Do winter tires have to be on by a certain date to get the insurance discount? If I’m late, could they deny my claim?

My insurance company gives me a discount for having winter tires. I didn’t know this before, but someone recently told me there is a date the tires have to be on the car by. I usually wait until later in November, when it’s colder (I hadn’t expected the snowstorm this week). If I get into a crash this month before I switch them, could my claim be denied? – Jay, Toronto

If you’re a little late putting on your winter tires, you’re probably not on thin ice with your insurance company – but don’t wait too long, experts say.

“Technically, if you said you have winter tires and you don’t, you’ve broken the contract,” said Anne Marie Thomas, the director of consumer and industry relations with the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). “But if you’ve got your appointment booked and an accident happens while you’re waiting, I can’t see an insurance company refusing coverage.”

Since 2016, Ontario has required insurance companies to provide drivers with a discount of up to 5 per cent if you put on a set of four winter tires (with the mountain snowflake symbol) every winter.

It’s up to the companies to decide when you need to put them on.

Debbie Arnold, a Toronto-based insurance broker, looked at 11 insurance companies and found that six required winter tires to be on by Nov. 1, two by mid-November, one by late November and two by Dec. 1. The discounts ranged from 2 to 5 per cent. Intact, for instance, gives a 3 per cent discount for winter tires and requires them from Dec. 1 to March 31. CAA Insurance requires them from Nov. 20 to April 15 for a 5 per cent discount, Arnold said.

But make sure you read the fine print. The insurers Arnold reviewed won’t give you the discount if you have all-weather tires that stay on all year, even though they have the mountain snowflake, she said.

Ontario is the only province that requires companies to give a discount. In other provinces with private insurance, companies can choose to offer a winter-tire discount – but many don’t, according to brokers we spoke to. Government-run insurance plans in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba don’t offer a winter-tire discount.

Out in the cold?

About half of companies require proof – such as a receipt or installation invoice – when you first apply for the discount, while others take your word for it, Arnold said.

“We may ask for proof of purchase at any time, so be sure to keep your receipts for the purchase and installation of winter tires,” said Qui Trieu, vice-president of national underwriting and fraud strategy with Aviva Canada, which offers a 2 per cent discount in Ontario and Newfoundland.

But Arnold and other brokers we spoke with said they’ve never heard of an insurer denying a claim because tires weren’t on by the company’s deadline.

“We have asked [insurance companies] this question multiple times and they have stated that the claim would not be denied,” said Traci Boland, a London, Ont.-based insurance broker and past chair of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC).

Still, your insurer could cancel the discount and ask you to repay what they’d given you since your last policy renewal, Boland said.

Most companies would consider whether not having winter tires contributed to the crash, said Elliott Silverstein, director of government relations with CAA Insurance.

“If we’re talking like mid-February and somebody hasn’t [put on winter tires yet] and there’s an egregious issue, that’s a different conversation,” he said.

But, typically, companies would only consider denying a claim if you have broken the law or committed fraud, IBC’s Thomas said, adding that if your claim is denied, you can sue your insurance company.

“If you were blatantly lying – say, claiming you had winter tires when you didn’t – that would be different,” Thomas said.

In Quebec, which requires winter tires on all cars from Dec. 1 to March 15, you would be breaking the law if your winter tires weren’t on then, she said.

Discount ‘just a little nudge’

Typically, the discount isn’t nearly enough to buy a set of tires – or even just one winter tire, Arnold said.

“I did a quote yesterday, and the [winter tire discount] was $55 a year on a $3,600 policy,” she said.

That may not be enough to cover the cost of switching tires twice a year.

“The winter-tire discount is really just a little nudge for you to go out and get winter tires,” Thomas said. “The real benefit [to your insurance company] is your ability to stop or control the vehicle.”

It’s a good idea to get your winter tires installed by the time temperatures drop below 7 degrees Celsius, even if that’s sooner than your insurance company’s deadline, CAA’s Silverstein said.

“It’s not just the snow that we focus on, it’s the cooler temperatures,” he said, adding that cars with winter tires typically see fewer winter crashes. But even with winter tires, drivers need to remember that the posted speed limit can still be too fast for winter conditions.

“We’ve all seen cars zip by on a highway in the middle of a snowstorm and then a kilometre later, we see them in the ditch,” Silverstein said.

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