If you were injured in a crash, ICBC pre-approves 25 physiotherapy treatments and 12 registered massage therapy treatments in the first 12 weeks. You do not need a doctor’s referral and you do not need ICBC’s permission to start. You need your claim number.
Those numbers are the ones people most want and least often get told clearly, so the rest of this explains what sits behind them.
What the pre-approved block actually is
Under Enhanced Care, everyone injured in a crash in BC gets a set amount of treatment that is approved in advance. Nobody assesses whether you deserve it first. It is there from the moment your claim exists.
For the two services we provide that ICBC covers, the current pre-approved amounts are 25 treatments with a physiotherapist and 12 with a registered massage therapist, both within 12 weeks of the crash. ICBC pre-approves several other treatment types as well, and publishes the full list with current amounts on its page about accessing treatment in your first 12 weeks.
These figures are reviewed by ICBC and change, so check that page rather than trusting a number you read somewhere a year ago, including this one.
The 12 week window is the part people lose
The block is generous. The window is not, and the window is what catches people out.
Twelve weeks from the date of the crash is roughly three months. If you spend the first six weeks assuming it will settle on its own, then another two waiting for a doctor’s appointment you did not need, you have used most of your window without using any of your treatment.
Treatment in that early period is also generally more useful, which is the reason the pre-approval exists at all. Starting sooner is better for your recovery and for the paperwork at the same time.
You do not need a referral, and this is the thing worth repeating
You do not need a referral from a family physician or a nurse practitioner, and you do not need ICBC to approve anything before you begin. That is ICBC’s own wording, not our interpretation of it.
What you do need is your Personal Health Number and your ICBC claim number, which is generated when you report the crash. If you have both, you can be booked in.
We wrote separately about whether you need a referral for physiotherapy in BC, because the same confusion causes delays well outside of crash claims too.
What happens when you use the block up, or run past 12 weeks
The pre-approved block is a starting allocation, not a hard ceiling on your recovery.
If you still need treatment after the 12 weeks, or you have used your pre-approved sessions and are not finished, further treatment can be funded. It stops being automatic at that point and moves to a conversation with your ICBC recovery specialist, usually supported by a report from your treating practitioner about where you are and what is still needed.
This is the stage where having gone consistently matters. A clear record of regular treatment and measurable progress is a much stronger basis for continued funding than a scattered handful of appointments.
What ICBC pays, and the bit to ask about
ICBC pays a set amount per treatment rather than whatever a clinic happens to charge. Those amounts are published on the same ICBC page and are set for a defined period, currently April 2026 through March 2027.
Where a clinic’s standard fee is higher than the ICBC amount, some clinics charge the patient the difference as a user fee and some do not. It varies by clinic and it is a fair question to ask anywhere you are considering going, ideally before your first appointment rather than when the invoice appears.
Email us at [email protected] with your claim number and we will tell you exactly what applies to your claim here, in writing, before you come in.
How to actually get started
Four steps, in order.
Report the crash to ICBC and get your claim number. Note it down somewhere you will find it again. Email us that claim number, your Personal Health Number, and the date of the crash. We will confirm what is covered and book you in.
ICBC and WorkSafeBC appointments are arranged by email rather than through our online booking, because the claim details need to be set up before the appointment rather than after it. It is not a longer process, it just starts in a different place.
Keep a record, even a rough one
One practical thing that helps more than people expect, and costs nothing.
From the first week, keep a short note of what you cannot do. Not a symptom diary in any formal sense, just a few lines. Could not turn my head to reverse the car. Slept badly, woke at three. Skipped the gym again. Missed a half day of work.
Two reasons. It gives your practitioner a far more accurate picture than trying to remember six weeks later how bad week two was, and memory reliably flattens out once you start improving. And if your treatment needs to continue past the pre-approved block, that record is the kind of concrete detail that supports the case for it.
It also helps you see progress you would otherwise miss. Improvement after a crash is rarely a straight line, and a bad Thursday feels like going backwards until you look at your notes and realise the bad days used to be every day.
If it was a work injury rather than a crash
Different insurer, different rules. WorkSafeBC claims run on their own track, and at Refined, WorkSafeBC coverage applies to physiotherapy.
Email the same address with your claim number and we will sort it out with you. Do not assume the ICBC numbers above apply, because they do not.
Common questions
How many physiotherapy sessions does ICBC cover?
25 pre-approved treatments within 12 weeks of the crash, at the current published amounts. More can be funded after that through your recovery specialist if you still need it.
Does ICBC cover massage therapy?
Yes. Registered massage therapy is one of the pre-approved treatment types, currently at 12 treatments within the same 12 week window.
What if I did not go to hospital after the crash?
It makes no difference to your entitlement to pre-approved treatment. Plenty of injuries from a crash are not obvious on the day and show up over the following week.
What if the crash was my fault?
Care and recovery benefits under Enhanced Care are not based on who was at fault. If you were injured, you are covered.
What if it has already been more than 12 weeks?
Get in touch anyway. Being outside the pre-approved window means treatment is not automatic, it does not mean the door is closed. It is worth a conversation with your recovery specialist.
Do I have to use all 25 sessions?
No. It is a maximum, not a target. Most people use what they need and stop, and your treatment plan should be based on how you are actually doing rather than on using up an allocation.
Start your treatment
If you are inside your 12 week window, the most useful thing you can do today is send us your claim number. Email [email protected] or call (604) 606-7519, and we will confirm your coverage and get you booked.
You can read more about how we handle ICBC claims in South Surrey, or about physiotherapy in South Surrey and registered massage therapy in South Surrey, which are the two services your pre-approved block covers with us.