We are going to explain why automobile insurance applications are necessary, especially for High Risk Drivers. There’s quite a bit of legalese here, and we hope that we can quickly summarize the Ontario law relating to the requirements for automobile insurance applications and the issuing of policies in this particular jurisdiction. We will also outline the information requested by an Insurance company when the Driver is looking for High Risk Auto Insurance Applications and define how the Insurer uses it.
In Ontario, all automobile insurance is written by private insurance companies, meaning they are Incorporated companies that serve the needs of Drivers. In other Provinces in Canada like Manitoba or British Columbia, the local Provincial government created a crown corporation that sells Auto Insurance instead.The Auto Insurance in Ontario is generally sold through Insurance Brokers or directly to the public. Some companies will sell through both methods, having a brokerage arm and a direct to consumer division.
The Superintendent must approve automobile Insurance policy forms, applications, and claims forms of Ontario according to the Insurance Act of Ontario. The application contains the information required to underwrite, rate, and issue the policy; the accepted form is the Ontario Appli8cation for Automobile Insurance (OAF 1) for the Ontario Automobile Policy 1 (OAP 1), also known as the Owner’s Form.
Ontario Insurance Act Provisions Relating to Auto Insurance Applications and Policies
In Section 227.(1) and Section 227. (5) The Ontario government stipulates the Approval of Forms, Standard Policies, and Application Form (Section 228) to make sure that it is standardized no matter the sales and service agent whether it is through a Licensed Ontario Broker or Direct to Consumer Insurance Company. There is a common misconception that an Auto Insurance Policy cannot be sold without first receiving a signed written application. That isn’t the case, although ideally it is desirable and insurers tend to insist on it especially for High Risk Auto Insurance customers that may have had too many accidents or tickets in the past. The Insurance Act of Ontario is rather specific on what is required and regulates the sales and service of Auto Insurance in Ontario quite thoroughly.
You can see in Section 232.(1) a Copy of Application in Policy, a copy of the written application, signed by the insured or by the insured’s agent (in this case their legal representative), becomes part of the policy. If no signed application is provided to the Insurance company, a copy of the purported application must at some point be provided or issued when the Insurance Company issues the policy.
In Section 232. (2) The Insurance Act does not require insurers to obtain a signed application before an Auto Insurance policy is issued. If a signed application is not received, however, the Insurer must send a form of application to the insured that it can be signed and returned. As part of the policy that is material, while it is permissible to take an application over the telephone and to have a copy of it signed later, a signed written application before the issuance of the policy is preferable. It may help to avoid future misunderstandings and could even prevent fraud.
If a signed application is received by an insurer rather than an oral application, and there exists within the application misrepresented information, the information in the application may be used by the insured to establish the misrepresentation., However, if the application for insurance has been made orally, and a copy of the app later senet5 to the applicant or insured, proving an alleged misrepresentation is much more difficult.