With bills to pay and the state of the economy keeping you up at night, you've probably been trying to think of ways to cut down on your monthly costs. You may even be contemplating terminating your auto insurance policy, wondering what will happen if you don't have insurance
If you think it's expensive now, you should know the consequences of not having auto coverage could be infinitely more expensive than the monthly payments. Here are some important points to keep in mind when it comes to the value of auto insurance:
- By cancelling your insurance policy with your current insurance company, you may not be able to purchase a new policy at the same rate.
- You may face higher insurance premiums when you purchase a new policy later on.
- If you continue to drive without auto insurance in Ontario, you face a fine of no less than $1,000 and no more than $5,000 for the first offense, and no less than $2,000 and no more than $5,000 for the second offence, including possible jail time of up to six months.
- You may be denied auto insurance coverage by a standard market in the future when companies find out you've been driving without a policy.
- If you lie about having auto insurance when you don't and are found guilty of being fraudulent about your policy in any way, in the worst-case scenario you could face a fine of $100,000 for the first offence and up to $200,000 for additional offences under the Insurance Act.
Tip: Keep in mind that lying doesn't pay - insurance companies will find out about your previous policy, when you cancelled it, and why, through access to insurance company databases which contain this information.
In Ontario, it is illegal to drive without having an auto insurance policy. With that in mind, the Facility Association exists to ensure that auto insurance is available to all drivers who are unable to obtain auto insurance through the voluntary insurance market.
So if you are looking to save money by lowering your insurance costs, instead of terminating your auto policy, your best bet is to shop around for a better rate, which is easy to do at InsuranceHotline.com with its access to quotes from over 30 competing insurers to help you find the lowest rate available for your driving profile.
