CASH FOR CRASH
A recent survey from RATESDOTCA seems to indicate that a significant portion of Ontario drivers would prefer to leave their insurance company out of the loop when it comes to small fender- bender accidents. The survey found that 42 percent of Ontario drivers would prefer to pay or accept a cash settlement instead of making an auto insurance claim. RATESDOTCA suggests that this is possibly due to the anticipation that filing an insurance claim will increase a driver’s policy rate. Of those 42 percent of drivers, 59 percent of them said that they would only accept a cash settlement if it was equal to or less than their insurance deductible. It was also found that female-identifying drivers were more likely than male-identifying drivers to pay or receive settlements of under $1,000, at 58 and 42 percent respectively. Conversely, 60 percent of male-identifying drivers were found to be more likely to accept or pay a cash settlement of more than $2,000, which is Ontario’s collision reporting threshold, as compared to 40 percent of female-identifying drivers.
The report goes on to point out that there are several criteria that would prevent an insurance company from increasing the premium rate of a driver found to be at-fault of a minor collision, including: whether collision happened on or after June 1, 2016; whether there are injuries, and if the damage sustained to each vehicle is less than $2,000; if any of the drivers involved submitted an insurance claim for payment or if the at-fault driver pays for all the damage.
PEER-TO-PEER COVERAGE
On February 15, peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace Turo announced its partnership with Economical Insurance, who will provide auto coverage for application users in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia. To qualify for insurance coverage, users must provide photos of the damaged areas, 24 hours before and after the trip. Coverage does not cover mechanical and interior damage. Additionally, failure to provide the photos may leave users illegible for physical damage, according to Turo. Notably, insurance does not apply for the renter and owner together— they must have their own plans respectively
Turo touts itself as a peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace—think AirBnB but for vehicles.
WITHOUT A TRACE
There are plenty of ways drivers go about getting their dream cars. Some take the old-fashioned route and save their hard- earned cash; others bite the bullet and spontaneously pick up their dream vehicle hours after reading the Kijiji post. You could trade vehicles with a buddy or restore a classic to modern glory. If you’re the Saskatchewan driver featured in Saskatchewan Government Insurance’s (SGI) top five fraud claims of 2021, you could just fake it ’til your dream parks itself in your driveway. “James”, a driver named in SGI’s Top 5 Fraud Claims of 2021, told the public insurer his classic car was stolen. When asked to produce receipts, financial information and recent photos of the vehicle, James came up empty-handed. When the man finally did submit a photo, SGI confirmed that picture to be a stock image from a vehicle in the U.S. “Not to mention—neighbours and autobody shop staff who had supposedly worked on the car had no recollection of the vehicle,” wrote SGI. “And it’s not the kind of car you forget!” All that’s left to wonder is what vintage classic James claimed to have lost.
