Canadians drive more, but 74 percent don’t know they should upgrade their insurance provider: survey

A new survey found that many Canadians are driving more as they return to offices and workplaces, but most don’t know they should report this change to their insurance companies, which experts say could cause problems down the road.

The survey, conducted by Leger on behalf of BNN Bloomberg and RATESDOTCA, a Canadian company that compares insurance rates, found that while one in five Canadians have been driving more than six months ago, 74 percent of those who have not reported this higher mileage insurance providers didn’t know they should.

“This information is outlined in the terms of the auto policy, however, not everyone reviews these documents thoroughly,” said Kelsey Hawke, auto insurance expert at RATESDOTCA, in a press release. “If you’re someone who doesn’t make frequent changes to your auto policy (vehicle usage, updating your address, or vehicle changes), you may not be aware that changes in usage need to be reported to your insurance provider. ”

The survey, conducted in September, questioned 1,522 Canadians about their driving habits and whether they reported them to their insurance providers.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the roads were empty due to the closure of workplaces. Despite the relaxation of public health measures, driving levels have remained low for the past two years as many companies switched to remote work.

This sharp decline in driving meant that many drivers got a discount on their car insurance premiums.

But in 2022, more and more workplaces were asking workers to return to the office, leading to increased levels of driving with the daily commute.

According to the survey, along with the 20 per cent of Canadians who say they drive more than they did six months ago, 11 per cent said they are now traveling again.

But 44 percent say they haven’t told their insurance provider that their frequency of driving has changed, and nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they didn’t know they had to.

However, of those respondents who said they knew they should report increased mileage, 54 percent said they had never done so.

“Consumers may feel that this information is not relevant and may think they will save money by not reporting, or that there will be no impact on their policy,” Hawke said in the statement.

WHY YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER NEEDS TO KNOW CHANGES IN MILEAGE

The reason drivers should update their insurance provider if there are big changes in how often they drive is because mileage is related to the price of insurance and whether someone is covered in the event of a collision.

Essentially, a person who only drives once a week to the grocery store is less likely to be in an accident than someone who drives back and forth from work every day. This means that the person who drives infrequently will have a lower premium for their insurance.

There are other factors, such as age, gender and location, that influence the price of a premium, but driving frequency is more likely to have changed recently for Canadians.

The danger of not telling your insurance provider about an increase in mileage, according to the survey, is that if you received a discount because of the pandemic, you may not have the coverage you need now if you’re in an accident.

You could also be caught in a policy breach if you crash on a commute but the insurance provider was previously told you didn’t have a commute, Hawke explained. If an insurance provider believes this to be a misrepresentation of policy details, he may deny your insurance claim.

The survey found that Canadian workers aged 18 to 34 were more likely to be aware of the requirement to report mileage increases by 71 per cent, compared to 61 per cent of those over 35, and were more likely to report them to your provider. .

Younger Canadians were also more likely to believe it is a serious crime not to report a change in mileage, according to the survey.

According to RATESDOTCA, if you’re not sure if a new or resumed commute has significantly increased your mileage, you can calculate it by using mapping software to see how many miles that commute is, double it, and then multiply it by the number of days left. week you go to work.

Your annual mileage is the sum of your weekday and weekend commutes multiplied by 52, the number of weeks in a year.

“Reporting changes in use is mandatory,” Hawke said. “Best practice is to connect with your broker or agent at least once a year to ensure your policy information is accurate and up-to-date.”

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