Category: Claims

Canadian drivers are waiting an average of 15 days for collision-related repairs — and 44% are paying the cost of temporary car rentals themselves, since they don’t have auto insurance policy coverage for loss of use, says a new report by car rental agency Enterprise.

Loss of use auto insurance covers the cost of alternative transportation — such as rental cars, taxis, ridesharing or public transport — if drivers can’t use their own cars because they’re being repaired. Eligible claims may fall under an auto policy’s collision coverage or comprehensive coverage (for example, theft, fire or vandalism).

An optional add-on to a policy, loss of use coverage typically reimburses the driver for costs up to a daily limit and a total maximum amount listed in the insurance policy.

An average of two weeks without transportation during a repair is a long time. And yet, only just over half of Canadian drivers actually have loss of use coverage, the Enterprise white paper found. Enterprise’s research consisted of an online study of more than 5,300 Canadian residents with a valid driver’s license and comprehensive auto insurance coverage.

“Just 53% of customers with comprehensive auto insurance policies have rental reimbursement coverage, yet 44% of those without the coverage still chose to rent a vehicle during a recent claim,” the white paper states. “Meanwhile, 21% of customers without coverage say they have never heard of rental reimbursement, or their provider doesn’t offer it.”

Among the private auto insurance provinces in Canada, Alberta had the highest average number days drivers were without use of a vehicle during repairs, at 17 days in 2025 Q3. Ontario drivers averaged waiting 15.5 days for a repair, while Prince Edward Island ranked lowest at 12.5 days to wait for a car repair.

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If people hear about loss of use auto policy coverage, it’s usually from their insurance broker.   

“Insurance professionals play a vital part in helping clients understand the importance and benefits of rental reimbursement coverage, with 60% of the study’s respondents who have these policies reporting they learned about the benefits through their broker,” the Enterprise white paper states.

For brokers and insurers, telling drivers about the benefits of rental reimbursement coverage is well worth it, the study says.

Satisfaction levels about an insurer was “dramatically lower” among those drivers whose rental policies covered only a small portion of the cost. Thirty-three percent of respondents whose policies only covered a fraction of the temporary rental costs reported being very satisfied with their insurer, compared to 64% of customers whose rentals were fully covered.

Even drivers who rented without any loss of use insurance coverage at all were more satisfied than those who had policies covering half, or less than half, the cost of the rental.

Generally speaking, “the more out-of-pocket expenses a customer pays, and the more friction they encounter in carrying on with their day-to-day activities, the less satisfied they are with their insurance provider during a claim,” says Jennifer Everett, vice president at Enterprise Mobility.

For claims adjusters, it’s like déjà vu all over again.

A shortage of both key parts and skilled technicians is stretching repair times for clients who get into auto accidents.

“One of the consequences I’m seeing is that…if [a shop] can’t source the part and there’s no [time estimate] on when they’re going to be able to get that part, then that person’s rental runs out,” Jesica Ryzynski, a claims specialist at Mitch Insurance, tells Canadian Underwriter.

“We’re back to seeing people potentially being in a rental for a couple months while waiting for a part, which we saw often during COVID.”

Interestingly, a recent U.K. study by Thatcham Research finds similar trends, noting 73% of repair and salvage professionals identify skills as a growing issue.

Related: More pothole claims, less repairs: How it affects the industry

On the bright side, she says, personal auto clients she works with are increasingly purchasing higher limits for post-accident rental vehicle coverage.

Beyond parts and labour, an adjuster and appraiser shortage is also causing claims to sit – all made worse by a high volume of accidents during this year’s harsh winter.

“This has just been a wild, wild winter for [damage]. It’s crazy,” Ryzynski says. “This is probably the first time that I can say I’ve talked to multiple people who have been involved in an accident and then [were] either trying to get home or trying to get to the reporting centre and [had] another accident on their way.”

Tracking timelines

On average, Ryzynski says, repairs are taking 10 days longer than normal to complete, but can take longer in smaller communities where both parts and labour can be harder to source.

“I think it is worsening…I’m running into it more frequently, and I’m being asked…‘Well, if we can’t get the part, can we just write the vehicle off?’ They’ve been waiting for a couple of months and it’s very stressful, and they’re paying out of pocket for a rental,” she tells CU.

“And we can’t [total it out if] it’s possible that we can get that part, and the vehicle is nowhere near that level of damage where they would even have considered writing it off.”

During and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parts shortages were particularly problematic for older vehicles for which many parts were no longer manufactured. But Ryzynski says shortages increasingly plague models introduced after 2020.

In some cases, she’s resorted to asking repair shops if they’d contacted wrecking yards to try and source the part – while noting safety regulations can prohibit certain vehicle parts cannot be salvaged and re-used for safety reasons.  

“And yes, they had. They’d tried [everything] to source it,” she says.

Complex cars

High-end features engineered into modern vehicles also contribute to longer repair times – particularly for luxury and sports models.

“I’ve seen a couple of situations where we’ve got a vehicle in a shop. It’s repairable [and] waiting for the repair. But there’s one technician who knows how to work on that particular vehicle [or on] that particular area of that vehicle,” she says.

