Before you 'surf' through the rest of HIB's site, take a few moments to read through this glossary of commonly-used insurance terms.

An agent is someone who sells insurance for a particular company and can therefore only tell you what the rates are for that company. Often selling similar types of coverage as our office, your broker, one of the principal differences between and agent and a Broker is that by law, they represent the insurance company, we represent the client.

These are also known as Statutory Accident Benefits. They are the benefits you may receive if you are injured in a car accident, or your family will receive if you are killed in a car accident. They include replacement for lost income, medical benefits, death benefits, and funeral expenses, to name a few. Statutory Accident Benefits are paid regardless of who is at fault in an accident. There are certain exclusions, for example, if someone is driving without insurance.

This combines Collision or Upset and Comprehensive coverages. In addition, it covers loss or damage caused if a person who lives in your home steals the car that is covered by your insurance policy. All perils also covers you if an employee who drives or uses, services or repairs that car, steals it. For example, if you take your car to a garage for repairs and an employee involved in the repair of your car steals the car, All Perils will cover you (if you've bought the coverage).

If you are involved in a car accident and your car is damaged, your insurance company is required, by law, to assign the percentage of fault for each of the drivers involved in the accident. This is done by using the Fault Determination Rules, which are set out in a regulation under the Insurance Act. The rules help insurance companies deal with accident claims quickly and economically. See the section called "What is No-Fault Insurance?" for more information.

CLEAR is a rating system that groups cars based on their claims experience, such as the cost of repairs and injury claims, as well as how often they're stolen or involved in an accident. Your premium may vary depending on whether or not your insurer uses CLEAR. For example, if your car's repair costs, based on the history of the cost of repairs to the make and model of your car, are fairly economical, then an insurer that uses CLEAR might be able to give you a lower rate. As of June 1998, insurance companies representing 82 per cent of the marketplace used the CLEAR system.

This coverage pays for losses caused when an insured car is involved in a collision with another object, including another car, or rolls over.

This coverage pays for losses, other than those covered by Collision or Upset, including perils listed under Specified Perils (see definition for Specified Perils), falling or flying objects, missiles and vandalism.

Deductible is the amount of a claim that you are required pay. For example, if vandals cause $1,000 worth of damage to your car and you have a $300 deductible on your comprehensive coverage, then your insurance company will only pay for damages over the $300, i.e., $700. You will be responsible for the first $300. You can choose to have higher deductibles, but you may not always be able to get a lower deductible. Generally, the higher your deductible, the lower your insurance rates. This is because if you are involved in an accident, you contribute a higher amount toward the cost of repairing your car. For more information on deductibles, see the section called "How Your Car Insurance Rates Are Set".

This covers you if another car causes damage to your car and its contents. It is called direct compensation because even though someone else causes the damage, you collect directly from your own insurer. If you're not at fault, you will claim under the DC-PD portion of your policy. Check with us for more information.

These are any offences under the Highway Traffic Act or the Criminal Code of Canada. They include careless driving, criminal negligence, impaired driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, following too closely, and improper passing. If you have one or more driving convictions, your insurance premium will likely increase, depending on how serious the offence is.

Your driving record is your driving history. It includes any accidents or driving convictions. It also includes the number of years you have been licensed to drive.

The Facility Association is an insurance pool that all car insurance companies belong to. It is an insurer of last resort and ensures that car insurance is made available to high-risk drivers who might otherwise find it difficult to buy car insurance. Certain insurance companies have been designated to service Facility Association policies. These companies are known as "servicing carriers".

Fault Determination Rules are used to determine fault in an accident. The rules are set out in a regulation under the Insurance Act and help insurance companies to deal with accident claims quickly and economically. See the section called "What is No-Fault Insurance?" for more information.

New drivers in Ontario must go through the Graduated Licensing system before they can receive a full driver's license. The Graduated Licensing system has two levels: Level 1 and Level 2. New drivers must obtain 12 months of driving experience at each level before they can take a road test for a full driver's license. New drivers who complete an approved driver training course can take a road test after only eight months in Level 1.

This is the amount of money you pay to insure your car. Larger insurance companies give you the option of paying your premiums on a monthly basis, where certain conditions are met. If your annual insurance premium is more than $300, you may have the option of monthly payments. But if you've had your insurance policy cancelled because you failed to pay your premiums more than once over the past three years, insurance companies are not required to offer you the option of monthly payments.

