Here’s how to limit problems with your insurer.

While you have insurance

• Pay your premiums on time. If you miss a payment date, your insurer could cancel your policy.
• Notify your insurer of any new situation that could increase its risk. For example:
  • You now need your vehicle for business (to visit clients, for example).
  • You’re starting a new job and will have to travel farther to work.
  • You often lend your vehicle to another driver.
  • You’re paid for transporting passengers.
  • You’re moving.
  • You’ve had an accident.
  • You make expensive upgrades to your vehicle which increases its value (for example, you install a high-end stereo system). Remember to keep your invoices! You might have to prove that you actually made these upgrades.

If its risk increases, your insurer could decide to raise your insurance premium. In some cases, it could even cancel your contract.

When you renew your automobile insurance

• Look at what your insurer is offering. Do you want to keep the same coverageCoverage is the combination of types of insurance protection covering a given risk, such as an automobile accident, fire or illness. 
  In investment, hedging is a strategy that consists in offsetting possible losses. For example, let’s say that company ABC’s shares trade at $20. An investor who is concerned about a drop in the share’s value could buy an option to sell (put option) at $19. If the share price falls to $7, this strategy limits the loss to $1 per share (plus the cost of the option) rather than $13 per share. 
  It is the maximum amount that an insurer would pay a beneficiary if an insured risk occurred. and deductibles?
• If you want to change insurer, shop around for new insurance and inform your current insurer before your policy ends. If you wait until your policy expires, you’ll end up paying a fee.
• If your insurer didn’t send you a written notice explaining the changes to your policy, or if you didn’t ask your insurer to make changes, your automobile insurance will be renewed for the same premium and term. If you don’t receive an offer to renew your policy, get in touch with your insurer or your representative.

Have a problem with your insurer?

Find out how to file a complaint. Contact our Information Centre for help, if necessary.