Difference Between Collision and Comprehensive Auto Insurance in Canada

When you buy auto insurance in Canada, the compulsory coverage in most provinces protects other people from the damage you cause. Collision and comprehensive are the coverages that protect your own vehicle, and knowing the difference tells you which one applies to a given loss. The definitions below follow Ontario’s standard owner’s policy (OAP 1); the other private-insurer provinces use very similar wording.

The essential difference

Collision coverage: what it covers in detail

Ontario’s standard policy defines Collision or Upset as losses caused when your vehicle “is involved in a collision with another object or tips over,” where an object includes another automobile attached to yours, the surface of the ground and any object in or on the ground. That covers damage to your own vehicle from:

✔ Your vehicle hitting another vehicle
✔ Your vehicle hitting a stationary object: pole, fence, wall, guardrail, tree
✔ Your vehicle rolling over
✔ Damage from hitting the road surface or an object in it, such as a pothole

In the provinces with direct compensation for property damage (DCPD), including Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, damage caused by another identified driver is paid by your own insurer under DCPD, to the extent you are not at fault. In Ontario, direct compensation for property damage (DCPD) has your own insurer pay for damage to your vehicle and its contents, and for loss of use, to the extent you were not at fault, when the accident happens in Ontario and at least one other vehicle involved is insured by an insurer licensed in Ontario. Since January 1, 2024, Ontario insurers must offer the OPCF 49 agreement, under which a driver agrees not to recover for damage to, or loss of use of, their own vehicle from a collision, even when another driver is at fault; signing it also rules out claims under collision and upset coverage. The full Ontario DCPD and opt-out conditions are on car insurance in Ontario. Collision is what pays for the share you are responsible for, and for a hit and run where no other driver can be identified.

Does NOT cover: ✗ Theft
✗ Weather (hail, windstorm, rising water)
✗ Hitting an animal (generally comprehensive)
✗ Vandalism
✗ Fire
✗ Tire blowouts, mechanical breakdown, rust or wear and tear, with the exception set out in the standard policy exclusions below

How a collision claim works

1. Report the accident to your insurer
2. An adjuster or appraiser assesses the damage and the repair estimate
3. Your deductible applies to the claim; in Ontario, when DCPD also applies, it is the collision deductible multiplied by your percentage of fault
4. The insurer pays the balance of the repair, up to the vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV)
5. If repairs would cost more than the vehicle is worth, it is declared a total loss and settled at ACV minus the deductible; the settlement process is covered in what happens when your car is written off

Comprehensive coverage: what it covers in detail

Ontario’s standard policy defines Comprehensive as losses “other than those covered by Collision or Upset,” including the specified perils, falling or flying objects, missiles and vandalism:

✔ Theft: the vehicle stolen or damaged in an attempted theft
✔ Fire, lightning and explosion
✔ Hail, windstorm and rising water
✔ Earthquake, riot or civil disturbance
✔ Falling or flying objects: a tree branch, ice, a stone that cracks the windshield
✔ Animal strike: hitting a deer, moose or other animal is generally claimed under comprehensive
✔ Vandalism: keying, slashed tires, smashed windows

Does NOT cover: ✗ Collision damage (swerving to avoid a deer and hitting a guardrail is a collision claim)
✗ Mechanical breakdown, rust and wear and tear
✗ Theft by someone who lives in your household, or by an employee whose job includes driving or repairing the car (only all perils covers these)
✗ Personal belongings stolen from inside the vehicle (covered under home or tenant insurance, not auto)

Under Ontario’s standard policy, none of the vehicle damage coverages (collision, comprehensive, specified perils or all perils) pays for:

• damage to tires,
• mechanical fracture or breakdown of any part of the vehicle,
• rusting, corrosion, wear and tear, freezing, or explosion within the engine,
• the contents of the vehicle, other than its equipment,
• a loss while the driver cannot keep proper control of the vehicle because they are under the influence of intoxicating substances,
• a loss while the vehicle is used in a race or speed test, or for illegal activity,
• a loss while the driver is not authorized by law to drive,
• and a loss in an incident for which you are convicted of a listed Criminal Code driving offence, such as dangerous operation or failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

The deer question

Striking a deer or other animal is generally claimed under comprehensive, not collision, even though it happens while you are driving. If you swerve to avoid the animal and hit something else, such as a tree, a fence or another car, that is a collision claim instead. Because the two coverages have separate deductibles, the deductible you choose for comprehensive is the one that applies to a straight animal strike.

Specified perils and all perils

Two other options sit on either side of comprehensive. Specified perils covers only a named list of perils (fire, theft or attempted theft, lightning, windstorm, hail, rising water, earthquake, explosion, riot and a few others), so it leaves out vandalism and falling or flying objects. All perils combines collision and comprehensive in one coverage, and is the only one of the four that also covers theft by a member of your household or by an employee who drives or services the car.

Canada-specific auto insurance context

Auto insurance is provincially regulated in Canada, and four provinces have a government insurer:

Premium comparison: what affects your collision vs. comprehensive rates

Comprehensive often costs less than collision. Quebec’s published averages split the two: in 2025 the average comprehensive premium there was $262, against $429 for collision, among vehicles carrying each coverage (Groupement des assureurs automobiles).

Do you need collision and comprehensive? (Decision framework)

Compare the premium with the most a claim could pay

The most either coverage can pay on a total loss is the vehicle’s actual cash value minus your deductible. One way to frame the decision is to compare the yearly cost of the coverage with that maximum:

Example (illustrative figures):

• Vehicle ACV: $12,000; deductible $500
• Most a total-loss claim could pay: $11,500
• Annual collision and comprehensive premium: $900, which is 7.8% of the most it could pay

Example (illustrative figures):

• Vehicle ACV: $4,500; deductible $500
• Most a total-loss claim could pay: $4,000
• Annual collision and comprehensive premium: $750; about 5.3 years of premiums would add up to the most a claim could ever pay

There is no official threshold. The lower the vehicle’s value relative to the premium, the less the coverage can return, and the more it matters whether you could replace or repair the car out of savings.

Lender requirements

If your vehicle is financed or leased, the loan or lease contract usually requires collision and comprehensive for as long as the lender has an interest in the vehicle.

Keeping comprehensive alone

Comprehensive covers theft, fire, weather and animal strikes, none of which depend on how carefully you drive, and it often costs less than collision. Some owners of older vehicles therefore drop collision but keep comprehensive.

Claim history and premiums

Filing a claim can raise your premium at renewal. At-fault collision claims generally have the largest effect; many insurers treat comprehensive claims such as glass or hail differently, and accident forgiveness can protect a first at-fault claim. How much a claim adds, and for how long, varies by insurer and province, so ask your insurer before deciding whether to claim a small loss.

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