ABC's of Insurance > Principles of Auto Insurance
How insurance protects you
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.
Automobile insurance protects you in three broad categories:
- Personal Injury Coverage (protection against personal bodily injury, loss of life or loss of income)
- All Perils Collision Coverage (protection against damage to your own vehicle as a result of an insured peril)
- Third Party Liability Coverage (protection against your obligation to pay because you're legally liable for someone else's injuries or death or damages to their property)
You’re in a group
All auto insurance plans, including Autopac, group you with others, all of whom share similar characteristics that together make up a claims risk. In Manitoba, you're grouped with others who:
- Live in a similar area
- Use their vehicles the same way you do
- Own similar vehicles
The money from your group covers you if you have a claim. In exchange for that protection, you share your group's costs through your premiums. So to some extent, 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 to save on your insurance premium
You can't control how many claims other members of your group may have or how much they'll cost. But you can control how safely you drive--the most important factor that affects your premium. If you're a safe driver with no at-fault accidents and no traffic convictions, you'll pay the lowest premium possible in your group.
Some vehicles have a lower claim risk and therefore cost less to insure than others. Your vehicle’s claim risk depends on how well it protects occupants, resists theft and withstands collisions. You may want to check out how much the vehicle you’re thinking of buying costs to insure before buying it. Ask your Autopac agent or use our Insurance Rate Calculator.
Equipping your car with an electronic immobilizer that meets the Canadian Theft Deterrent Standard is another way to save on your premium.
Team effort drives down stolen-vehicle costs
In the past, thieves were stealing vehicles here at an alarming rate, costing you and other Manitobans $35 million in 2004/2005.
To tackle the problem, we joined forces with Manitoba Justice and the Winnipeg police. Through our immobilizer program — plus police monitoring of thieves — stolen-vehicle costs last year were nearly $10 million less than in 2004/2005.
That helps keep your Autopac premiums down.
Visit our Auto Theft section to see if your vehicle is most-at-risk of being stolen, and how you can save by installing an immobilizer.
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