Canada Auto Insurance requires every car owner and driver in Canada to carry third-party Liability Insurance. This type of insurance coverage ensures that if in an accident the car owner causes injury to someone or damages someone else’s property, then he will be paying for all the injuries and damages caused by him to the third party.
Canada Auto Insurance Law requires that every car owner should buy a certain amount of liability insurance coverage. But the amount of mandatory minimum liability coverage varies from one province to other.
Mandatory Minimum Liability Coverage in Canada
Car owners in Canada are bound to have minimum liability coverage of at least $200,000. It is generally applicable for all the provinces of Canada except Quebec. The residents of Quebec need to carry minimum liability coverage of $50,000.
Types of Canada Auto Insurance Mandatory Coverage
Types of Auto insurance coverage which are mandatory in Canada also differs from one province to another.
Third Person Liability Coverage is mandatory for all the provinces. But the minimum level of this liability coverage may be different in different Canadian provinces.
In the provinces like Manitoba and Saskatchewan,
Physical Damage Coverage, which compensates for the damages caused to the policyholder’s own car, is mandatory, but this not the case in other states of Canada.
For the states like Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Yukon, the limit of
Property damage liability coverage is $20,000. For other states except Quebec, the property damage liability is $10,000.
Personal Injury Claims are not entertained in the state of Quebec. There is a Provincial Fund which provides the medical payments and hospital related payments incurred out of injuries caused due to car accident. This Fund also allows payments in fixed amounts for Loss of Wage and pain & suffering.
In the state of Quebec, the amount of liability insurance is used to settle
Property Damage Claims for the accidents occurred within the province. This liability insurance also compensates for the personal injuries and property damages caused by the car accidents outside the province.
The Other types of Auto Insurance Coverage that the Canadians can go for are:
Collision Coverage
This coverage will include the damages caused to the policy holder’s car as a result of collision with another car or object.
Comprehensive Coverage
This coverage is proved to be helpful when the policy holder’s car is damaged due to Vandalism, Fire, Flood, Storm or any other natural calamity.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
This coverage helps when the policy holder or other passengers of his car are injured in a car accident made by a driver who has no insurance coverage or insufficient insurance coverage. This coverage pays the medical expenses including surgical treatment expenses, medicine supply expenses, and hospitalization charges and also pays the funeral expenses in case of death following the car accident.
The Factors that can affect the Auto Insurance Rates in Canada
Driving Record
Auto Insurance Rates in Canada depend on the Driving record of the policy buyer and the other insured drivers listed under the auto insurance policy. If the driving record is good, one can land up with an offer of very low auto insurance rate. But, if one’s driving record carry evidences of car accidents then, his Auto Insurance Premium is most likely to go up.
Age of the Driver
According to the rules of Canada Auto Insurance Companies the drivers under 25 years of age are required to pay more for auto insurance than the older drivers. This is such because, it has been found statistically, that the drivers under 25 years of age involve in more car accidents and violate traffic rules many times.
Place of Living
The place of living of the policy holder also determines the rate of Auto insurance he is going to be offered. If that area is one where the incidents of car theft and vandalism are frequent then, the policy buyer is supposed to pay higher insurance premium for his auto insurance policy.
Make and Model of the Car
The model of the car which is to be insured by the auto insurance policy does matter in determining the auto Insurance rates. A Sports Car owner is supposed to pay higher insurance premium for his Canada Auto Insurance Policy. This is because, it has been found that statistically, the Sports Cars get into accidents frequently.
Ways to get Low Auto Insurance Rates
By avoiding accidents and maintaining Traffic Laws one can hold a good driving record which will fetch him a low auto insurance rate.
By buying a car which is cheap to be insured, one can acquire low auto insurance rates.
By choosing a higher level of Deductibles, one can obtain lower insurance premiums by Canada Auto Insurance Companies. It should be mentioned here, that Deductible is the amount which the auto insurance policy holder is required to pay in case of an accident, before the payment of Insurance coverage benefits by the auto insurance company.
By buying auto insurance and home insurance from same insurance company.
By avoiding the Auto Insurance Companies which mostly provide insurance coverage to high risk drivers.
Establishing an Insurance Claim according to Canada Auto Insurance Law
When a car accident take place due to collision, then the first thing the policy holder needs to do is to intimate the auto insurance company as soon as possible. Some Auto Insurance company of Canada even fixes a definite period for intimation like within seven days of accident and like that.
To establish an Insurance Claim under a certain auto insurance policy, Police Reporting of the accident is a must.
The insurance claim must be filed within 90 days from the date of accident. Otherwise Canada Auto Insurance Companies will not be liable to pay the insurance benefits. But, in practice, it is found that the Canada Auto Insurance Companies consider an insurance claim if it is made within 1 year from the date of accident, but the policy holder must provide a reasonable explanation of the delay.