|
Dear Buyer:
As is so often the case with insurance questions, the answer is - it depends. Automobile insurance is regulated by each province, so the legal requirements vary depending on where you live.
Here are the minimum insurance requirements, and any exceptions:
$200,000 in Third Party Liability insurance, except in Quebec, where the minimum limit is $50,000. That's the insurance that comes to your rescue if your car injures someone else or damages his or her property, and you are held legally liable.
Accident Benefits coverage, except in Newfoundland (a heads-up to Newfoundlanders to look into supplementing their provincial health care plan with some kind of accident or disability insurance). In Quebec, insurance premiums for bodily injury are collected together with your vehicle registration and driver license fees and fuel tax, and then transferred to the province's government-owned insurer. Accident Benefits coverage provides compensation, regardless of who was at fault, if you, your passengers, or pedestrians suffer injury or death in an automobile collision.
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, you must also buy First Party All Perils insurance, which covers your car for physical damage, like collision, fire, and theft.
Those are the bare bones, but you may want a little more meat. For example, you might choose to increase your Third Party Liability coverage -- especially from the meager Quebec limit of $50,000. Let's say you were driving in the U.S. and caused an accident in which you injured someone and he sued you (which could also happen in several provinces in Canada). You would be personally responsible for paying any damages awarded over the amount of your Third Party Liability coverage. That $50,000 -- or even $200,000 -- likely wouldn't go far, especially in the U.S. where payment would be required in U.S. dollars! That's why many drivers prefer to boost their Third Party Liability coverage to at least $1 million. The additional cost is money well spent.
There are also optional coverages that may interest you. For instance, most provinces (Manitoba and Saskatchewan excepted) do not require you to insure for damage to your own vehicle. But are you prepared to pay for all such damage yourself? Suppose you roll your car or it slides off an icy road into a ditch. Or what if your car catches fire, is dented by hail, or is stolen? You might want to consider Collision and Comprehensive coverage, or All Perils coverage (which combines Collision and Comprehensive).
The best policy is to discuss all these options with your insurance representative, so you know you are buying what you really need, and not just what the law says you must have.
|
