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Deductibles are standard across the insurance industry. They help control the cost of insurance for customers because they help control overall claim costs for insurers.
Your deductible is the part of your Autopac physical damage claim you are responsible to pay. Your deductible applies to collision, vandalism, hail, theft and most other claims. Your Autopac insurance covers the amount above your deductible.
Deductibles by vehicle type
The Basic deductible for most cars, SUVs, light trucks and motorcycles is $750, for policies that take effect after April 1, 2021. Options are available to lower this Basic deductible level.
Basic deductibles vary by vehicle type:
Private passenger vehicles, vehicles for hire, vans, light trucks, motor homes
$ 750
Motorcycles (only collision and upset coverage)
$ 750
Trailers with a declared valued of $2,500 or less
$ 225
Trailers with a declared value of $2,501 or more
$ 750
Mopeds (only collision and upset coverage)
$ 225
Truck tractors, tankers (carrying fuel, chemicals), logging trucks, sand and gravel trucks, common carrier trucks or common carrier buses in Manitoba, buses (transit, u-drive)*
* Some of these vehicles don’t have all-perils coverage
$ 1,200
When a deductible applies
If another driver insured through Autopac is at fault for damaging your vehicle in a collision, we will reimburse your deductible based on that driver’s fault. So, if the other driver was 100 per cent at fault, you get all of your deductible back. If each driver was 50 per cent at fault, you get half of your deductible back.
Each incident of loss or damage equals one claim, with a deductible for each claim. For example, two separate collisions are two separate claims, with a deductible for each. Or, if you have damage due to hail and damage due to a collision, each is its own claim.
Stolen vehicles
If your vehicle is damaged by a stolen vehicle, we’ll reimburse your deductible when the following conditions are met:
•We know the identity of the person who stole the vehicle.
•The person who stole the vehicle doesn’t dispute being responsible.
Your deductible also applies on a claim for hit-and-run damage. But if we know who was responsible, we’ll try to get your deductible back for you.
Your Autopac coverage protects you in Canada and the United States. Coverage is divided into three parts:
Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) for all Manitoba residents.
All Perils coverage for accidental damage to your vehicle.
Third-Party Liability coverage, which protects you against claims others may make against you. When you drive outside Manitoba, even if only for one-day or weekend trips, it’s important to keep your third-party liability coverage limit as high as possible. Liability claims, especially in the United States but also in some Canadian provinces, can run into the millions of dollars. You can buy additional third party liability coverage, up to $10 million, at a very reasonable cost.
Some Manitobans travel outside Manitoba for extended periods and may be away when it’s time to renew. If this is your situation, talk to your Autopac agent before leaving Manitoba. Your agent can make special arrangements to ensure your coverage continues while you’re away.
Travelling in Mexico
While your vehicle is in Mexico, your Autopac coverage is invalid.
Refund
If you use your vehicle in Mexico for longer than 14 days, we’ll refund your Autopac premium for the period beyond 14 days.
To get your refund, you’ll need to prove when your vehicle entered Mexico and when it left.
You’ll need these two documents:
A Vehicle Importation/Tourist Card and a Foreign Insurance Certificate.
A copy of your Exit Visa or your stamped passport.
With these documents, please apply for your refund at our Customer Service Centre, 234 Donald Street (cityplace), or by mail:
Manitoba Public Insurance Box 6300 Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4A4
Purchasing travel health insurance
Medical care in the United States is especially costly. Manitoba Health alone may not provide sufficient protection for general medical care.
Check with Manitoba Health to confirm what general medical and health coverage it provides while you’re travelling. If you need more coverage, you can usually buy it through a travel agent or insurance broker.
Your insurance covers many situations, but not all. It’s important to know what is not covered under your policy, and in what situations coverage may be denied.
Basic all-perils
Basic all-perils coverage insures your vehicle and any permanently attached equipment against accidental loss or damage in Canada or the U.S. You pay the deductible and any depreciation – your Autopac coverage pays the rest. All perils coverage includes coverage for collision and upset. It also covers accidental damage other than from collisions, including vandalism, theft, flooding, hail, storms, fire and explosions.
