OHTA.ca

First time posting on here, I had found this page on Google and without a whole lot of help I thought I would post here. I got in my first accident today. There was four of us in a line and I was keeping a fair distance from the car in front of me who had come to a stop rather quickly to make a left turn. I used moderate brake pressure to stop, however I did come to a full stop and looked in my rear view mirror to see the truck behind me stop rather quickly and came to a stop very close to my back bumper. About a second later he got hit which had pushed his truck into the back of my suv. The original car who had rear ended the truck immediately admitted fault and how she had her brakes locked up slidin into the truck. Her car received the most damage as she went into the trucks hitch. The truck didn't receive a whole lot of damage, some scuffs on the back bumper and a scuff on the front bumper from hitting me. My vehicle had received minimal damage as a cracked bumper cover and small dent in the tail gate which is not very noticeable until you get up close. Me being never involved in an accident listened to the two others as they were much older and they agreed to go to the collision reporting centre at their convience. The truck driver and I both took down the information from the lady who had rear ended the truck and all three of us drove away to carry out our day.

Here is my issue. I have no insurance on my suv. I let the policy lapse approx. 4 months ago as I didn't have the money to cover the payment so it had been cancelled due to non payment and have been driving my grandfathers truck around up until today. I have the money saved up to get insurance put back on the vehicle and have honestly not driven it until today (in fact - I was picking my suv up from my grandfathers upon returning his truck) and bam, this happens. There would have been insurance today if the brokers were open. There would have been insurance a week ago actually but due to the Christmas holidays I've been SOL. It was a risk I took and ultimately paid the sacrifice.

Where do I go from here? I understand putting insurance on it tomorrow will be like closing the gate after the cows escape however it was something I was going to proceed with anyways. Should I drive to the collision centre and report everything then notify them I didn't have insurance but do now? Will my vehicle still get damages fixed if I am deemed 100% not at fault? I understand that I will likely be facing a no insurance ticket. Just really sucks, had a downfall in my life 4 months ago that had got me into this circumstance to begin with.

Thanks in advance everyone!

No insurance means that you have to pay your own legal, repair and medical bills. Did you present insurance documents to the other drivers as valid or simply tell them you didn't have them with you? You have to report the accident. Talk to a professional ASAP to navigate this for you before you do anything. In the future if you need to have a car moved without insurance either get it towed or have a mechanic do it for you with their service plate.

I never exchanged insurance info with any other driver. And yes I will give someone a call first thing tomorrow. Thanks

The others are reporting it to accident center so you will need to do that do that too (legally you have to anyways).

You have to report very soon after it occurs, so you don;t have much time to figure this out.

- If you tell police you DON'T have insurance then they can charge you.

- If you lie to police and tell them you DO have insurance then they can charge you.

- If you don't report the accident then they can also charge you.

I would suggest you contact a lawyer ASAP and ask them how to approach this situation before you report it. You should be calling a lawyer right now!

Your SOL. Ontario has no fault. Meaning your ins pays for your veh and his pays for his. You just do not get an at fault charge if your not at fault. IE: you do not have to pay deductible if your not at fault and your ins does not go up.

You have no insurance so you have to pay for your own vehicle.]

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Delo91 wrote:Where do I go from here? I understand putting insurance on it tomorrow will be like closing the gate after the cows escape however it was something I was going to proceed with anyways. Should I drive to the collision centre and report everything then notify them I didn't have insurance but do now? Will my vehicle still get damages fixed if I am deemed 100% not at fault? I understand that I will likely be facing a no insurance ticket. Just really sucks, had a downfall in my life 4 months ago that had got me into this circumstance to begin with.

Thanks in advance everyone!

If you are charged, you will likely be issued a summons for Operate Motor Vehicle - No Insurance under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act. General information can be found here and the specific section of the CAIA can be found here.

The summons will list the time, place, and location of your First Appearance hearing. You or your legal representative must attend this date.

Assuming that this is a first offence under CAIA s.2(1)(a), the court may issue a fine ranging between $5,000.00 and $25,000.00 plus the 25% victim fine surcharge. The court may also issue a suspension of driver's licence up to one year, although this is uncommon for a first offence.

If you are charged by the police, this is the profile of case that would best be suited to retaining a paralegal firm that specifically deals with CAIA law. Having spent almost 35 years as a Crown Prosecutor, Municipal Prosecutor, and in the defence of these charges there are generally a few possible outcomes. From best case to worst case:

-Withdraw the offence without trial due to defect in the Crown's case

-Proceed to trial with a ruling in the favour of the defendant

-Amend to a Fail To Surrender Insurance Card offence

-Joint submission to a plea of guilt with an agreed to lesser fine

-Joint submission to a plea of guilt with a section 59 application to reduce the fine

-Proceed to trial and convicted. Section 59 submission to reduce fine at the court's discretion.

A licenced and experienced paralegal will work on your behalf to prepare and argue your defence at court.

I will not address the possibility of being charged as others have addressed this issue. However I will address this question:

<<Will my vehicle still get damages fixed if I am deemed 100% not at fault?>>

Section 265 (7) of the Ontario Insurance Act states:

No person has a right of action against any other person in respect of damage to an uninsured automobile or its contents arising directly or indirectly from the use or operation of an automobile if at the time of the damage the uninsured automobile was required by any Act to be insured under a contract evidenced by a motor vehicle liability policy.

So no, you cannot have the damages to your vehicle repaired.