How many years of driving history do Ontario insurers ask for?
Ontario insurers ask about driving convictions from the last 3 years, and accidents, claims and licence suspensions from the last 6 years. Those are the main periods on the standard application (OAF 1), and its conviction and accident questions cover every driver listed on the policy.
- 3 yearsDriving convictionsTickets and Criminal Code driving offences
- 6 yearsAccidents and claimsFor every driver on the policy
- 6 yearsLicence suspensionsAny licence or permit in the household
- 3 yearsPolicies cancelled by an insurerAsked as its own question
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) notes that premiums for the same driver can differ from one company to another. The periods above are the ones printed on the standard application form.
Which of those items show on your drivers abstract?
Convictions, recent suspensions and your demerit point total do. Insurance claims and cancelled policies do not. Here is each item set against what your 3-year driver record shows.
| Item | What the insurer asks or weighs | Your 3-year driver record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Tickets (Highway Traffic Act convictions) | All convictions in the last 3 years, for you and every listed driver | Every conviction from the past 3 years, whether or not it carried points |
| Criminal Code driving convictions, such as impaired or dangerous driving | The conviction if it is within 3 years, and the licence suspension it brings if that is within 6 years | The past 3 years. MTO keeps these convictions on your driver record for at least 10 years |
| Licence suspensions | Any licence or vehicle permit in the household suspended or cancelled in the last 6 years | Suspensions and reinstatements from the past 3 years, plus any active fine suspension |
| Accidents and claims | All accidents or claims in the last 6 years, for you and every listed driver | Not among its listed contents. A conviction that came out of a collision does show |
| Policies cancelled by an insurer | Any cancellation in the last 3 years | Not shown |
| Demerit points | The conviction question counts convictions, not points | Your current total. Each set of points counts for 2 years from the offence date |
| How long you have been licensed | One of the factors FSRA lists as part of your driving record | The earliest licence date available |
Do insurers treat tickets and accidents differently?
Yes. Tickets and other convictions come from your MTO driving record. Accidents and claims come from a separate claims history that insurers report into, and the application looks further back for them.
When FSRA lists what goes into your premium, it describes your driving record broadly: previous accidents, how long you have been licensed, whether you took driver training, speeding tickets and driving convictions. In practice that record comes from two separate sources.
Convictions
- Kept by the Ministry of Transportation
- Highway Traffic Act tickets and Criminal Code driving offences
- Sorted by insurers into minor, major and serious (Criminal Code)
- Asked about for the last 3 years
- Shown on your 3-year driver record
Claims
- Reported by insurers into AutoPlus, a database run by CGI
- Separate from your MTO driving record
- Date of each claim, type of loss and your share of fault
- Includes claims other drivers made against you
- Asked about for the last 6 years
There is no fixed AutoPlus lookback. On the version insurers pull, the requesting company sets the number of years, and CGI’s own sample report shows 25. A claim can follow you well past anything on your abstract. AutoPlus can also carry conviction codes that past insurers reported. The two documents are compared in driver abstract vs AutoPlus.
How long do tickets affect your insurance in Ontario?
A ticket is asked about on an Ontario insurance application while its conviction is inside the last 3 years, the period the conviction question covers. How much it adds to your premium can vary by insurer.
Four details catch people out:
- Paying the ticket is a conviction. Under the Provincial Offences Act, paying the fine counts as a guilty plea, so a paid ticket falls inside the conviction question like any other.
- No points does not mean no conviction. Speeding 1 to 15 km/h over the limit carries no demerit points, but it is still a conviction, and the application asks about convictions.
- Points expire before the conviction does. Points stop counting two years after the offence date. The conviction stays on your 3-year record, and inside the 3-year question, after the points are gone.
- Tickets from away count too. The question covers all driving convictions, and Ontario adds points for certain convictions in other provinces and territories, New York and Michigan. See out-of-province tickets and your Ontario record.
For how long each kind of entry stays on the record itself, see how long convictions stay on your record. To see which of your tickets are still in play, get your 3-year driver record and read the conviction dates.
How long does an at-fault accident affect insurance in Ontario?
It stays inside the application’s accident and claims question for 6 years, and Ontario regulation limits how insurers can use several kinds of accident against you.
Regulation 664 under the Insurance Act sets out what an insurer may and may not hold against you.
Can count against you
- A claim from an accident where you were more than 25 per cent at fault
- Minor accidents, when vehicles on the policy had more than one minor accident in three years and the driver was at fault in any of them
- A conviction that came out of the accident
Cannot be used against you
- Claims from accidents since September 1, 2010 where you were 25 per cent or less at fault, in setting your rate
- Not-at-fault claims, when deciding whether to issue, renew or cancel your policy
- A minor accident since June 1, 2016 on a private passenger vehicle, when it is the only minor accident on the policy’s vehicles in three years
The claim itself sits in your claims history, not on your drivers abstract (see does a drivers abstract show accidents). A conviction that came out of the crash, such as careless driving, is different: your Ontario driver’s abstract lists it, and the conviction question asks about it.
How is the 3-year abstract window different from an insurer’s lookback?
