable transformation" of the public auto insurer.— Catherine Holt, ICBC board chair (paraphrased)
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Politics & Governance