Can You Drive Without Insurance?
When it comes to budgeting our lifestyles, it’s tough to balance your auto insurance premiums with everything else in this day and age. We tend to ask ourselves, “Do I really need this insurance?” Simply put, the answer is yes—you really do.
An active auto insurance policy is legally mandatory in order to operate your vehicle. Knowing the minimum insurance requirements where you live is important to making sure you have the right coverage to satisfy not only your needs, but the law. In most circumstances, Atlantic Canadians require third-party liability insurance, which pays for injury and damage caused to others by a collision. Driving without insurance is illegal because the resulting costs of an accident can be devastating.
What Are the Consequences of Driving Without Insurance?
Consequences vary depending on the number of infractions you’ve previously committed, the amount of damage caused, and the province you live in. Not possessing auto insurance at all or not being able to prove you have it are two separate violations that can result in varying penalties.
If you’re determined to be at-fault in an accident you’re involved in, your insurance company pays for the damage and injury costs for the person you hit. If you don’t have insurance, you’ll be liable to pay for the victims’ medical bills, car repairs and other losses out of your own pocket. This can lead to financial devastation on your behalf, as well as an inability to cover all costs for the third party.
Driving without insurance is not a criminal charge in Canada, but it is a serious offense and does come with severe consequences. Here are some of the things you can expect to encounter if caught driving without insurance:
- Fines: In Nova Scotia, the penalty for a first-time offense for driving without insurance is a fine of $2000 to $4000, depending on the situation.
- Car Impound: Your car could be impounded for up to 90 days, meaning you are unable to drive it at all and lose the registration on it as well.
- License Suspension: If you are convicted of driving without a car liability insurance policy, your driver’s license can be suspended for up to 1 year.
- Jail Time: If you are a repeat offender, you can face jail time as punishment.
While a first offense for driving without insurance—or proof of insurance—can yield significant fines, repeated offenses can dramatically escalate the severity of the punishments. If you get into an accident while uninsured, the consequences don’t affect just you, your car and your bank account. You can also really hurt other people when you can’t pay for their claim.
What Can You Do?
Proof of insurance is required to show there is coverage on the vehicle being driven. Once you are served your ticket, you will be given a timeframe (anywhere from 24 hours up to a few days) to produce proof of your insurance.
If you do have insurance on your vehicle, and you simply did not have the proof with you when asked, you will need to show it in court—confirming you had insurance on the date of the ticket. If validated, the charge will be cancelled.
Related: All About High-Risk Auto Insurance
Staying in contact with your broker to check your insurance is in good standing is important too. Your policy renews year over year, and you need a new liability card as proof of insurance for each renewal. Keep in mind the time of year of your renewal, and speak to your broker if you don’t receive your renewal package at that time. Digital pink cards are now legal in Nova Scotia too—your broker can easily email yours!
While we can all agree paying your insurance bill is not the most exciting thing on your to-do list, incurring massive fines, license suspensions or jail time is not worth the risk of driving without insurance. At the end of the day, purchasing minimum liability insurance coverage is less costly than the penalties you’ll face if you choose to drive without insurance.