Government Restrictions On Insurance Company Underwriting For Auto Insurance
On June 1, 2005 the Financial Service Commission Of Ontario (FSCO) regulated that insurance companies can NOT terminate your auto insurance policy based on your credit history.
The additional checks which the government has restricted insurance companies from doing can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Risk Classification and Underwriting Criteria, Non-Payment
Terminations, and Fee Filing Guideline
Who's Canceling or Non-renewing YOU?
If your auto insurance policy is being cancelled or non-renewed, you need to know if it's being done by your "broker" or your "insurance company."
Many times when a driver's car insurance policy is being cancelled, it's by their broker, and NOT by their insurance company.
This has lead to a lot of heartache and confusion for drivers when trying to replace their insurance coverage with "another insurance company" when it was ONLY their broker who has cancelled them, not their insurance company.
If the cancellation is initiated by your broker, that means that you are still insured by your insurance company, and all you need to do is find another broker that represents your insurance company. To do that, simply call your insurance company and ask them for the name of one of their brokers closest to where you live.
You need to know how to determine if you are being cancelled by your broker or by your insurance company.
If you are being cancelled by your insurance company you will receive a letter by registered mail outlining the reason why. All insurance companies must file their conditions for cancellation with the government and the government must approve them, otherwise they can't cancel you.
Your insurance broker does not need a reason to non-renew you. The reason may simply be that they no longer do business with your insurance company and needs to place you with another insurance company.
Home insurance is another story. Insurance companies can cancel you with out reason and your credit history can be used in whether to renew you.