This refers to a car that is operated by an individual or a family for personal use, and not for commercial purposes, such as a taxi or delivery service.

This coverage pays for losses caused by one of the following: fire, theft or attempted theft, lightning, windstorm, hail or rising water, earthquake, explosion, riot or civil disturbance, falling or forced landing of aircraft or parts of aircraft, or the stranding, sinking, burning, derailment or collision of any kind of transport in or upon which an insured car is being carried on land or water.

You can choose how much insurance coverage you want to have. But you must, at the very least, have the following:

This covers your medical expenses and provides you with income replacement benefits if you are injured in a car accident, regardless of who is at fault in the accident.

This protects you if you are sued because you or anyone else driving your car injures someone else or damages someone else's property.

This protects you if someone else causes damage to your car and its contents. It is called direct compensation because you collect directly from your insurer. See the section called "Glossary" for a definition of DC-PD.

This covers you if you are injured or killed by an uninsured motorist or by a hit-and-run driver. It also protects you if an identified uninsured motorist causes damage to your car or its contents.

While the above coverages are what you must buy at the very least, you can choose to buy extra coverage to get extra protection. Ask your broker, agent or insurance company for more information.

You can choose to increase your maximum level of coverage for accident benefits. Such additional, or "top-up" benefits, include: an optional income replacement benefit, an optional medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefit, an optional caregiver and dependant care benefit, and an optional death and funeral benefit.

You can buy any or all of the optional benefits described below. You can also buy indexed accident benefits, which are kept in line with the Consumer Price Index.

Check to see if you have benefits available to you at work or elsewhere, so that you are not paying for coverage you already have. If you are covered by these benefits elsewhere, you may not need to buy optional benefits. Your broker, agent or insurance company can help you to decide which, if any, optional benefit you may require.

Here's a brief description of each of the benefits.

If you become disabled as the result of a car accident, you may be eligible for weekly income replacement benefits of up to $400. If this may not be enough to cover your current income level, you can buy optional income replacement benefits to increase your maximum weekly protection to $600, $800 or $1,000.

The standard maximum amount for medical and rehabilitation expenses, such as physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, dental expenses, etc., is $100,000. If you are catastrophically injured, the maximum is $1,000,000. The standard maximum for attendant care is $72,000. If you are catastrophically injured, the maximum is $1,000,000.

You can buy optional benefits which will cover up to $1,000,000 in additional medical, rehabilitation and attendant care expenses, and up to $2,000,000 for catastrophic injuries.

If you are providing care full-time to dependants and are disabled as the result of a car accident, you are eligible for caregiver benefits. The standard maximum amount for caregiver benefits is $250 per week for one dependant, plus $50 per week for each additional dependant. If you buy optional caregiver benefits, the coverage increases to $325 per week for one dependant, plus $75 per week for each additional dependant.

You can only claim optional dependant care benefits if you are employed at the time of the accident and you have to pay for childcare expenses as a result of the accident. Optional dependant care benefits cover up to $75 per week for the first dependant and $25 for each additional dependant.

In the event that you die as a result of a car accident, the standard amount which will be paid is $25,000 to your eligible spouse, $10,000 for each dependant, and a maximum of $6,000 for funeral expenses. If you buy optional benefits, you can increase these amounts to $50,000 to your eligible spouse, $20,000 for each dependant, and $8,000 for funeral expenses.

You can also buy extra coverage for loss or damage, including Specified Perils, Comprehensive, Collision or Upset or All Perils coverages. See the section called "Glossary" for definitions of each of these terms.

You may purchase other optional coverages including Coverage for Transportation Replacement, Family Protection Coverage and Removing Depreciation Deduction.

This coverage under the collision or comprehensive portion of your policy provides you with the use of a rental car while your car is being repaired.

This coverage protects you to the same limit as your liability coverage if you are involved in a car accident with an underinsured driver, an uninsured driver or an unidentified driver, such as a hit-and-run driver.

This coverage removes the insurer's right to deduct depreciation from the value of your car when settling a claim for loss or damage caused by a peril for which you are insured.

Please keep in mind that these are only three of many other optional coverages that you may want to buy. Ask your broker, agent or insurance company for more information on these and other coverages.

source: (IBC) Insurance Bureau of Canada

If you have any questions about auto insurance, please email Tiffany at tiffany@hubbardinsurance.com