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Ontario offers auto insurance endorsement forms OPCF 28 Reducing Coverage for Named Persons and OPCF 28A Excluded Driver to help drivers who need to customize their policy by removing someone they live with who is inflating their premiums.
Typically, your insurance policy extends coverage to you and any household members who may occasionally operate your vehicle. However, if someone residing with you has a less-than-stellar driving record, their presence could cause you to be paying more.
Now, with clearly defined penalties, all insurers are mandated to offer this endorsement. Here's how OPCF28/28A alter your policy and its implications for an excluded driver.
An excluded driver is someone who you intentionally remove from your Ontario car insurance. If that person uses your vehicle (with or without your permission) and is in an accident, the claim will not be covered.
Excluding someone from your policy may be necessary if you have a driver who has racked up multiple accidents or speeding tickets. Removing them could help you save money. Remember, your policy covers the vehicle, not who is driving it.
The policyholder will need to sign the government-approved OPCF 28: Reducing Coverage for Named Persons or OPCF 28A: Excluded Driver form that states both parties agree the excluded driver will not be driving the vehicle.
Both owner and driver must acknowledge that the insurance provider will not pay for any damages to property, the automobile, or injuries caused by an excluded driver.
It’s important to note that with these OPCFs active:
Our brokers can guide you through the process of adding an excluded driver to your policy. Call our team today to get started.
OPCF 28 will reduce coverage for a selected driver, and OPCF 28A will completely exclude the driver from your insurance while driving.
The key difference is that OPCF 28 will allow for some liability protection, loss or damage – you can decide the limit and deductible for what is covered. Compared to OPCF 28A, which will remove all insurance that is legally required to drive in Ontario.
After graduating from university in Vancouver, Sarah decides to return to her Toronto home permanently. Her father, David, owns a 2022 Toyota Prius, insured under his name. He adds Sarah as an additional driver.
Two months later, Sarah is at fault in an accident involving her father's car. The insurer deems her a higher risk and increases the premium significantly. The new cost is unaffordable for David, so he contacts his insurer, requests a driver exclusion, files the necessary paperwork with Sarah, and removes her from the policy.
If Sarah then drives her father's car, she and David are both uninsured for any resulting losses. They would be personally liable for any damages or injuries caused by an accident.
Once the policyholder signs the endorsement, it effectively excludes the driver from their coverage. Here is what will happen once the endorsement is in effect :
By signing the OPCF 28, 28A endorsements, your costs will almost always be reduced since you are removing the cost of insuring the other driver. The only savings is the monthly or yearly premium being charged for the excluded driver.
However, it is important to remember that your insurer can still factor in any accidents that the excluded driver encountered previously into calculations.
The length of a driver's exclusion from a car insurance policy depends on the policyholder and the insurer. The exclusion remains in effect until actively removed by either party. However, reinstatement isn't guaranteed and depends on the driver's risk profile at the time of the request. For example, the exclusion will continue until the policyholder requests reinstatement. To minimize impact on their insurance, the policyholder should ideally wait until any at-fault accidents on the driver's record have expired.
If an excluded driver is in an accident while driving a vehicle you own, both of you could be sued by anyone injured in an accident. Your insurer can refuse coverage if the excluded driver drove the vehicle with your permission. It does not matter if the excluded driver was at-fault for the accident.
Use Thinkinsure to shop around, and compare multiple quotes at the same time.
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Digital Content Writer
Kayla-Jane has been a content writer with ThinkInsure since 2020. She creates insurance content for auto, home, and commercial. Kayla-Jane has a diploma in Journalism.
| Categories | Auto |
|---|---|
| Tags | Auto Coverage |
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