Recent car vandalism won't drive up insurance rates: ICBC

The several hundredcases of carvandalism that have occurred recently in Coquitlam and Burnabywill not drive up general insurance rates, a spokesman for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia said Tuesday.

Paint jobs on at least 74 cars and trucks were scratched in three different locations in Burnaby Monday, following a number of similar incidents that have occurred in neighbouring Coquitlam since early March.

ICBC received over 110 vandalism claims in the two Vancouver suburbs over the Easter weekend, said spokesman Doug McClelland.

"To have hundreds of claims coming from very confined neighbourhoods [It's] very unusual that we would see that kind of activity," McClelland said Tuesday.

Drivers with comprehensive insurance coverage will have to pay a $300 deductible for repairs, but it won't affect their insurance discount unless they make a lot of such claims, he said.

"If you get into a situation where you have a large number of comprehensive claims over a three- or four-year period, you might be asked to take a higher deductible."

Burnaby RCMP said about 30 vehicles were keyed at the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course parking loton Halifax Street between 4 p.m.and 6 p.m. Monday.

More than20 vehicles were targeted at the parking lot of Burnaby 8-Rinks on Sprott Street around 7:15 p.m., spokeswoman Cpl. Alexandra Mulvihill said Tuesday.

There were no witnesses to these two incidents, but oneperson said theysaw someone vandalizing cars outside the Keg restaurant on Eastbrook Parkway after 7:40 p.m., she said.

Vandal could be travelling by vehicle: police

"A witness saw the suspect keying the vehicles and scared him away. A police dog did attend to this location but was unsuccessful in apprehending the suspect," Mulvihill said.

"It's possible that the suspect is travelling from location to location in a vehicle."

The witness is out of town and won't be interviewed until his return next week, RCMP said.

As many as 100 cars in Coquitlam had their paint jobs damaged with large scrapes over the Easter weekend.

Two weeks ago, close to 300 vehicles were keyed at the Silver Citycinema complexsouth of Austin Avenue towards Mundy Street and Mariner Way. The two Coquitlam locations where the cars were vandalized are only a five-minute drive apart.