Your claim number, and what happens at the first visit

You can report a crash to ICBC by phone on 1-800-910-4222 or through the online claims service on icbc.com. Both routes issue a claim number, and in most cases you receive it during that first contact rather than days later.

Report it even if the damage looked minor and even if you felt fine at the scene. Neck and back symptoms after a low-speed collision routinely appear the following morning rather than immediately, once the initial adrenaline has gone. Opening a claim does not commit you to treatment, and it keeps the option available.

Have the basics ready when you call: the date, time and location of the crash, the other driver's details if you exchanged them, and your own policy or driver's licence number.

Once you have a claim number you can book directly. There is no referral to obtain, no approval to wait for, and no requirement to see your family doctor first. Pre-approved sessions are already funded, which is the entire point of the Early Access Period.

The 12-week clock starts on the date of the crash, not on the date of your first appointment. Waiting three weeks to book does not extend the window, it shortens the part of it you can use. That is the strongest practical argument for booking early even when symptoms feel manageable.

At Launch Rehab, ICBC claims are accepted at all five studios: Lougheed, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster and North Burnaby. You can be assessed at whichever is most convenient, and you are not locked to it afterwards.

Sometimes the appointment comes first. That is workable. You attend, you pay the private rate for that visit, and once your claim number is issued the visit can be rebilled to ICBC and the payment returned to you.

Keep the receipt. The rebilling is straightforward when there is a clear record of what was paid and when, and awkward when there is not.

If the crash was recent and you are still deciding whether to open a claim, say so when you book. It changes nothing clinically, but it lets the front desk set the visit up in a way that is easy to convert later rather than one that has to be unpicked.

The initial visit at Launch Rehab is a 60-minute one-to-one appointment. It combines assessment and treatment in the same session, which is how ICBC structures and funds the Initial Visit.

Your physiotherapist takes a history of the crash itself: direction of impact, whether you saw it coming, whether your head hit anything, and what you noticed in the first 24 hours. These details genuinely matter. A rear-end collision you never saw produces a different pattern of neck strain than one you braced for.

Then comes physical assessment: movement in the neck and back, strength and reflex testing where symptoms suggest nerve involvement, and screening for concussion or dizziness when there was any head impact or the symptom picture warrants it. You leave with an explanation of what is going on and something to do before the next appointment.

Remember that this visit is session one of your 25, not a free extra ahead of them. ICBC's program guide is explicit that the Initial Visit is included in the pre-authorised count.

A first appointment after a crash should produce more than treatment. If these three things are missing when you walk out, it is entirely reasonable to ask for them before booking again.

Launch Rehab accepts ICBC claims at all five studios: Lougheed in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster and North Burnaby. Each bills ICBC directly, and the pre-approved allowance is identical at every one because it is set by provincial regulation rather than by location.

Convenience should drive the choice more than most people allow it to. You may be attending weekly for two to three months, often while driving feels uncomfortable and turning your head is limited. A studio ten minutes away that you will actually reach consistently beats one across the region that you will start cancelling by week five. Consistent attendance is also what makes an extension request defensible later.

Two services are studio-specific and worth knowing about: chiropractic runs from New Westminster, Richmond and North Burnaby. If you expect to combine physiotherapy with chiropractic under your claim, starting at one of those three saves travelling between locations.

You are not locked in. Your remaining session count sits with your ICBC claim rather than with a studio, so moving is straightforward if your circumstances change. Doing it early is better than late, because continuity with one practitioner is what makes the clinical record coherent at week 12.

Beyond the claim number, a small amount of record-keeping in the first week makes everything later easier, particularly if treatment turns out to be needed past the 12-week window.

Write down what you noticed in the first 48 hours and when each symptom appeared. Memory for this fades quickly and gets reconstructed, and the timing of symptom onset genuinely matters clinically. A few lines in your phone is enough.

Note what you have stopped doing. Not being able to shoulder-check, sleep on one side, lift a child or sit through a full work day are the concrete functional limitations that both shape treatment goals and support an extension request later. Pain scores alone are much weaker evidence.

Keep receipts for anything you pay directly, including a first visit attended before your claim number arrived. Rebilling is straightforward with a clear record and awkward without one.

Finally, ask your adjuster about benefits beyond treatment. Wage loss, homemaking and childcare support exist under an ICBC claim, are separate from the treatment allowance, and are commonly missed because no clinic arranges them for you.