All perils coverage does not cover:
the contents of any vehicle or trailer, such as tools, clothing or a camera
loss or damage caused by: — mechanical failure or the breakdown of any part — rusting, corrosion, freezing, or explosion within the combustion chamber, unless the damage was caused by something that your Autopac covers, such as collision, fire, theft or vandalism
tires, unless the damage is from a crash, fire, theft or vandalism (not simple road punctures)
tapes, CDs and equipment separate from the tape/CD player installed in the vehicle
loss or damage to a slide-in camper unit equipped with living accommodations which is mounted on or is off the vehicle
loss or damage caused by the theft of the vehicle if the person who stole it lives in the same home or is an employee of the insured person
loss or damage from people either stealing, or improperly taking ownership of a vehicle through a conditional sales contract, lease or similar agreement
automobiles registered as antiques
semi-trailers
vehicles operated under a Single Trip Registration Permit
loss or damage resulting, directly or indirectly, from a nuclear energy hazard
loss or damage from acts of war or terrorism
loss or damage if you gave away your vehicle voluntarily
loss or damage to: Government of Canada vehicles, vehicles owned by other countries, or any fire department vehicles owned by any government or municipality
loss or damage over $1,000 to non-factory installed sound and electronic communications equipment, permanently attached to your vehicle
Vehicles not covered by all perils
Some vehicles don’t have all perils coverage through Autopac. These vehicles are:
Common carrier buses.
Trucks and truck tractors with a gross vehicle weight over 16,330 kg, except drive-away units, farm trucks, fisherman’s trucks, and dealer-plated s and repairer-plated* vehicles.
Regulated vehicles not for compensation with a gross vehicle weight over 5,499 kg and regulated vehicles for compensation of any gross weight, operated more than 161 km outside Manitoba.
City of Winnipeg transit buses.
These vehicles may qualify for special risk protection through Manitoba Public Insurance or other insurers. Semi-trailers with lifetime licence plates have no coverage at all through Autopac.
*collision or upset only
Denial of all perils coverage
To ensure your all perils coverage is valid, you must follow the conditions of your policy.
Under the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program, you need to be especially cautious lending your vehicle to any new driver. Anyone in the GDL Program who breaks the rules of the program is not authorized by law to drive. Your Autopac won’t cover you if you lend your vehicle to any driver who isn’t authorized by law to drive. Find out more about the rules for drivers in the GDL program.
Your all perils coverage may be refused if the damage or loss occurred when:
Someone was driving without being qualified and authorized by law to drive (for example, an unlicensed driver).
Someone was driving the vehicle with a suspended driver’s licence or couldn’t drive because of a court order.
Someone under 16 was driving the vehicle without holding a valid learner’s permit or wasn’t following its rules.
The driver was impaired.
The vehicle was being used for an illegal trade or to transport items against the law (for example, the vehicle was being used to smuggle cigarettes or to carry explosives without proper identification and safety precautions).
The vehicle was in a speed test or motor race.
An unregistered trailer was attached to the vehicle when the law requires the trailer to be registered.
The collision occurred when fleeing from the police.
The vehicle was being used for something prohibited by The Highway Traffic Act, The Drivers and Vehicles Act, or a vehicle-for-hire bylaw of a municipality.
The vehicle is being used differently than declared on the application for insurance (for example, when you’ve said the vehicle is only being used for pleasure driving when most of the time it’s being used for your business).
The person claiming doesn’t identify who was driving the vehicle at the time of the loss or damage.
The vehicle owner failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the vehicle from rodent damage.
Sometimes the vehicle’s owner and driver aren’t the same. In that case, the owner may be entitled to all-perils coverage if he or she didn’t knowingly allow the vehicle to be driven by the person described in all the bullet points above, except the last one.
Third-party liability
Third-party liability coverage doesn’t always protect you. To ensure your third-party liability coverage is valid, you must follow the conditions of your policy. You aren’t covered:
For damage your vehicle causes to property you own or rent or that you have in your care or control (for example, you won’t be covered if your car damages your boat parked in your driveway for the winter, although your homeowner’s insurance policy may cover the damage).
