The requirement to have insurance
The law requires every Ontario driver to carry insurance on his or her vehicle. The insurance is to compensate any injured parties in case of a collision. The police can charge a person driving without insurance with the offence under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.
Penalties for driving without insurance
The most significant consequence of driving with no insurance is the financial penalty. The minimum fine for such an offence is $5,000.00. The addition of a victim’s surcharge and other penalties would cause this sum to be even higher.
Types of insurance offences
In general, two possible scenarios result in charge of driving with no insurance:
- This one is the most apparent. For whatever reason, the driver had no insurance. A paralegal can be extremely helpful in such a case. First, she/he may help to reduce the financial penalty. It requires proper presentation of your case, circumstances and financial situation to the judge. In most cases, the right approach may result in a lower fine that is actually significantly below the $5000.00 minimum. Additionally, the paralegal will help you extend the amount of time to pay the fine. It means that you will not have to pay the entire sum within, for example, a month.
- The other scenario is that the driver was driving with no insurance because of misunderstanding or technicality. For example, the driver had just switched insurance companies. The insurance companies had not processed the change properly or on time. There may be other circumstances when the driver has grounds to believe that she/he has insurance. In this event, the role of your paralegal is to explain the situation and provide proper evidence. The purpose is to show that the incident was, in fact, a result of some misunderstanding.
Whatever your situation may be, please feel free to contact us to discuss your options and obtain a free assessment of your case.
