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As some of you know, I am a police officer with the Region of Peel. On a daily basis (so it seems) I am flooded with questions regarding insurance companies and making claims.

To be honest, I really don't have answers for nearly 3/4 of the questions asked. But as a member and moderator for this site, I have made it something of a mission to answer any legal question, and assist where ever possible.

My girlfriend was involved in a minor fender bender today. She was clearly at fault for the collision. On her behalf, I contacted the consumer information centre of the Insurance Bureau of Canada and spoke to a representative. Our concerns of course were wether or not to go through insurance considering the minor damages, and if we did go through insurance, how much would the premium go up and for how long. The representative was absolutely amazing and professional. As it turns out, we are not going through insurance. The premium would go up signifigantly for a period of 6 years!

What I did learn in speaking with this gentleman is that frequently, people involved in collisions call their insurance companies to find out wether they should make a claim or not. And this is where they screw you. As soon as they find out that you were involved in an at-fault collision, they deem you to be a risk and raise your premium regardless of wether or not you make an official claim for them to pay for damages!

So, my advice to you is that if you get in a minor accident and you have any questions, do not call your insurance company untill you call the consumer information centre of the Insurance Bureau of Canada at 1-800-387-2880 first.

Eddy.

 
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Can you protect yourself by phoning up with a 'theoretical' question?

Won't they find out you were at fault for a collision some other way? (police report it to them, etc.)

 
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By law, you are required to submit an accident report if the damage to both vehicles (excluding labour fee) exceeds $1000. Otherwise, it is deemed to be a non-reportable collision, and the involved parties only need to exchange information. No report required.

More often than not, people involved in these minor collisions settle outside of the insurance world. In that scenario, your insurance is non the wiser.

I would strongly recommend that if you have insurance questions, you do NOT call them up. Call the info line number I provided.

Hope all this has been helpful to someone.