For loss or damage to other people’s property in or on your vehicle (for example, a borrowed canoe attached to the roof of your vehicle).
For loss or damage occurring through the use of machinery or equipment mounted on or attached to the vehicle while the vehicle is parked at a work site (for example, damage caused by a truck that is parked and spraying insecticide to control mosquitoes).
If your vehicle was being driven by someone who’s in the business of repairing, servicing, storing or parking vehicles (for example, a repair shop employee test-driving your car before or after servicing it), or who’s an automobile dealer and that person wasn’t your employee or partner.
For loss or damage to your employee who’s injured operating or repairing your vehicle.
For loss or damage from criminal activity.
For liability imposed by any workers’ compensation law.
For liability for damages from injury, death or damage to property due to a nuclear energy hazard.
If you’re operating a Government of Canada vehicle.
For your own injuries or death – this coverage is for claims others may make against you.
If you’re operating a regulated vehicle, not for compensation, with a gross vehicle weight of over 5,499 kg more than 161 km outside of Manitoba, or a regulated vehicle, for compensation, of any gross vehicle weight more than 161 km outside of Manitoba.
If you’re operating a municipal or other government-owned fire department vehicle.
If you’re using a Single Trip Registration Permit.
For loss or damage caused by a semi-trailer.
For liability for damages from injury, death or damage to property from unsanctioned activities or events held on a closed track or location.
Maintaining, repairing, altering or improving a vehicle.
An animal carried in, or on, or forming part of the load of the vehicle. (For example, a pedestrian bitten by a dog in a car is not entitled to PIPP coverage.)
A device mounted on or attached to the vehicle, that can be operated independently, if the vehicle was standing still when the accident happened. (For example, a bystander accidentally sprayed by insecticide being applied from a parked truck.)
Off-road vehicles – such as snowmobiles, dirt bikes or ATVs – or other non-automobiles such as garden tractors, unless the accident was with a moving automobile.
A vehicle that doesn’t have to be registered under The Drivers and Vehicles Act, such as motorized mobility aid (electric wheelchairs), agricultural equipment or infrastructure equipment, unless the collision was with a moving automobile.
An unsanctioned activity or event held on a closed track or location.
The injured person’s deliberate actions. In that case, neither the victim nor their dependants receive injury compensation.
The deliberate actions of the injured person’s dependant. In that case, the dependant isn’t entitled to compensation.
A trailer detached from an automobile.
Basic all-perils coverage insures your vehicle and any permanently attached equipment against accidental loss or damage in Canada or the U.S. You pay the deductible and any depreciation – your Basic Autopac coverage pays the rest.
Coverage
It covers damage from:
collision
“upset” (your vehicle tips or rolls over)
other causes (the insurance term is “comprehensive”), such as vandalism, theft, hail, and fire.
If your vehicle is damaged accidentally but not a write-off, your all-perils coverage pays for repairing it to its pre-accident condition.
For instance, if your vehicle is five years old and its fender needs to be replaced after a collision, we’ll try to find a recycled fender from the same model vehicle for the same year. When parts need replacing, the options range from using recycled parts to brand new factory-manufactured parts. Which of these options we choose depends on the vehicle’s age and condition. You can be sure that all parts we use meet equally strict standards of quality.
Sometimes, it isn’t practical or even safe to use a replacement part that’s equal in value to the one damaged in the accident. For example, it’s better to replace worn-out tires with new ones. In these situations, we’ll give you a brand new part, but you’ll have to pay for some of it. You pay for how much the damaged part had worn before the accident – called depreciation.
Depreciation: The value something has lost just through wear and tear. Similarly, if your vehicle is a write-off, it’s insured for its actual cash value – not brand new replacement – up to its maximum insured value.
Actual cash value: Autopac covers the loss or damage to your vehicle based on its actual cash value when the collision happened. Your vehicle’s actual cash value is its fair market value immediately before it was damaged. We determine your vehicle’s actual cash value by independent market surveys, taking into account its year, make, model, kilometres driven and overall condition. Keep your receipts for recent repairs because these may increase your vehicle’s value, depending on the repairs. Keeping recent pictures of your vehicle on hand also makes sense. The pictures may help us assess your vehicle’s condition in case it’s stolen or destroyed.