Your abstract shows recent MTO entries: convictions, suspensions and reinstatements. An insurer’s lookback is a set of application questions plus a claims history, so the two line up only on convictions.
Take one driver asking for a quote today:
| Item | On the 3-year driver record? | On the insurance application? |
|---|---|---|
| Speeding ticket, paid 2 years ago | Yes, with its conviction date, for about one more year | Yes, inside the 3-year conviction question, for about one more year |
| At-fault crash, 5 years ago | No. The claim sits in claims history, not on this record | Yes, inside the 6-year accidents and claims question, for about one more year |
| Careless driving conviction from that crash, 4 years ago | No. It is older than 3 years | No. It is outside the 3-year conviction question |
In this example, the crash is still asked about after the conviction it caused has left both the record and the conviction question. A suspension can do the same, because the application asks about suspensions over a longer window than the record shows them.
For how entries age off over time, see does your driving record ever reset. To put your own dates in the table, order your Ontario driving record: every conviction on it is listed with its date.
How do you prepare your driving record for an insurance quote?
Get the documents first, then answer from them. Your 3-year driver record covers the conviction question and recent suspensions, and your AutoPlus report covers claims.
Order your 3-year driver record
It lists every conviction, suspension and reinstatement from the past three years with dates, plus your demerit point total and licence status. Order your driving abstract online before you start the application.
Get your AutoPlus report
CGI runs AutoPlus and gives drivers their own report at no charge. It shows your policy dates and claims, including fault and claims other drivers made against you. If an entry is wrong, the insurer that reported it is the one that can correct it.
Set each date against its window
Use the periods in the table above, for every driver on the policy, since the conviction and accident questions cover each of them.
Check the fault share on every claim
Every accident the application asks about happened after September 1, 2010, so a claim where you were 25 per cent or less at fault cannot be used to rate you. Make sure the share shown matches how the claim was settled.
Send the same record to every broker
Premiums for the same driver differ between insurers, so get more than one quote. One current PDF covers them all.
Should you check your driving record before getting an insurance quote?
Yes. For $39.99 and one short form, you see the convictions the application asks about before anyone prices you on them.
It is easy to misremember a record in either direction: a conviction you thought had expired, or a ticket you forgot you paid. With the PDF open, you answer the conviction question from dates instead of memory.
Order your Ontario drivers abstract online, hold its dates against the windows above, and go into the quote knowing what the insurer will see on the conviction side. The PDF arrives in your inbox instantly after payment. Occasional delays can occur. For what brokers read on the record itself, see drivers abstracts for insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Does a speeding conviction from four years ago go on an Ontario insurance application?
The standard Ontario application’s conviction question covers the last 3 years, so a conviction from four years ago falls outside it. If the offence also led to a licence suspension, the separate suspension question reaches back 6 years.
Can insurers see accidents that are not on my drivers abstract?
Yes. Insurers report claims into AutoPlus, a claims database separate from your MTO record, and the application asks about accidents and claims from the last 6 years. Your abstract can show a conviction that came out of a crash, but not the insurance claim.
Will a not-at-fault accident raise my insurance in Ontario?
Not if you were 25 per cent or less at fault. Regulation 664 bars insurers from rating you on those claims (accidents since September 1, 2010) and from weighing not-at-fault claims when deciding to issue, renew or cancel a policy. The application still asks about the accident, because its question covers all accidents or claims.
My demerit points have expired. Is my record clean for insurance?
Not necessarily. Take a ticket from two and a half years ago: its points have expired, but the conviction is still on your 3-year record and still inside the application’s 3-year conviction question.
How many years does AutoPlus go back?
There is no single fixed period. On the report insurers pull, the requesting company chooses how many years come back, and the sample report from CGI, which runs AutoPlus, shows 25 years.
Does an impaired driving conviction count for longer with insurers?
It reaches further back on the application. The conviction question covers 3 years, but a first impaired conviction brings a licence suspension of at least 1 year, and the application asks about suspensions from the last 6 years. MTO keeps Criminal Code driving convictions on your record for at least 10 years.
Does the insurance application ask about other drivers on my policy?
Yes. The standard Ontario application asks about convictions for you and every listed driver from the last 3 years, and accidents or claims involving any of them from the last 6 years. Its suspension question covers any licence or vehicle permit in the household.
How fast can I get my driving record before a quote?
Order your 3-year Ontario driver record online for $39.99. The form takes about a minute and the PDF arrives by email instantly after payment. Occasional delays can occur.
Sources: Insurance questions and their 3-year and 6-year periods: the Ontario Application for Automobile Insurance, Owner’s Form (OAF 1). Fault, not-at-fault and minor accident rules: Regulation 664 (Automobile Insurance) under the Insurance Act, ss. 5 and 16. Premium factors and high-risk drivers: consumer guidance from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). AutoPlus contents and report years: CGI’s AutoPlus report guides. Demerit point timing: Ontario Regulation 339/94 (Demerit Point System). Paying a ticket as a conviction: Provincial Offences Act, s. 8. Criminal Code licence suspensions: Highway Traffic Act, s. 41. Record contents: the Ministry of Transportation’s description of the 3-year driver record and the MTO Driver’s Handbook.