Will not wearing my glasses void my auto coverage?
Roughly 75% of Canadians required some sort of vision correction, be it glasses, contacts, or some sort of laser procedure. This includes a wide spectrum of cases, from those who need reading glasses to read a restaurant menu, to those who run the risk of stepping on their glasses if they fall off their head. This means a lot of drivers on the road rely on glasses or contacts to aid their vision and get them from point A to point B. But, how does wearing glasses or contacts affect your auto insurance? Let’s take a look and find out.
Your legal responsibility
As someone who wears glasses or contacts, it is your legal responsibility to ensure you are wearing them while driving. Failing to do so is not only dangerous for yourself, but for everyone else on the road around you. On your government issued drivers licence it will indicate whether or not you legally need glasses or contacts to drive. An X will appear next to the conditions on your licence, and it is your responsibility to ensure that it is actually specified on your ID. If you find that you need glasses before your renewal, you need to inform the MTO and have it added; do likewise if the condition is no longer applicable. Luckily, to add or remove the vision condition does not cost you anything; however, failing to do so could lead to repercussions down the road.
How your insurance is affected
Since your licence indicates whether or not you need glasses or contacts to drive, your insurance provider will also be privy to that information. But, how does your insurer knowing your vision status affect your auto insurance?
While disclosing that you require glasses or contacts while applying for auto insurance coverage will not cause your premiums to rise, you may find yourself paying more down the road if you neglect to use your vision aids. Failing to follow your legally required vision regulations can raise your level of rinks in the eyes of your insurer. This can affect both your coverage and any potential claims.
Claims –If you get into an at-fault accident, and you are not wearing your glasses or contacts, chances are you will not see a payout from your insurance provider. When you agree to your policy with your insurer, you must follow the parameters set by said policy. If it is indicated on your policy that you must wear your glasses or contacts while driving, failure to do so means you violated the terms of your policy. So, if you get into an at-fault accident without your vision aids, your insurer will be within their rights to deny your claim, leaving you with a huge bill to pay out of pocket.
Coverage –In insurance, there are various things you can do that can lead your insurer to void your coverage. This often involves failing to pay, lying to them about things that would affect the risk assessment of your policy, criminal activity, and DUIs. In some cases, an at-fault accident where you were not wearing your glasses or contacts could lead to voided coverage. Situations like this are evaluated on a case by case bases, but if your insurer feels like your failure to wear vision aids while driving makes you too much of a risk, they could void your policy. And, if your insurer decides to keep you on, you will likely see an increase in your premiums.