“And if that technician is on holidays, or they’re sick, sometimes the vehicle could sit there for a week [or] two weeks longer.”

A shortage of electric vehicle technicians is also producing similar problems for those vehicles, Ryzynski says.

Echoing that, the Thatcham Research study finds 41% of respondents say new technologies like electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems are driving up demand for specialist skills. Further, 43% of respondents says the skills gap is being exacerbated by automotive technicians moving to other industries.

Premiums for electric vehicles (EVs) are showing a wide variation depending on the make or model, rate aggregator Rates.ca says.

A large part of that depends on the cost to repair the vehicles, which is subject to a number of factors.

“Electric vehicles are still a relatively young segment of the market, so premiums reflect the repair and replacement costs insurers are seeing today,” says Daniel Ivans, Rates.ca insurance expert. “That’s partly because many EVs rely on newer technology and specialized components that can be more expensive to fix, and those costs can vary considerably depending on the make and model.

“As adoption increases and repairs become more standardized, pricing is likely to adjust.”

EVs in Canada cost an average of $1,328 more to repair than vehicles with internal combustion engines, although EVs are less likely to be written off as a total loss, according to a recent Mitchell report.

The cost of the average EV repair in Canada rose from about $5,500 in 2020 Q1 to about $6,000 in 2023 Q2, peaking at just under $7,000 last quarter, says the report, Plugged-In: EV Collision Insights Q2 2023.

It remains to see how the repair costs will play out in the future. Meanwhile, Canadian drivers are increasingly interested in buying EVs, Rates.ca auto quoter data suggests. The number of insurance quotes requested for EVs increased 19% year-over-year in January, and 33% in February 2026, according to Rates.ca.

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The uptick in interest follows Canada’s new trade deal with China allowing up to 49,000 EVs to enter under a preferential tariff rate. Also, the federal government has promised the return of federal rebates of up to $5,000 through the Electric Vehicle Affordability Program.

Auto insurance premiums can differ significantly even within the EV segment, Rates.ca says. The aggregator provided examples of different premiums charged to a hypothetical single male with a class G driver’s licence, age 35, who has a clean driving record and lives in Toronto. The auto insurance package assumes collision and comprehensive coverage and no discounts.

Based on that profile, drivers can pay up to $4,039 per year to insure a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N AWD, compared to only $2,606 for the Tesla Model Y Long Range.

By comparison, compact gas vehicle premiums would range from $2,578 for the Toyota Corolla Hatchback to $3,126 for the Honda Civic Si, placing the Model Y within that same pricing band.

In some situations, EVs can actually be cheaper to insure than gas vehicles.

For example, the premium to insure a Fiat 500e can be priced at $2,171 per year, which is below the premium to insure gas-powered cars like the Toyota Corolla Hatchback ($2,578) and the Hyundai Elantra Essential at $2,956.

“What this shows is that insurance pricing isn’t uniform across electric vehicles,” says Ivan, commenting on the Rates.ca EV quotes data. “Some models price within the same range as comparable gas vehicles, while others reflect their higher vehicle value or performance profile.

“For drivers weighing their options, that variation is an important part of the overall comparison.”

Potholes, the scourge of Canada’s roads for generations, continue to wreak havoc on claims costs.

In Toronto alone, pothole-related compensation claims increased 47% year-over-year to 1,194 as of Feb. 23, according to statements to the media from the City of Toronto. At the same time, pothole repairs were down about 35% to 23,099 as of Feb. 26 from 33,130, data from the city show.

Toronto’s weather has brought recent large fluctuations in temperature — exactly what causes potholes. Water seeps into the cracks of cement, freezes and worsens the cracks, then thaws, leaving behind large holes and loose debris, Rates.ca explains.

To make matters worse, city crews have had to prioritize snow clearance over road repair, media reports say.

While Toronto’s pothole problem is making news, the high volume of claims this winter is also hitting smaller communities, says Jesica Ryzynski, a claims specialist at Mitch Insurance. In these communities, repair shops are overwhelmed and it’s not practical for vehicle owners to drive an hour away to another shop.

“They’ve got to stick with the shop they’ve got, and so then we [see] issues of running out of coverage on the rental limit, or potentially not being able to find a rental,” she says.

“There’s smaller communities where we’ve got only maybe one or two shops that are able to do the work. And, in some cases clients in those areas have difficulty sourcing rental vehicles, because the volume of repairs is stretching repair shops’ timelines.”

The pothole plague has been particularly unkind to electric vehicles, Ryzynski adds, because the impacts can damage the batteries – which can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars to replace.

Coverage considerations

The fluctuating weather and slower pace of pothole repairs means things could get a lot worse for Toronto drivers before it gets better. Especially if drivers don’t carry collision or all-perils coverage.

As more drivers deal with damage before roads are fixed, Rates.ca insurance expert Daniel Ivans says many underestimate how coverage choices, deductibles and strict municipal filing deadlines can determine whether they recover their losses or absorb the repair costs themselves. 

