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Car Insurance in Newfoundland and Labrador: Coverage Rules, Moose Collisions and Costs

Updated

Insuring a car in Newfoundland and Labrador means buying from private insurers whose rates are supervised by the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB). Your own insurer pays for damage to your car when someone else causes a crash, accident benefits are optional rather than mandatory, and insurers must offer a winter tire discount. Wildlife is a particular risk here: moose-vehicle collisions are a recognized hazard that the province runs mitigation programs for. For the provincial average premium next to the rest of the country, see our average car insurance by province page; other topics are in the car insurance hub.

The market and the rules

FeatureNewfoundland and Labrador
MarketPrivate and competitive
Rate supervisionBoard of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB)
Insurance regulatorSuperintendent of Insurance
Minimum liability$200,000
Vehicle damage when not at faultDirect compensation from your own insurer, since January 1, 2020
Mandatory coverageMinimum
Third-party liability$200,000
Direct compensation property damageRequired
Uninsured and unidentified automobileRequired

Direct compensation applies to a collision in the province when your vehicle and at least one other vehicle involved are insured. Your insurer pays according to how far you were not at fault under the province’s fault determination rules, and if you disagree with the fault share or the settlement offer, you can sue your own insurer.

Accident benefits are optional

Unlike New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador does not make accident benefits (Section B) mandatory: they are optional coverage that has to be added to the policy. Someone injured in a crash must apply for accident benefits where that coverage is available, so the Declarations Page is the place to check whether a policy includes them.

Since January 1, 2020, pain and suffering awards for bodily injury claims have been subject to a $5,000 deductible, up from $2,500, and someone who intends to sue for a bodily injury has to serve written notice of that intention within 120 days after the accident (the Supreme Court can extend that period).

Moose collisions

Moose-vehicle collisions are a recognized hazard on the island’s highways, and the provincial government funds programs to reduce them. A moose is large enough that a strike can write a vehicle off.

Collision withCoverage that usually pays for your car
A moose or deerComprehensive (or all perils)
Another vehicle, when you are at faultCollision
Another vehicle, when someone else is at faultDirect compensation

Classification can vary by insurer, so the policy wording is worth checking. Without comprehensive, damage from a moose strike is paid out of pocket, which makes it one of the more important optional coverages in the province. The general split between the two physical-damage coverages is explained in collision vs comprehensive insurance, and a moose strike that totals the car is settled as described in what happens when your car is written off.

What drivers pay

The only published average for the province is the General Insurance Statistical Agency’s: about $1,359 per private passenger vehicle in 2024, all coverages combined, up from $1,249 in 2020. Individual premiums spread widely around that figure: newly licensed and young drivers pay the most, an at-fault claim raises the price, and insurers rate each area on its own claims history, so the St. John’s area and rural communities can be priced differently.

Buying coverage

Car insurance is sold both through independent brokers, who quote several insurers at once, and directly by insurers. How the major companies compare is in best car insurance companies in Canada.

The province’s winter tire discount, set by the Automobile Insurance Regulations, works this way:

  • Every insurer must offer a lower rate (a winter tire discount).
  • The vehicle is insured as a private passenger vehicle.
  • The vehicle is equipped with winter tires.
  • The policy was issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2020.
  • Each insurer sets the amount of the discount.
  • The discount is applied when the policy renews.

Other ways to reduce the cost are in our guide to lowering a car insurance premium, and new drivers’ options are in car insurance for new drivers.

Claims and disputes

After a crash, call 911 if anyone is hurt, report to your insurer as soon as possible and file a police report where required. A dispute your insurer does not resolve can go to an outside review service. The General Insurance OmbudService (GIO) is free to consumers and can review a home, car or business insurance complaint against an insurer that subscribes to it, once the insurer has issued its final position letter; it does not handle the cost of insurance and rates, the availability of insurance, dispute procedures set by law or a regulator, or matters that are or have been before the courts, and its recommendations are not binding. The province’s insurance regulator, the Superintendent of Insurance, oversees insurers.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 25, 2026 and October 5, 2026. How we check facts.