Seven days to tell them — that’s the policy’s expectation
The standard Ontario auto policy, known as OAP 1, asks you to notify your insurance company of a collision promptly, and it names seven days as the expectation. That is the clock most people are asking about. It starts at the collision, not at the day you get around to looking at the damage, and it applies whether or not you think you will claim.
Notice is a phone call or an online form. You tell them what happened, where, when, and who else was involved. You are not committing to anything. The claim itself — the decision to have the car repaired under the policy — can come days later, once you have an estimate and know what the deductible and the renewal impact look like.
- The date, time and location of the collision.
- The other driver’s details and plate, or a note that they left the scene.
- The Collision Reporting Centre report number, if you have one.
- Photos of the damage — or send them to the shop first and have an estimate in hand.
- The name of the shop you have chosen, because you will be asked.
Two years if it ever goes to court
The other deadline people hear about is the two-year limitation period under Ontario’s Limitations Act, 2002. That is the window for starting a lawsuit for property damage against another driver. It has nothing to do with how quickly you must tell your own insurance company, and for the great majority of collision repairs it never comes up, because DCPD means your own policy pays for not-at-fault damage and there is nobody to sue.
Where it matters is the unusual case: a loss the policy does not cover, a dispute over a total-loss value that cannot be settled, or a collision that happened outside the province. It is not the answer for a driver who signed OPCF 49. That endorsement is an agreement that the loss will not be compensated by anyone else, the driver at fault and their insurance company included, and Ontario insurance law separately blocks an insured driver from suing another over damage to the vehicle, its contents or the loss of its use. The two-year window buys that driver nothing.
If you think you are anywhere near this territory, talk to a lawyer well inside the two years rather than at the end of them.
What happens if you are late
Being outside the seven days is common. People are hurt, travelling, or simply assume a scrape was not worth mentioning until it turned out the bumper was cracked underneath. In most cases the insurance company still takes the report and processes the claim. What late notice does is give them a question to ask: why the delay, and did anything about the damage change in the meantime?
Answer it plainly. “I thought it was cosmetic until the shop looked at it” is a normal explanation and adjusters hear it constantly. Where late notice creates real trouble is when the delay makes it impossible to confirm how the damage happened — a car driven for months, then claimed for a collision nobody documented. Report early to avoid ever being in that position.
Comprehensive losses follow the same expectation. Hail on the roof, a branch on the hood, a cracked windshield from a stone on the 401: tell them promptly, even if you plan to live with it for a while.
Why waiting also hurts the repair itself
Deadlines aside, delay costs you in ways that have nothing to do with the policy. Hidden damage behind a bumper stays hidden and keeps rubbing. Bare metal at a scrape starts to rust within weeks on a salted Toronto road. The rental clock does not start until the claim does, so every week you wait is a week the parts are not ordered.
Evidence fades too. The other driver’s memory changes, dash-cam footage gets overwritten, and the Collision Reporting Centre report that would have settled fault was never made. A claim opened in the first week has photos, a report number and two fresh accounts. A claim opened in month three has your word.
The timeline we see most often
Day one: the collision, the photos, the report if one is needed. Day one or two: a call to the insurance company for a claim number, and the damage photos sent to us so the written estimate is ready when the adjuster asks for it. Day two or three: the adjuster reviews the estimate, we agree on any differences and parts are ordered. From there the repair takes as long as the damage and the parts require. Drop-off is timed to when the parts are in, so the car is not sitting in our lot waiting.
None of that requires you to have decided on day one whether to claim. It requires only that you reported, took photos and got an estimate. The decision can wait for the numbers; the notice should not.
Questions people ask
Can I report now and decide about claiming later?
Yes, and it is the sensible order. Notice within seven days protects you; the claim decision can follow once you have a written estimate and know what the repair, the deductible and the renewal impact look like.
Is there a deadline for actually getting the car repaired?
Not a fixed one in the policy, but the insurance company can close a claim that sits idle, and rental coverage does not wait indefinitely. Once the claim is approved, book the repair.
My car was hit while parked and I only found the damage days later. When does the clock start?
Report it as soon as you discover it and say so. The seven-day expectation is about promptness, and a driver who reports the day they found the damage is being prompt. A Collision Reporting Centre report for the hit-and-run helps.
Does the seven-day expectation apply to hail or a fallen branch?
Yes. Any loss you might claim under the policy should be reported promptly, including comprehensive losses. You can still decide later whether the damage is worth the deductible.