Not at fault: your rate is not supposed to go up
Ontario’s rules on how car insurance is priced do not allow an insurance company to use a not-at-fault accident to raise your premium. If someone rear-ends you on the DVP and the Fault Determination Rules put you at zero, that collision should not show up as a surcharge at renewal. That is the principle, and it is the reason people are told to go ahead and claim when the other driver was at fault.
The nuance is that the claim still appears on your history. A future insurance company shopping your file will see it, labelled not-at-fault. Most treat it the way the rules intend. If you ever see an increase you cannot explain after a not-at-fault claim, ask your broker or the insurance company to show you how the premium was calculated, because you are entitled to that.
At fault: expect an increase at renewal
An at-fault collision claim is a different matter. It usually raises your premium at the next renewal, and it sits on your insurance history — not your MTO driving record, which is a separate document about convictions — commonly for about six years, though the rating period belongs to the insurance company and yours may use a different one. Each renewal inside that window is priced with the accident in view. How much the premium rises depends on the company, your history and the rest of the rating factors on your file, so nobody at a body shop can tell you a number. Your broker can run the comparison before you decide.
The important point is that the increase is tied to the accident being at fault, not to the size of the repair. A small at-fault claim and a large one leave the same mark on your insurance history. That is why a driver with a scraped bumper and a clean history sometimes chooses to pay for the repair privately, and why the same driver with a crushed quarter panel should claim without hesitation.
Partial fault counts as fault
Ontario assigns fault in fixed steps: zero, 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent. Where the rating line sits is the insurance company’s call: many treat a share above 25 percent as an at-fault accident for pricing, and some count any share above zero, so ask your broker where your company draws it rather than assuming a small share is free. Picture the everyday case — two cars reversing out of facing spots in the Fairview Mall garage, a crunch, both drivers apologetic. The rules often split that 50/50, and a 50/50 finding can land on both insurance histories as an at-fault accident. It is worth knowing before you agree to “just call it even.”
If you believe the fault assignment is wrong, you can dispute it with the insurance company and ask which rule was applied. A Collision Reporting Centre report, dash-cam footage and scene photos are what change those decisions. A verbal account rarely does.
Accident forgiveness and other things that change the answer
Some insurance companies offer an accident-forgiveness endorsement that waives the increase for a first at-fault collision. Whether you have it, and what it covers, is on your policy documents. Understand what it does not survive. Forgiveness is a promise about your premium with that insurance company only: switch companies and the new one sees the at-fault accident on your history without any forgiveness attached, and prices it accordingly. It is also usually a first-accident benefit — a second at-fault collision inside the rating period is generally charged in full, and may cost you the forgiveness feature itself. Treat it as one free mistake with your current company, not a clean slate.
Comprehensive claims — hail, a cracked windshield from a stone on the 401, theft, vandalism — are not at-fault collisions and are generally not rated the same way. Glass is covered under comprehensive with your normal deductible; Ontario has no special zero-deductible glass rule. That said, a run of comprehensive claims in a short period can still affect how an insurance company views the file. One hail claim is ordinary. Several small claims in two years invites questions.
Report first, decide about the claim with an estimate in hand
Reporting a collision and claiming for it are separate steps: telling your insurance company is expected regardless and is not what raises your rate — the paid at-fault claim and its fault finding are. Get a written estimate before you decide anything, then weigh the repair cost against your deductible and what your broker says the renewal would look like; the page on paying out of pocket versus claiming walks through that arithmetic in detail, including when the comparison stops mattering because the damage is structural or the car is unsafe to drive.
Questions people ask
Does simply asking my insurance company about a claim count against me?
Asking a question is not a claim. Some insurance companies do log inquiries, so if you only want general information, your broker is the better person to ask. Once you open a claim and it is paid, it sits on your insurance history.
Will a windshield claim raise my rates?
Glass falls under comprehensive coverage with your normal deductible. A single glass claim is not an at-fault collision and is not normally rated as one, though a pattern of frequent claims can still be noticed.
How long does an at-fault accident affect my premium?
Commonly about six years on your insurance history, though the exact rating period is set by each insurance company’s own rules and some use a different window. The effect also fades: the surcharge is usually heaviest at the first renewal after the accident and smaller in the later years. Your broker can tell you the number your company uses.
If my rates go up after a not-at-fault claim, what can I do?
Ask for the rating breakdown in writing. If the increase is being attributed to the not-at-fault accident, that is worth challenging with the insurance company, and your broker can help you shop the policy elsewhere.