Insurance spreads the cost of claims among many people so no one has to face the cost of a claim alone. For one person, the costs from an accident could cause bankruptcy. Spread among many people, the costs become affordable.
All auto insurance plans, including Autopac, group you with others, all of whom share three factors that make up your overall risk of claims. You’re grouped with others who live in a similar area, own similar vehicles and use their vehicles like you do. The money collected from your group covers you if you have a claim. In exchange for that protection, you share your group’s costs through your premiums. In part, your premiums depend on how much your group has cost the insurance fund. An important part of your group’s costs are injury claims. To make sure each vehicle shares the injury costs from an accident fairly, we divide those costs equally among all the vehicles involved.
How your Autopac premium is set
Your rates are determined based on a combination of the following four objective, risk-based factors:
- Your vehicle: Your insurance costs are determined in part by the claims costs associated with the year, make and model of the vehicle you drive. Claim costs may be lower for a car that has more safety and loss prevention features.
- Where you live: Manitoba is divided into four territories for vehicle rating purposes. Each geographic region is identified with varying degrees of risk. The lower the risk, the lower your insurance rates.
- What you use your vehicle for: Insurance rates differ depending on what you use your vehicle for. That’s because what you use your vehicle for affects how likely you are to have a claim. For instance, if you only drive to the grocery store and back (pleasure use), you’re less likely to have a claim than if you drive your car regularly as a courier.
- Your driving record: If you drive safely – with no at-fault claims, traffic convictions or drug or alcohol-related administrative suspensions – you save money on your insurance. On the other hand, if you drive unsafely, you pay more.