After a minor fender dent, you may think it makes sense to spend the damage and avoid potential rate hikes on your auto insurance. While this may seem like a smart idea at the moment, it’s important to know that there are well-deserved consequences for this choice that could come back to haunt you.
Before we get into when you should notify your insurance provider, let’s first start with when you should register an accident with the authorities.
Your obligation to cover the accident to the authorities
Any accident where the problem is substantial should be reported to the authorities, usually within 24 hours. A crash record must be filed in Ontario if it is estimated that the total problems triggered in the cars involved will reach a combined repair cost of $2,000. This number is very comfortable in today’s new modern vehicles. The same limit applies in Alberta. If you live outside of these 2 provinces, the limits may differ, so it’s a good idea to check your province’s collision reporting regulations if you are associated with an accident.
No matter how many problems are triggered, there is no doubt that the authorities need to be notified immediately if:
- There is an injury (no matter how small) or death
- The crash is because the mind of a bad person imitates broken driving
- There is a federal government (government, provincial, or community) vehicle involved, or the car is transferring a dangerous product
- Collision with uninsured or unlicensed driver
- There has been damage to private property, community, or freeways (such as homeowners’ yards, telephone posts, or guard rails)
- Pedestrians or cyclists are associated with collisions
Whether the repairs required are minor or significant; Usually, the authorities don’t record the accident for your insurance company. That doesn’t mean your insurance provider won’t find out some other way. For example, if another driver (or drivers) decides to record a crash with their car insurance company, you will also be notified yourself, whether you like it or not.
Your liability for accident coverage for your insurance company
Your auto insurance coverage is an agreement, and there are all kinds of terms described in your plan booklet that you and your provider have agreed to follow. Among the issues that policyholders agree on is to record all accidents to the insurance provider. Fortunately, you don’t have to tell your insurance provider right away. You are usually asked to notify them immediately, but you must do so within 7 days. Your insurance provider relies on you to support the completion of your contract and defend it against accidental loopholes.
However, the reality is that any driver related to an accident – especially a minor collision – is careful to include their insurance company. A fair driver who is not careful is the one who really feels 100% irresponsible for the accident. But what about other drivers who envision their price spikes on a revival? Think it or vice versa, running on insurance costs is not always the situation for minor collisions. In Ontario in particular, insurance providers are not allowed to use petty mistakes to increase your costs.
Yes, you read that right: In Ontario, insurance providers are not allowed to use petty mistakes to increase your costs as long as all of the following issues are met:
- Collisions occurred on or after June 1, 2016 (This is the day when the directive that a minor accident cannot be used to increase one’s fare applies.)
- No injuries and much less damage compared to $2,000 per vehicle
- No individuals involved filed insurance claims for payment
- The guilty driver pays for all the trouble
There is one final caveat as well: you are limited to one minor accident every 3 years.
What happens if you don’t record the crash?
What happens if you don’t log the accident will depend entirely on all the drivers and owners of the vehicles involved. If everyone agrees to keep it among themselves without creating an insurance provider, then you are relying on a stranger’s word. You rely on them to never contact their insurance company to submit an insurance claim. This is a dangerous endeavor because all it takes is one person to run their insurance for the plan to fail, and the reality is that sometimes things change. For example, injuries may go undetected at first but continue to escalate, prompting the need to submit insurance claims.
If your insurance provider finds out about an accident, an accident they should know about, the price of your auto insurance could increase; It won’t be a problem either if you spend on vehicle repairs out of your pocket. A mistake – with or without an insurance claim – may be a factor in itself for a price increase. When it comes to accidents, the rate increase does not occur even if you file an insurance claim but based on truth you are liable for the accident as well. That’s why the price for drivers who are 100% not responsible for accidents is not going up. It didn’t make sense because they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Things to know when shopping for car insurance
When you shop for auto insurance, you should disclose everything on your driving record or insurance background. There shouldn’t be any surprises.
If you’re not sure what’s on your driving record, you can obtain a duplicate from your provincial federal government, usually for an additional fee. On the other hand, your insurance background record is free to obtain, but is mailed to you within 10 business days of CGI receiving your request. CGI is a company that stores information about auto insurance coverage and claims information in Canada on behalf of the industry.
Your insurance background is detailed in so-called AutoPlus records. This record contains information about your most current insurance coverage. It also lists insurance claims, if any, for the previous 20 or two years. It informs the type of claim submitted (collision, robbery, or physical injury, for example), how much was paid and, the error rate specified. It also consists of third party claims and factors for package termination, if any in your background.
Cheap car insurance is not an accident
Your driving record and insurance background factor perfectly matches the auto insurance rate you pay. The good news is that accidents won’t follow you forever. Meanwhile, the best way to lower the price of your auto insurance is to look around. This is the only way to know for sure that you will get the most affordable price.
