What ICBC covers after a crash, by treatment type

ICBC calls the first 12 weeks after a crash the Early Access Period. Within it, a set number of treatments is pre-authorised for every injured person. Pre-authorised means the funding is already approved before you book. Nobody at ICBC has to review your file first, and no clinic has to request permission.

The counts are set out in the Enhanced Accident Benefits Regulation, B.C. Reg. 59/2021, at section 19(3) and its Tables 1 and 2. Because they sit in regulation rather than in an ICBC policy document, they are identical everywhere in the province. A clinic that tells you it can offer more pre-approved sessions than another clinic has misread the rules.

The allowances are separate, not a single shared pool. Using physiotherapy does not consume massage sessions, and starting counselling does not reduce your physiotherapy count. Someone with neck pain, a stiff shoulder and difficulty driving might reasonably use physiotherapy, massage and counselling in the same month.

That does not mean starting everything at once is a good idea. Three appointments a week in the first fortnight is a lot of load on a body that is still settling, and it makes it hard to tell which treatment is helping. The usual sequence is to start with one practitioner, let them assess properly, and add a second discipline when there is a clear reason.

The 12-week window is the real constraint, not the session counts. Very few people use 25 physiotherapy sessions in 84 days, because that would be roughly two appointments a week for the entire period. Most people finish the window well under the limit, which is a normal outcome rather than a missed opportunity.

Under Enhanced Care, treatment funding is not tied to responsibility for the crash. If you were found fully at fault, your pre-approved treatment allowance is the same. This is the single biggest change from the pre-2021 system, and it is still the most common misunderstanding we hear at the front desk.

You also do not need a doctor's referral to start physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage or acupuncture under an ICBC claim. Physiotherapists in BC have been direct-access since 2009, meaning you can book without a referral. Your extended health plan may still require a referral for its own reimbursement, but ICBC does not.

What you do need is a claim number. Without it, the clinic cannot bill ICBC and you will be asked to pay privately and claim the money back later. Reporting the crash to ICBC and getting that number is the one piece of paperwork worth doing on day one.

ICBC pays clinics a set amount per session. For April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 those amounts are $97 for physiotherapy, $77 for chiropractic, $107 for registered massage therapy, $96 for kinesiology, $115 for acupuncture, $160 for counselling and $246 for psychology.

Clinics are allowed to charge a user fee, which is an amount above the ICBC rate that the client pays directly. ICBC permits this but never reimburses it, and its program guide requires the clinic to tell you in advance. Some clinics charge one on every visit, some charge none, and it is a fair question to ask before you book anywhere.

At Launch Rehab, pre-approved physiotherapy, chiropractic, kinesiology and counselling sessions cost you nothing. Registered massage therapy carries a surcharge of $7.45 to $7.65 per session, because ICBC's $107 rate sits below our standard 45-minute massage price. We would rather state that plainly here than have it appear at the front desk.

One more detail worth knowing: ICBC sets a minimum amount of one-to-one time per funded session, which is 20 minutes for physiotherapy, 45 minutes for massage and kinesiology, and 50 minutes for counselling. Time spent unsupervised on a machine or under a heat pack does not count toward that minimum. Two clinics can both bill ICBC the same $97 while delivering very different appointments, so the length of hands-on time is a fair thing to ask about.

The session counts cover treatment by the listed practitioner types. Several things people expect to be included sit outside them.

Equipment, braces and orthotics are funded separately rather than counting as a session, and generally require a request rather than being automatic. Imaging such as X-ray or MRI runs through the medical system rather than through your treatment allowance. Prescription medication is not part of it either.

Treatment types not named in the regulation are not pre-approved at all. The Tables list physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, kinesiology, acupuncture, counselling and psychology. A service outside that list is not covered by the automatic allowance, whatever its clinical merits.

Wage loss, childcare and homemaking support are separate benefits under an ICBC claim rather than part of the treatment counts. They are worth asking your adjuster about directly, because they are commonly overlooked and are not something a clinic arranges.

Three illustrative cases, using the April 2026 to March 2027 rates and Launch Rehab's published prices. These show how the same allowance produces very different totals depending on which disciplines are used.

Someone with a straightforward neck strain attends physiotherapy once a week for eight weeks. That is 8 of their 25 pre-approved sessions, ICBC pays the clinic $776 in total, and the client pays nothing. Seventeen sessions remain unused when the window closes, which is a normal outcome rather than a wasted entitlement.

Someone with more persistent symptoms uses 12 physiotherapy sessions and 6 massage sessions across the 12 weeks. ICBC pays $1,164 for the physiotherapy and $642 for the massage. At Launch Rehab the client pays nothing for the physiotherapy and between $44.70 and $45.90 in total surcharges for the six massage appointments.

Someone with driving anxiety alongside neck pain uses 10 physiotherapy sessions and 8 counselling sessions. ICBC pays $970 and $1,280 respectively, and the client pays nothing for either, since neither carries a user fee at Launch Rehab. Note that the counselling allowance is separate, so using it did not reduce the physiotherapy count at all.