How does No-fault insurance in Ontario really work?

[blizzack]

This may be the wrong forum, but my girlfriend was just rear-ended in my 2004 Mazda 3 at a stop-light.

She's fine, and when she called me she said the car was fine except for the license plate, a small dent and some paint scratches. It sounded like it wasn't a big deal.

The other driver apologized, admitted she was at fault, and they swapped the necessary insurance. The other driver asked my gf to get a quote and said she would cover it.

Well, I've been down this road before in a similar situation, and when push came to shove the other woman did not pay when confronted with a $1,500 repair bill, leaving me with a busted car and no police report, which is where I am now.

My gf just brought the car by, and the damage to the bumper is a lot more significant than they both noticed . I believe the bumper needs replacing, which I'm thinking is somewhere between 1000-2000 based on my limited knowledge of body work and an episode of Market Place that I watched :)

I seem to get conflicting opinions and who has to pay for this if it goes through insurance (assuming the other woman flakes) and I guess my question is: am I stuck paying the deductible on this if the other women doesn't follow-through?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

JB

[blizzack]

OK, I found this:

Say you are an Ontario resident and were unable to stop your car on an icy road near your home. You rear-ended another car and the police officer told you that "no one was at-fault".

This usually means that no police charges will be laid. It does not mean that the insurance companies involved will not consider who was at-fault. In this case, the insurance company would apply Ontario’s Fault Determination Rules which states that a car that rear-ends another car is at-fault (since drivers are required to take road conditions into consideration).

Your percentage of fault will not only determine the amount of deductible you have to pay but if you're fully or partially at fault in an accident, your insurance company will likely increase your premiums at your next renewal date as well.

I'm just wondering if I'm screwed because there is no police report and the woman can simply dispute the story... anyway, thanks for listening :)

[Capt.]

No police report but at least you have their insurance information and probably a phone number. Take a couple photos of the damage or have the body shop take them when they are doing a quote.

It will be hard for them to dispute the story with the damages where they are. The only thing they could really say is that you were reversing and hit them.

I think you should consider putting a claim in to insurance. If you want to be nice, get a quote quickly and call the other party. Tell them if they don't pay right away you're going to insurance. It will be handled under direct compensation in your policy, no deductible.

[ottofly]

Why would a police report be needed if no injuries or property damage, other then the cars involved be needed? In Quebec, such a case would just require you to fill out a joint report which in itself is a neat way to collect information which is what you did. Police don't need to be called, and if they are called you'll probably end up waiting over an hour here in Quebec. lol Not sure about Ontario.

Like Capt said, get a quote quickly. If the other driver waffles about paying, just go straight to your insurance. Don't let this drag on too long. If you have all their info, you should be OK. Good Luck.

[DragonZealot]

Last time got hit from the back I took the car to a body shop for an estimate and asked the other party to come and pay cash within 24 hours or I will file a claim to insurance. Other party came and paid.

Reporting to police is not manditory if the damage is less then (I think) $700. But since you think the damage is about 1-2K you should quickly act on it and if it is not settled immediately you should file a police report.

I think you can file a police report within 72 hours but don't quote me on this one. I know you dont have to report immediately.

The insurance has their own way of determining fault and it has nothing to do with traffic ticket. If a car is rear ended most likely the other party is at 100% fault but as usual each case is different.

[tdott]

No-Fault insurance doesn't actually mean no one is at fault like other ppl usually think it does.

It just means you deal with your insurance company and they deal with the settlement from the other parties.

Ontario has what's called a "no-fault" set of rules for car accidents. What this means is regardless whose fault the accident is, you're entitled to a wide variety of benefits to assist you when you need it most. These benefits are generally paid for by your own car insurance company. If you didn't have car insurance at the time of the accident, the Insurance Act provides a series of priority rules to set out who is responsible for paying for your benefits.

http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6033

[COSMIC5]

In Ontario, we claim damages regardless of fault under our own policies. Since this is 100% third parties fault, your damages would be claimed under the Direct Compensation portion of your policy, which may or may not have a deductible. If this was an At Fault accident, it would be claimed under the collision portion subject to a deductible.

You should talk to your Broker who is a lic'd professional and is there for advice and help.



This may be the wrong forum, but my girlfriend was just rear-ended in my 2004 Mazda 3 at a stop-light.

She's fine, and when she called me she said the car was fine except for the license plate, a small dent and some paint scratches. It sounded like it wasn't a big deal.

The other driver apologized, admitted she was at fault, and they swapped the necessary insurance. The other driver asked my gf to get a quote and said she would cover it.

Well, I've been down this road before in a similar situation, and when push came to shove the other woman did not pay when confronted with a $1,500 repair bill, leaving me with a busted car and no police report, which is where I am now.

My gf just brought the car by, and the damage to the bumper is a lot more significant than they both noticed . I believe the bumper needs replacing, which I'm thinking is somewhere between 1000-2000 based on my limited knowledge of body work and an episode of Market Place that I watched :)

I seem to get conflicting opinions and who has to pay for this if it goes through insurance (assuming the other woman flakes) and I guess my question is: am I stuck paying the deductible on this if the other women doesn't follow-through?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

JB

[COSMIC5]

how can she dispute her front end damage, and your rear end damage?

OK, I found this:



I'm just wondering if I'm screwed because there is no police report and the woman can simply dispute the story... anyway, thanks for listening :)

[COSMIC5]

Police reports help define fault in an accident.

Why would a police report be needed if no injuries or property damage, other then the cars involved be needed? In Quebec, such a case would just require you to fill out a joint report which in itself is a neat way to collect information which is what you did. Police don't need to be called, and if they are called you'll probably end up waiting over an hour here in Quebec. lol Not sure about Ontario.

Like Capt said, get a quote quickly. If the other driver waffles about paying, just go straight to your insurance. Don't let this drag on too long. If you have all their info, you should be OK. Good Luck.

[blizzack]

Update:

OK, quote of $2,600 from a local mazda dealer that tried to say the muffler was damaged (And warranted $1000 in parts to fix?!), and then an 'independent' dealer recommended by another (superior) Mazda dealer for $1,400.

My gf is stopping by the police station now to get an accident report, and a message was left with the other driver. I'll get my gf to call her again tonight and be polite but firm with a deadline as mentioned above, and then proceed through the insurance broker if they balk at the $1,400...

Thanks for the help, guys.

[Capt.]

Good move. There's another reason I forgot to mention when I suggested putting a claim in. With any decent rear end hit, there's a good chance there is hidden damage that can't be seen with the bumper on. When they do the original estimate there can be additional items not included like frame damage, bumper brackets and impact absorbers that will add $$ to the total.

how can she dispute her front end damage, and your rear end damage?

Already mentioned how in my first post.

[blizzack]

Good move. There's another reason I forgot to mention when I suggested putting a claim in. With any decent rear end hit, there's a good chance there is hidden damage that can't be seen with the bumper on. When they do the original estimate there can be additional items not included like frame damage, bumper brackets and impact absorbers that will add $$ to the total.



Already mentioned how in my first post.

Yeah, I was wondering about that, which leads me to my next question - how do I go about receiving payment from her? If I ask for $1,400 cash up front, I'm SOL if they find something else...

[JAC]

1. Always, always, always report an accident to police, no matter how small.

2. If the damage looks even close to $1000 (the minimum, IIRC) get a cop onsite.

3. Never deal with the person who hit you, except to to exchange information. They aren't going to pay you s***, regardless of what they say.

4. If the accident is not your fault, you shouldn't need to pay a deductible, so call your insurance company, take the car to the dealership, and forget it.