What the CL489B is for
After the first report, a CL489 or CL489A, ICBC doesn’t expect a report at every visit. The CL489B is for the point where recovery isn’t going as expected and the care plan needs updating, or the diagnosis has changed. ICBC may also request one.
The form is shorter than the first reports. It drops the pre-crash history and treats the diagnosis as unchanged unless you say otherwise.
Who completes it
The family physician completes the whole report, ideally the patient’s primary care provider. The patient has no part to fill in. As with the first report, you need their consent to send it, unless ICBC has formally requested it.
How to fill in the CL489B
Invoice information, Patient information and Physician information
ICBC can’t pay without the claim number, date of crash, payee name, payee address, patient name and date of report. The claim number is on your first report. Dates are dd/mmm/yyyy.
Vocational status
Questions 1 to 3 record any absence from work, training, school or caregiving and whether duties and hours are full or modified. If the patient isn’t working, question 4 asks why. Questions 5 and 6 ask whether you support continued restrictions and the earliest date the patient could return to pre-crash work.
Avocational status
Question 7 asks whether the patient is back to pre-crash activity outside work. Tick N/A if the crash never affected it. If not, give the earliest date they could return.
Assessment and Key objective findings
Answer whether the diagnosis has changed since the last report. If yes, enter the primary and other diagnoses with nature of injury, body part, orientation and ICD-9 code. If no, skip ahead. Objective findings are optional, but a reassessment that argues recovery has stalled is stronger with exam findings.
Restrictions, barriers, care plan and prognosis
Describe current restrictions and whether they’re temporary or permanent, and name barriers to recovery. This is the reason for the report, so be specific about what has stalled and why. Give updated management recommendations, say whether more therapy is likely, and update the prognosis and recovery timeline.
Certification
Tick the certification and one of the two options, patient consent or an ICBC request under Section 28 or 28.1 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act. Lock the form only when it’s final.
Common reasons it’s delayed or unpaid
- Sent at a routine follow-up with no change in recovery, diagnosis or plan.
- Missing claim number, payee name or payee address.
- Barriers to recovery left blank, though they’re the reason for the report.
- A care plan copied from the first report with nothing updated.
- No consent or ICBC request box ticked.
Submitting and who pays
Fax the report to ICBC at 1-877-686-4222 or mail it to ICBC, PO Box 2121, Stn Terminal, Vancouver, BC V6B 0L6, within 30 days of the assessment. ICBC pays the report fee, currently $256 under code A94566, and the report acts as the invoice. ICBC doesn’t pay for visits after a claim closes.