When an automobile accident occurs you could certainly start to feel overwhelmed and downright exasperated. There are many factors involved that go beyond the event itself. You may be wondering: Are there going to be medical expenses? When will the damage to my car be taken care of? How will my insurance be impacted? Numerous questions begin to crowd your mind. The situation is further complicated if the incident occurs in a different province. What happens if you’re from an at-fault province and get into a car accident in a no-fault province then what happens?
Essentially you will adhere to the parameters of your policy. That means that if you’re involved in an accident (even if it happens in a no-fault territory or province) your insurance will cover you to the extent of your policy.
What Happens in a No-Fault Province?
No-fault means that an individual’s insurance company will pay for the damages done to their client’s vehicle only regardless of who caused the accident. That means any damages or losses you receive will be covered by your insurance company while the other party’s damages or losses will be covered by their own insurance company.
Despite the deceiving name of “no-fault” does not mean that no one was to blame for the accident it just means that each insured will have their damages covered by their own respective insurance policy.
The process here is fairly straightforward. Everything is generally handled within your own insurance company which eliminates the need for expensive litigation. Depending on your province there may be some hybrid version of this. For example Quebec completely eliminates the right to sue whereas Ontario blends both no-fault and some components of at-fault insurance.
What Happens in an At-Fault Province?
At-fault insurance works a bit differently. After determining who was at fault through a series of fault determination rules the person who caused the accident will likely be responsible for paying for damages both to their own vehicle as well as that of the other party. This in turn will require your insurance company to pay out a higher amount if you are determined to be the driver at fault than if you were involved in a no-fault case. There can also be degrees of fault where both parties share in the responsibility for the incident in question.
The best thing to do is to talk to your broker if you plan on driving in a different province. They can explain your policy to you including how much coverage your policy provides. They can also advise on how your policy will be affected by travelling and tell you what happens if you have an accident in a different province.
