Can ICBC force you to hand over your computer?

This is hot topic in British Columbia courts. ICBC frequently brings applications to force injured people to hand over their computers hard drives. They want to know what websites you visit, what documents you keep, and what your e-mails say. I've been seeing these types of appications for the last few years, but it still isn't clear what exactly it is that insurance companies, like ICBC, are trying to find or what exactly it is that looking into your computer will do prove in your case.

One theory for this type of application is that insurance companies are simply trying to wear down the resolve of a plaintiff. When an insurance company video tapes a person at her house or going to the bank and "scrubs" her computer to look into her e-mails or websites she has visited, then that person often feels violated and worried that laundry - clean or dirty - will aired in public. The reality is that many people have a hard time with keeping the strength to stand up for what is right.

The good news for people is that judges on these applications to "scrub" computers are recognizing that privacy concerns are REAL and there ARE boundaries for the long arm of insurances companies.

See Ireland v. Low, 2006 BCSC 393
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/SC/06/03/2006BCSC0393.htm