Will a car accident raise my insurance in Ontario?
Short answer: an accident you didn’t cause shouldn’t raise your premium, and one you did usually will — for years. But fault in Ontario isn’t decided by who apologised at the roadside or even by the police, and there is one rule that can keep a small at-fault accident off your rate entirely. Here is how it actually works.
Got a ticket after the accident?
A traffic conviction raises your premium on top of any at-fault claim. Snap a photo of the ticket and see what it really costs and whether it’s worth fighting.
In this guide
Who decides who was at fault
Your insurer does, using Ontario’s Fault Determination Rules — a regulation that sets out dozens of standard collision diagrams (rear-end, left turn, lane change, parking lot and so on) and assigns each driver a share of fault: 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%.
The rules apply regardless of weather, road conditions, or what the drivers say to each other. A police charge isn’t what decides it either, although the circumstances that led to a charge often line up with the same diagram.
A rear-end collision, for example, generally puts the following driver 100% at fault. A collision while one car was changing lanes generally puts the driver changing lanes at fault.
If you weren’t at fault
Ontario insurers may not raise your premium because of an accident in which you were not at fault.
Repairs to your car are normally paid by your own insurer under Direct Compensation – Property Damage (DCPD) coverage, in proportion to how much you were not at fault. Since January 1, 2024, DCPD can be removed from a policy — so check yours. If you opted out, recovering not-at-fault damage gets harder.
If you were at fault
An at-fault accident will usually raise your premium at renewal. How much depends on your insurer, your record and the size of the claim. Insurers generally look back about six years at your accident history, with the biggest effect in the first few years.
Being only partly at fault can still count against you, so if you think the fault percentage your insurer assigned is wrong, ask them which Fault Determination Rule they applied and why.
The minor-accident rule that protects your rate
Ontario protects your first minor at-fault accident in any three-year period from a premium increase, if all of these are true:
- damage to each vehicle (and any property) is $2,000 or less,
- the at-fault driver pays for all of it,
- nobody was injured, and
- no insurer paid anything for the damage.
This is why some drivers settle a small scrape privately. If you do, keep receipts and a written note from the other driver, and still tell your insurer the accident happened — most policies require you to report every accident, and the protection depends on it being on record as a qualifying minor accident.
Don’t mix this up with police reporting. The reporting threshold rose to $5,000 in 2025. The minor-accident insurance protection is still $2,000 per vehicle.
Tickets make it worse
A conviction from the accident — careless driving, following too closely, an unsafe turn — is rated separately from the claim. Careless driving in particular is a major conviction that can cost more over three years than the accident itself. Paying the ticket is a guilty plea, so look at your options within the 15 days on the ticket.
What changed on July 1, 2026
Ontario reformed its accident benefits — the no-fault benefits you claim from your own insurer after an injury:
- Now optional: income replacement, non-earner, caregiver, and lost educational expense benefits. If you didn’t buy them, you don’t have them.
- Still mandatory: medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits.
- Auto insurer pays first: for those mandatory medical and rehab benefits, your auto insurer now pays before any workplace or private health plan.
Optional benefits generally cover only the people named on the policy and their household — passengers, pedestrians and cyclists without their own coverage may have less than they assume. Ask your broker what your policy includes at your next renewal.
Don’t let a ticket double the damage
If you were charged after the collision, upload the ticket. Drivee shows the points, the insurance estimate, and licensed paralegals for a free case review.
Common questions
Will my insurance go up if the accident wasn’t my fault?
It shouldn’t. Ontario insurers may not raise your premium for an accident in which you were not at fault. Your own insurer normally pays for your repairs under DCPD coverage, if you still have it.
How long does an at-fault accident affect insurance in Ontario?
Insurers generally look back about six years at your accident history, with the largest effect on your premium in the first few years.
Does a minor accident raise insurance in Ontario?
Your first minor at-fault accident in three years is protected if damage is $2,000 or less per vehicle, the at-fault driver pays it, nobody is hurt, and no insurer pays anything.
Who decides fault in a car accident in Ontario?
Your insurer, using the provincial Fault Determination Rules, which assign each driver 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% fault based on the type of collision.
What changed in Ontario auto insurance in July 2026?
Income replacement, non-earner, caregiver and lost educational expense benefits became optional. Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care remain mandatory, and the auto insurer now pays those first.