Day one, after you get home: the report and the folder
The roadside is over, but the first evening still has one deadline. When nobody was hurt, a trip to a Collision Reporting Centre is due within about a day if the damage to both cars added together probably exceeds the province’s reporting threshold, or if the other driver took off. Toronto and York Region each run their own centres; check which one serves the area where the crash happened before you drive over. Bring your licence, ownership, liability card and the other driver’s details. If someone was injured and police came to the scene, that attendance is the report; what you need from it is the officer’s name and the occurrence number.
Then start a folder, paper or digital. Put in the photos from your phone, the other driver’s information, the report number and any tow invoice. Add a page for a running log: date, who you spoke to, what they said. By the end of the week that log is the most useful thing in the folder.
Days one and two: tell your insurance company and get a claim number
Phone your own insurance company whether or not the crash was your fault, and before you have made up your mind about claiming. Ontario’s standard policy wants to hear about a collision within a week, and an early call costs you nothing. Reporting the crash does not lock you into claiming for it.
Have the folder open when you call. You will be asked where and when it happened, who was involved, the report number and where the car is now. You will leave with a claim number and usually an adjuster’s name. Write both on the front of the folder.
This is also the call where you say which shop you want to use. You do not have to accept a recommended shop. If you have not chosen yet, tell the adjuster you will confirm within a day or two.
Days two and three: the estimate, the shop and the rental
By the middle of the week you want a written estimate in hand, because nothing else moves without one. For most cars that still drive, photographs are enough to start. We write ours from photos and send it to the adjuster with your claim number, and the parts can be identified before the car ever comes in. If the car is in a tow yard, getting it moved to the shop now ends the storage clock.
Sort the rental in the same window. When you are not at fault, a rental generally comes with the claim; when you are at fault, it depends on whether your policy includes OPCF 20 for loss of use. Ask the adjuster which applies, and if your car still drives, time the rental to start on the day it goes into the shop so you are not using up rental days while it sits in the driveway. If it cannot be driven, ask for the rental to start now.
If you have no car in the meantime, plan the commute for a few days. Line 4 runs along Sheppard from Don Mills to Yonge, and the subway or GO may cover more of the trip than you expect.
Days three to five: child seats, aches and the things people forget
If a child seat was in the car, installed or empty, check what its manufacturer says about collisions. Many manufacturers say to replace a seat after any crash; others give criteria for a minor one. The manual or the label on the seat tells you, and the replacement is normally part of the claim with a receipt.
Pay attention to your body this week. Stiffness in the neck or back, headaches and trouble sleeping often show up a day or two after a crash rather than at the scene. See your family doctor or a walk-in clinic and mention the collision. If you were hurt at all, tell your insurance company you may apply for accident benefits; they will send the application, and those forms have their own deadlines.
Then deal with the small items. Cancel or move any parking or car-share bookings, tell your employer if you drive for work, and check your 407 ETR account if the transponder was in a car that is now in a yard.
- Child seat: read the manufacturer’s crash guidance and keep the receipt for any replacement.
- Health: a doctor’s visit for any new pain, with the collision date noted.
- Accident benefits: ask your insurance company for the application if anyone was hurt.
- Transponder, garage remote and parking pass: retrieve them if the car is not with you.
Days six and seven: check what has been approved before you lose momentum
By the end of the week, look at where things stand. Has the adjuster acknowledged the estimate? Has the fault decision been explained to you? Is the rental booked, and for what start date? If any of those are blank, a short email to the adjuster with the claim number in the subject line usually gets them moving.
If the car is going in for repair, you will sign a repair authorization at drop-off. Read it: it should match the estimate. Expect that the shop may find more damage when panels come off, and that the extra work will be sent to the adjuster for approval before it is done.
Finally, if the fault decision looks wrong, say so in writing now, with your photos attached. A week in, the details are still fresh. A month in, they are not.
Questions people ask
I missed the 24-hour window for the Collision Reporting Centre. Is it too late?
Go anyway, as soon as you can, and explain the delay. A late report is better than no report, and your insurance company will want one for most claims. Bring everything you collected at the scene so the report is as complete as possible.
The other driver’s insurance company called me before mine did. Should I talk to them?
Be polite, give them your claim number from your own company and keep it short. In most Ontario collisions your own insurance company handles your car damage. Do not guess at speeds or fault in that call; let the adjusters work it out under the Fault Determination Rules.
My neck started hurting on day three. Is it too late to mention it?
No. Delayed symptoms are common after a collision. See a doctor, make sure the visit notes mention the crash and its date, and tell your insurance company so they can send you the accident benefits forms if you need them.