Car accident in the US with an Ontario-insured car

Your Ontario policy comes with you across the border

The standard Ontario auto policy covers you while driving in Canada and the United States, so a crash in Buffalo, Detroit or on the way to Florida is still a claim on your own policy. The liability card from your insurance company is accepted as proof of insurance by US police, so keep it in the car, not on the kitchen counter.

What changes is the coverage that does the work. Your liability coverage protects you if you damage someone else’s car or injure someone, and US injury claims can be larger than many drivers expect. If you drive across the border often, it is worth asking your broker or insurance company whether your liability limit is high enough for that. Your collision coverage, if you carry it, pays to repair your own car minus the deductible, whoever was at fault.

Call the local police at the scene, because there is no reporting centre in the States

Call police from the scene. If anyone is hurt, or the cars are blocking traffic, dial 911 and wait; Ontario’s Collision Reporting Centres have no equivalent south of the border. Even when nobody is hurt, it is usually wise to have police attend so there is an official report, because your insurance company will want something more than notes from a stranger’s phone.

Depending on where you are, the officer may be from the state police, the county sheriff or a city department. Ask which agency attended, get the officer’s name and the report number, and ask how to get a copy. Some states also expect drivers to file their own written report with the state motor vehicle department within a set time when damage or injuries pass a threshold; ask the officer whether that applies to you.

• The other driver’s name, licence, plate and the state that issued them.
• Their insurance company’s full name and policy number, photographed.
• The police agency, officer’s name and report number.
• Photos of both cars and the scene, including street signs or mile markers.
• Names and phone numbers of any witnesses.

Why DCPD is usually not the route for a crash in the States

DCPD is an Ontario arrangement: it handles not-at-fault damage from collisions that happen in this province, with another vehicle insured by an Ontario-licensed company. A crash in New York State or Michigan generally sits outside it. Your insurance company will confirm which coverage applies.

In practice, two paths are left. If you carry collision coverage, your own company can repair the car under it, minus your deductible, and then may try to recover what it paid from the US driver’s insurance company. If you do not carry collision, or want to avoid the deductible, the claim may go against the other driver’s liability insurance in the US, which tends to be slower and follows that state’s rules.

OPCF 49 changes all of this. A car with that endorsement has no DCPD, no Collision or Upset and no All Perils, so nothing on the policy repairs it after a crash in either country, and the form also waives looking to anyone else, the at-fault driver included, for the damage. Owners who cross the border often should weigh that before signing it.

Drive it back if it is safe, and declare any US repairs at the border

If the car is safe and legal to drive, the simplest option is to drive it home. Check lights, tires, fluid leaks and warning lamps before you go, and do not take a car that pulls hard or rubs a tire onto a long interstate stretch.

If it cannot drive, call your insurance company before arranging transport. A US tow to a local yard, then a cross-border transport to your shop in the GTA, is a common sequence. Ask the adjuster what they will pay for and which crossing the transport will use, whether Fort Erie and Niagara for Buffalo, Windsor for Detroit or Sarnia for Port Huron. Keep the ownership with the car’s paperwork.

Think twice before having permanent repairs done in the States. When you bring a car back to Canada, repairs done outside Canada must be declared to the Canada Border Services Agency, and duty or tax may apply on their value. Many drivers prefer to make the car safe to travel, cross, and have the full repair done at home.

Back in Ontario, the repair is yours to place and the US receipts are what get you repaid

Once the car is back in Ontario, you choose the shop, just as you would after a local crash. Bring the US police report, the other driver’s details, your photos from the scene and every tow and storage receipt, including the ones in US dollars. Those receipts are how you get reimbursed. Note the exchange rate on the day you paid, or keep the credit card statement that shows the amount in Canadian dollars.

Ask for a copy of the US police report as early as possible. Some agencies post them online after a few days, others mail them on request, and a report that arrives weeks later can hold up an adjuster who needs it to confirm what happened. If the report contains an error in the plate, the insurance details or the direction of travel, contact the agency to have it corrected before you send it on.

We write the estimate from the car itself or from your photos, attach the US paperwork and send it to your adjuster under your Ontario claim number. Where the claim is going against the US driver’s insurance company, our estimate and photos are what your adjuster sends them, so ask your adjuster before any work starts whether the US company wants to inspect the car first.