Maximum insured value: $70,000, including taxes, is the most any car, truck, motorcycle, moped, motorhome, trailer, bus or prototype vehicle is insured for under Basic Autopac. (Some vehicle types are limited to a declared value, which may be substantially less than $70,000.) If your vehicle is worth more than $70,000, including taxes, you’ll need Excess Value Coverage to cover the amount over the $70,000 limit.
Loss of use coverage
With Basic Autopac, you automatically get some protection against loss of use if your vehicle is stolen or accidentally damaged.
Stolen vehicles
Basic Autopac covers some of the costs of using other transportation when your vehicle has been stolen. We’ll pay you reasonable expenses for taking vehicles for hire, using public transportation or renting another vehicle. As of July 1, 2024, the limit is $56 per day to a maximum of $1,680, including all taxes. (Coverage limits subject to change. Motorcycle and moped customers should contact an Autopac agent to ensure they qualify for full coverage.)
This protection starts 72 hours after you report the theft to us or to the police. This Loss of Use coverage ends when your vehicle is repaired, when we offer you a settlement or when the coverage maximum is reached ‒ whichever comes first.
Please phone your adjuster promptly after the police have notified you that they’ve recovered your vehicle.
Coverage applies to rentals from a company whose business is renting vehicles. It does not apply to rentals from friends, family or other private persons.
Damaged vehicles
If your vehicle has been damaged in a collision that is the fault of another Autopac-insured motorist, you may have a claim for replacement transportation expenses. You have to prove that you needed to pay for other transportation and that you did your best to minimize these costs.
You must choose the least expensive, most reasonable transportation option. For example, you should use public transportation and vehicles for hire, unless renting a vehicle would be less costly. If you own a second vehicle, you should use it instead of your damaged one.
You must keep your expenses to a minimum because the at-fault motorist is responsible only for your expenses that are strictly necessary.
Loss of use options
If your vehicle is essential to your business or daily life, consider buying additional Loss of Use coverage. This coverage pays for the reasonable costs of other transportation, even if you’re responsible for the collision. It also reduces your waiting period if the vehicle was stolen.
Motorcycle and moped coverage
Basic Autopac all-perils coverage for these vehicles is limited to collision and upset protection up to the declared value, to a maximum of $70,000 including taxes. Upset protection covers you if your vehicle tips over and is damaged.
Autopac options are available to protect your vehicle against fire, theft and vandalism, and to insure your vehicle for any value beyond the maximum insured value. You can also reduce your deductibles and increase your liability coverage. See more information on Motorcycle Extension insurance.
Ask your Autopac agent for more information on these Autopac options. Some restrictions may apply. Unusual situations may require a special risk application.
Basic sound and electronic coverage
The Basic coverage limit is $1,000 for any combination of non-factory-installed audio, video and electronic communications equipment permanently attached to your vehicle.
The $1,000 limit applies to all the costs associated with a claim. This includes the actual cash value of the equipment, the value of the media inside the equipment, installation costs and applicable taxes on the replacement equipment. You may want to buy special risk coverage if your non-factory sound and electronic communications equipment has an actual cash value of more than $1,000.
Points to remember
Factory equipment
The $1,000 limit doesn’t apply to factory-installed equipment. Factory-installed sound equipment is insured for its depreciated value, with no maximum.
Keep your receipts
It’s crucial to have the original purchase invoices from the retailer for your non-factory sound equipment. With your receipts, we’ll confirm the current replacement cost of the stolen equipment and apply depreciation based on how old it was. With no receipts, you get a pre-set allowance only. By examining your vehicle, we can tell if the stereo you had was either entry-level or higher-value. That’s how we determine which pre-set allowance applies to your claim.
Allowances for non-factory equipment (with no receipts)
Entry Level
Higher Value
Cassette/CD player/DVD player
$150
$ 250
Speakers (per pair)
$ 50
$ 80
Amps/equalizers
$ 50
$ 75
CD changer
$ 125
$ 175
Depreciation
Depreciation applies, according to the age of your stereo equipment:
Up to 1 year old:
0%
1 to 2 years old:
10%
2 to 3 years old:
20%
3 to 4 years old:
30%
4 to 5 years old:
40%
More than 5 years old:
50%
After depreciation, the minimum allowances are the pre-set amounts for non-factory equipment, with no receipts, shown above.
