ICBC investigates its own vehicle repair research shop

The Insurance Corporation of B.C. has closed its vehicle repair research division in Burnaby amid an investigation involving documentation for cars that were fixed at the shop and sold to the public over the last decade.

ICBC wants to know if the damage histories of the vehicles were properly recorded and disclosed to customers, and how the employees handled the documentation, said spokesman Doug Henderson on Wednesday.

"There's a maximum of 174 vehicles where repairs may not have been properly documented or disclosed," Henderson said Wednesday.

"Once we've finished the investigation we'll be making public our findings," he said about the vehicles that were sold over the last 10 years.

ICBC is contacting the owners of the vehicles and will have the vehicles inspected, although it says it has no reason to believe that any of the vehicles is unsafe, said Henderson.

The Material Damage Research and Training Centre does vehicle repair research and training and employs 12 people. About 20 vehicles are fixed at the facility each year.