Although the minimum liability coverage prescribed by law is $200,000 this is not nearly enough. In today's increasingly litigious society awards for serious injuries very often exceed $1,000,000. Most serious injury claims will take 4-6 years to be settled. In order to protect against what a court could award in the future, you need to have higher limits of protection before the accident occurs today. A minimum of $2,000,000 should be purchased. Higher limits beyond $2,000,000 are also available and recommended.
Provides coverage for accidental losses by the insured without regard to fault. (Note that Physical Damage insurance is only an optional coverage when the car is NOT leased or financed.)
Collision or Upset: Covers "at fault" losses caused when your car is involved in an accident with another object or tips over. This includes other cars, the surface of the ground and/or any object in or on the ground. Collision also provides coverage for damage to your vehicle if it is hit by an unidentified car/person ie. Hit & Run.
Comprehensive: Provides coverage for losses other than those covered by Collision insurance, including but not limited to falling or flying objects, missiles, vandalism, fire, theft, lightning, and explosion.
All Perils:The broadest form of physical damage coverage available. Includes Collision and Comprehensive coverage, and covers loss or damage caused if a person who lives in your household steals your car.
OPCF #20 (Loss of Use) - Provides coverage for when you need to pay for other means of transportation because of loss or damage to your automobile caused by a peril for which you are insured.
OPCF #27 (Legal Liability for Damage to Non-Owned Automobiles) - Provides coverage in Canada or the United States for loss or damage to certain types of non-owned cars that are rented to the insured on a short-term basis. This endorsement eliminates the need to purchase physical damage coverage from the rental agency.
OPCF #43 (Limited Waiver of Depreciation) - Provides coverage against depreciation when the loss or damage to the car occurs within 24 months of the purchase of the car from its original owner. Coverage is limited to the lesser of the purchase price of the vehicle and it's attached equipment or the manufacturer's suggested list price at the original date of purchase.
OPCF #44 (Family Protection) - Protects insured persons from other "underinsured" parties. The effect of the endorsement is to surround you on the road with cars carrying the same Third Party Liability limit as you. In the event that an insured person is entitled to claim under an at-fault parties insurance policy, should there be a shortfall in coverage, this endorsement steps in to pay the additional amount up to the specified limit
Deductible - The deductible is the amount which you agree to pay, per claim or per accident, toward the total amount of an insured loss. Your deductible can vary, depending on the type of coverage you have and the percentage of fault you are assigned in the event of an accident. There are deductibles for Direct Compensation-Property Damage (DC-PD) , Collision or Upset, Comprehensive, All Perils, and Specified Perils coverage. The higher the deductible the lower the premium. For example, you may save 5 percent on your collision premium by having a $1000 deductible rather than $500
Tort Deductible - This is the amount deducted from a settlement or court award for non-pecuniary losses (pain and suffering).
The deductible is $38,818.97 and for awards under clause 61 (2) (e) of the Family Law Act $19,409.49 . Both are as of January 1, 2019 and are indexed annually.
The monetary threshold beyond which the deductibles do not apply are $129,395.49 and $64,697 respectively, as of January 1, 2019, and are indexed annually.
There is an option that can be purchase which reduces the deductible by $10,000.
Increased Death and Funeral - The standard level of death benefits paid to the surviving spouse and dependant of a person who is killed ($25,000 to surviving spouse; $10,000 to each surviving dependant ) can be doubled by purchasing the optional coverage. This coverage also increases the standard funeral expense benefit from $6,000 to $8,000.
Increased Income Replacement - The standard level of income replacement in the policy ($400 per week maximum) can be increased by purchasing optional coverage so that the weekly limit is up to $600, $800 or $1,000. All income replacement benefits are based on 70% of gross weekly income.
Increased Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care - The standard benefit pays up to $65,000 for medical, rehabilitation and attendant care expenses for non-catastrophic injuries. You can choose to increase this to either $130,000 or $1 million. If you choose the $1 million limit, as an additional benefit it can be used towards all injuries. If catastrophically impaired, the standard benefit pays up to $1,000,000 for both medical, rehabilitation and attendant care expenses. You can choose to increase this to $2,000,000.
Caregiver, Housekeeping and Home Maintenance Expenses - The standard caregiver, housekeeping and home maintenance expenses benefit is available only for a person who is catastrophically impaired. You can purchase an optional benefit to provide this coverage for all injuries.
Dependant Care - There is no standard coverage. If you are employed and have dependants (i.e. people relying on you for financial support) then there is an optional benefit intended to pay additional expenses incurred for their care. The optional coverage provides $75 per week, plus $25 for each additional dependant to a maximum of $150 per week.
Housekeeping + Home Maintenance Expenses - The standard benefit applies to catastrophic injuries only and pays up to $100 per week for eligible expenses. You can purchase an optional benefit to extend this coverage to cover all injuries.
Indexation Benefit - This optional coverage will increase certain weekly benefit payments and monetary limits on an annual basis to reflect the changes in the cost of living. Annual adjustments are made according to the Consumer Price Index for Canada (or CPI Canada).
CAR INSURANCE
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