Remember, your deductible applies too. If your claim is only for stolen sound equipment and not for any other damage, we subtract your deductible from the depreciated, net value of your equipment.
For non-factory equipment, the $1,000 maximum applies after we’ve subtracted your deductible. Here’s an example:
Replacement cost
$1,700
Depreciation (10%)
$170
Net value
$1,530
Less deductible
-$500
Your net payable (coverage maximum)
=$1,000
Coverage denied
To ensure your all-perils coverage is valid, you must follow the conditions of your policy. See more information when coverage is denied.
If you’re a Manitoba resident, you have your own injury coverage through Autopac – whether you own a vehicle or not. The Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) is based on these four principles:
Coverage extends to all Manitoba residents injured in automobile accidents anywhere in Canada or the United States.
Compensation focuses on specific economic losses from an auto injury or death, with few limits or restrictions.
Compensation is guaranteed for all injured people, regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
Most benefits are indexed to the Consumer Price Index to reflect changing economic conditions.
Who’s covered by PIPP
All Manitoba residents carry Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) coverage with them wherever they travel in Canada and the United States. For Manitobans, there is no reduction in the level of benefit based on the degree of fault for the accident.
The Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) also covers visitors to Manitoba who are injured in an accident in Manitoba while:
Occupying a Manitoba-registered vehicle. These visitors get full PIPP compensation.
Not occupying a Manitoba-registered vehicle. In this case, visitors receive compensation if someone else was at fault for the accident. For non-residents who are injured in an automobile accident in Manitoba, the amount of compensation depends on the other party’s degree of fault.
Manitoba driver 25 per cent at fault: visitor gets 25 per cent of PIPP compensation.
Manitoba driver 0 per cent at fault, visitor 100 per cent at fault: visitor gets no PIPP compensation.
This applies unless we have an agreement with the visitor’s home jurisdiction. In that case, the agreement will say how much compensation will be paid.
When you’re travelling in another province or state, their laws still apply to you. PIPP protects you everywhere in Canada and the U.S. but the laws where you’re travelling may make you responsible for compensating others if you injure them or damage their property.
Your basic third party liability coverage protects you in these situations, up to $500,000. Please consider buying more protection than this, especially if you’ll be driving outside Manitoba. For more information, please talk to your Autopac agent.
Remember, you must be a Manitoba resident to qualify for PIPP coverage. If you move outside Manitoba, you’re covered for injuries under PIPP only while you’re in your Manitoba-registered vehicle. Also, once you’ve moved, your PIPP coverage ends once one of the following happens (whichever occurs first):
When the law in your new home province, territory or U.S. state says you must register your vehicle there.
When your Autopac coverage ends.
Coverage for catastrophic injury
Individuals who are catastrophically injured may qualify for these enhanced benefits.
income replacement
personal care
permanent impairment
special circumstances (Transitional Expense Coverage)
coverage for costs due to modifications made to your main or second home, because of health or family circumstances
coverage for extra costs to continue pre-accident travel
attendant care to assist with remunerative employment
vehicle modifications, or if not applicable, up to $54,855 to buy a motor vehicle to modify for your special needs
More coverage for all automobile injuries
Individuals who have been injured may also qualify for the following entitlements, depending on circumstances:
help for you to take part in leisure and recreation
help to acquire a motor vehicle to be adapted to your needs
help to adapt more than one motor vehicle to your needs
increased meal allowances (indexed annually)
For details, please talk to your case manager.
PIPP Guide
The PIPP Guide is a publication that contains full and detailed information about PIPP including:
Here’s a list of the basic benefit amounts (effective April 1, 2024) under the Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP). We adjust these benefits each year, based on the Consumer Price Index and the Manitoba Average Industrial Wage.
Bodily Injury claims
Income replacement indemnity
PIPP provides replacement income based on 90 per cent of your net income, subject to a maximum insurable gross yearly income of $115,000 and a seven-day waiting period. See more information on replacing your income and calculating your income replacement.