If a vehicle is damaged by a pothole, it typically falls under the collision portion of a policy, Ivans explains. Collision is what covers single-vehicle impacts, including hitting a pothole, while comprehensive applies to things like fire, theft, vandalism and glass. All-perils is simply a broader package that combines both collision and comprehensive coverage.

“These coverages aren’t mandatory in most provinces, so if a driver doesn’t carry collision or all‑perils, they would likely be responsible for the repair themselves,” Ivans warns. 

Beyond understanding what coverage applies, Ivans says drivers should consider three practical factors before deciding what to do next: 

• The deductible versus the repair bill — Even with coverage, the deductible applies first. If a deductible is $1,000 and repairs total $1,400, payout may be limited. The size of the repair estimate relative to the deductible can influence how a driver proceeds, Ivans says.
• The municipal route is possible, but narrow — Drivers can pursue compensation from the city, but reimbursement depends on whether the city met its Minimum Maintenance Standards for Highways in the City of Toronto. If the pothole falls within the allowable standards for that class of road, the city is not responsible for the damage. Claims must typically be filed within 10 days. But the city says it’s experiencing higher than normal claims volume due to the severe winter weather. “As a result, the 90-day target undertaken for resolution of all property damage claims may not be achieved.”
• Documentation and timing matter — Photos of the pothole, precise location details and prompt inspections are important. Suspension or alignment damage may not be immediately visible, which can complicate both insurance and municipal claims. 

“With pothole-related claims rising, drivers generally have three paths,” Ivans says. “They can file through insurance if they carry the right coverage, pursue a municipal claim, or cover the repair costs themselves.

“The outcome often comes down to the policy details, the deductible and whether the city met its required maintenance standards, which would mean it is not responsible for the damage.” 

Cars are increasingly costly, says a new calculation from rate aggregator Ratehub.ca that places the average monthly cost of car ownership at $1,373, when factoring in insurance, financing, gas, parking and maintenance.

And insurance is a big piece of that cost puzzle, as are rising repair costs (which can drive premiums higher). All of this has some Canadians reconsidering whether owning a car is financially sound.

“While Canadians are starting to save on vehicle purchase prices, financing rates, and gas, those gains are being completely offset by rising insurance premiums and maintenance expenses,” says Ratehub’s vice president of insurance Matt Hands.

“Insurance costs have climbed due to inflation and higher claims costs. Despite recent news that auto theft is [declining], it remains one of the most expensive claims for the industry.”

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Impacts from U.S. auto tariffs on Canadian auto markets are expected to also affect the cost of car ownership soon, he adds. 

And, while a report from Équité Association points out auto thefts fell 22% in Ontario and 18% Canada-wide last year, 46,999 vehicles were stolen across Canada in 2025.

That impacts insurance losses and premiums, says Steven Harris, a licensed insurance broker who provides commentary to LowestRates.ca. 

“While claim numbers are trending in the right direction, auto theft remains a significant risk factor in many parts of the country,” he says. “Insurance premiums are shaped by long-term trends, not short-term changes.

“This is a good time for drivers to review how a policy would respond in the event of a theft and confirm they understand their coverage, limits, and deductibles.” 

Related: Rate filing system is causing auto premium spikes: IBC

He offers five policy areas to review with drivers: 

• How theft is covered – both comprehensive and specified perils coverages address theft, but comprehensive provides the broadest protection. “Drivers should confirm which coverage is in place and understand the applicable deductible before a loss occurs,” Harris says.  
• Risk of vehicle theft – some makes and models are more popular with thieves. So, if a client hasn’t yet made their purchase, outline how insurers rate specific vehicles and discuss whether things like onboard tracking systems or anti-theft devices can impact premiums – and whether or not insurers require them. 
• Limits for loss of use – clients who need rental cars while a vehicle theft claim is processed or while a replacement vehicle is being secured may find benefits aren’t as generous as they’d hoped. In Ontario, the OCPF 20 endorsement covers rental expenses. Policies often standardize the limit around $2,000 but some insurers offer higher limits at extra cost. “Drivers should confirm whether the default limit would reasonably cover rental costs for the full period without a vehicle,” says Harris. 

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• Longer-term rental coverage – Sometimes, parts and labour scarcity can leave clients driving rental cars longer than they’d hoped. In Ontario, a OPCF 27 endorsement provides coverage for a rented or borrowed car that is damaged while the client is waiting for their own car to be fixed. The endorsement can extend existing insurance coverage to the rental, which means a driver might not have to take out a separate policy with a rental company. 
• How the car, and what’s in it, are covered – while comprehensive coverage protects the automobile and any permanently installed components, anything a driver leaves inside the car is usually covered by tenant or home insurance policies. That’s a separate coverage and if a vehicle owner wants to make a claim, they’ll have to pay that policy’s deductible. “Understanding how these coverages interact can help prevent unexpected out-of-pocket costs,” Harris points out. 

To avoid claims in the first place, he notes, clients should consider preventative measures such as parking in garages, installing tracking devices or using steering-wheel locks.