Maximum insurable gross yearly earned income
$115,000
Industrial average wage
$1,088.92 (weekly) $56,623.84 (yearly)
Personal care assistance expenses for non-catastrophic injuries (receipts required)
$5,609 (maximum/month)
Personal care assistance expenses for the catastrophically injured (receipts required)
$6,707(maximum/month)
Caregiver weekly indemnity
1 dependant:
$541 (weekly)
2 dependants:
$599 (weekly)
3 dependants:
$657 (weekly)
4 or more dependants:
$711 (weekly)
Care expense reimbursement (receipts required)
1 person:
$141 (maximum/week)
2 people:
$186 (maximum/week)
3 people:
$234 (maximum/week)
4 or more people:
$280 (maximum/week)
Help hired for a family business
$934 (maximum/week)
Lump sum indemnity for a permanent impairment (non-catastrophic injuries)
$934 (minimum) $186,998 (maximum)
Lump sum indemnity for permanent impairment (catastrophic injuries)
$295,272
Lump sum indemnity – minors and students
Minors, kindergarten to grade 8
$6,357 (maximum)
Grade 9 to Grade 12
$11,780 (maximum)
Post-secondary studies
$23,565 (maximum)
Transitional expense coverage
$1,373,364 (lifetime maximum)
Meal allowance
Breakfast
$11.76 (maximum/day)
Lunch
$17.23 (maximum/day)
Dinner
$25.82 (maximum/day)
Daily maximum
$54.78 (maximum/day)
Critical care attendance
$5,554 (maximum)
Clothing Allowance
Due to permanent use of a wheelchair
$1,291 (maximum)
Due to use of an orthotic device for less than six months
$144
Due to use of a prosthetic or orthotic device for six months or more:
Clothing worn on upper body (trunk and arms)
$432
Clothing worn on lower body (pelvis and legs)
$859
Leisure and recreational activities
Catastrophically injured
$4,388 (maximum/every 2 years)
Permanent impairment rating (PIR)
PIR ≥70% (not including scarring, musculotendinous disruptions, ligaments or cartilage damage)
$2,194 (maximum/every 2 years)
50% ≤ PIR < 70% (not including scarring, musculotendinous disruptions, ligaments or cartilage damage)
$1,097 (maximum/every 2 years)
20% ≤ PIR < 50% (not including scarring, musculotendinous disruptions, ligaments or cartilage damage)
$549 (maximum/every 2 years)
Car travel expenses – please check with your case manager.
Fatality claims
Payments to family
Spouse or partner (tied to deceased gross yearly annual income)
$74,800 (minimum) $575,000 (maximum)
Disabled dependant
$32,725
Non-dependent child or parent
$16,657
Funeral expenses (receipts required)
$10,196 (maximum)
Grief counseling
$4,263 per person* (maximum)
* There currently is an additional $4,263 available to go towards accommodations, meal expenses and pre-approved bus, train or auto travel (where you must travel more than 100 km round trip from your home community) to attend grief counseling.
These benefits are effective April 1, 2024. Yearly adjustments don’t apply to car travel expenses.
Criminal code convictions
In general, the Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) covers injuries from an accident, no matter who caused it or how it happened. But if the person is convicted of certain Criminal Code offences related to the accident, all benefits for that individual will be terminated.
This applies to individuals who, under the Canadian Criminal Code, are convicted of:
auto theft
flight from a peace officer
theft where the property is a stolen motor vehicle
taking a motor vehicle without consent
In all of the above instances, both the driver and the passengers who are convicted for such offenses would have their benefits terminated.
There are other Criminal Code offences for which income replacement will be reduced for the first 12 months following the accident. In these cases, two factors will affect how much less the income replacement will be:
fault
number of dependants
If a person is convicted in the United States for a crime related to the accident, it will have the same impact on income replacement as if the offence occurred in Canada. No income replacement will be paid to a person who is in prison.
If your car is in an accident, you can be legally responsible for damage or injuries others claim against you – even if you weren’t driving it at the time. Basic third-party liability insures you against claims others make against you up to $500,000.
As a vehicle owner, you’re covered when driving your own vehicle or when someone else drives your vehicle with your permission. When driving someone else’s vehicle, you’re covered as long as you’re driving with the owner’s permission. In all cases, the driver must have a valid driver’s licence too.
Basic third-party liability covers you if the vehicle you’re driving:
Damages another vehicle or other property in Manitoba
Injures a person, or damages a vehicle or property outside Manitoba but within Canada and the U.S.
For more protection, you may want to increase your coverage – especially if you travel outside Manitoba, even if only for one-day or weekend trips. Autopac options are available to increase your third-party liability protection to $1 million, $2 million, $5 million, $7 million or $10 million.
When coverage is denied
To ensure your third-party liability coverage is valid, you must follow the conditions of your policy.
We can refuse to cover you if:
The driver was impaired.
Someone was driving who wasn’t qualified and allowed by law to drive (an unlicenced driver).
Someone was driving with a suspended driver’s licence or who can’t drive because of a court order.
Someone under 16 was driving who didn’t have a learner’s permit or wasn’t following its terms.
The vehicle was being used to carry on an illegal trade or to transport items in violation of the law (for example, the vehicle was being used to smuggle cigarettes).
The vehicle was in a speed test or motor race.
An unregistered trailer was attached to the vehicle when the law requires the trailer to be registered.
The vehicle was being used to flee from the police.
The vehicle was used to deliberately cause injury, death or property damage.
In any of these situations, you are personally responsible for any claims made against you. Or, if we had to make any payments because of your actions, you’ll have to pay the money back.
With the Graduated Drivers licensing (GDL) program, you need to be especially cautious lending your vehicle to a new driver. Anyone in the GDL program who drives while breaking the rules of the program is not authorized by law to drive. Your Autopac won’t cover you if you lend your vehicle to any driver who isn’t authorized by law to drive. Find out more about the rules for drivers in the GDL program.
Responsibility for collisions
Although fault doesn’t affect how much injury compensation Manitobans get, it’s still important.
Being at fault affects the amount of deductible you pay now and your insurance premiums in the future. When we pay a claim from an accident for which you are responsible, your driving record is affected. This happens even if the vehicles involved had no damage but the other driver or a passenger claimed minor injuries.
In Manitoba, you can be sued for damage your vehicle causes to someone else’s property. The Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) eliminates lawsuits for injuries to people (except for off-road vehicles – see below), but lawsuits for property damage claims can still occur. Fault affects the outcome of court actions for damages.
You can be sued for injuries from accidents occurring outside Manitoba. Increasing your third-party liability coverage is a good idea if you travel outside the province.
An off-road vehicle, or ORV, is any wheeled or tracked motorized vehicle designed or adapted to travel cross-country on land, water, ice, snow, marsh, swampland or other natural terrain.
Snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, dune buggies and dirt bikes are examples of ORVs. Examples of vehicles not considered to be ORVs are: a golf cart, a garden or lawn tractor, infrastructure equipment and agricultural equipment.
With a few exceptions, ORVs must be registered. Your ORV registration includes Basic $500,000 third-party liability and underinsured motorist coverage. No other coverage is included. Because most ORVs are only used seasonally, the rules applying to your Basic coverage and registration differ from the rules applying to your car.
Here are some important things to remember:
Beyond $500,000 third-party liability and underinsured motorist coverage, you do not receive any additional coverage for damage or injuries with your ORV registration and licence plates.
You pay your premium when the riding season starts.
Your Basic coverage and registration lasts all year.
You always pay for the whole riding season. There are no refunds if you cancel part way through the riding season, or reductions if you buy your coverage part way through the riding season.
Your ORV presents two financial risks different from your automobile.
First, Personal Injury Protection (PIPP) doesn’t cover ORV accidents unless your ORV collides with a moving car, truck or other motor vehicle that must be registered for road use. That’s why Accident Benefits options through Manitoba Public Insurance are so important for you and your passengers.
Second, others can sue you if your ORV injures them in Manitoba—unlike your automobile. That means buying extra third-party liability coverage is a wise choice.