Is it illegal to drive without insurance
- This article is based on a very important topic regarding a No insurance ticket / charges in ontario and whether it is illegal to drive a car without insurance.
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My firm, NextLaw.ca, handles 100’s of clients with No Insurance charges each year. You can only imagine the number of phone calls we get regarding this charge. From all of those call, I have compiled some very important questions and confusion that arises after being charged with No Insurance in Ontario.
The law sees your No Insurance in a very specific way and only need to prove one simple, but major fact
Put simply, the Province ONLY needs to prove that you did not have a valid insurance policy at the time that the officer stopped you at the roadside. It’s that simple. Period. Everything other than that is generally secondary to that burden of proof.
A common question is “If it is illegal, is No Insurance a criminal charge?”
The simple answer is “no”. A Driving without insurance charge falls under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act. It does not fall under the Criminal Code of Canada. It will not affect your ability to get a job, or your work visa, immigration status, etc. In fact, it is generally a major financial fine, starting at $5,000 for a first offence and up to $25,000 or more.
If it’s not a criminal charge, why is it illegal?
There are many different areas or Acts that define laws. The criminal code defines the criminal code. The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act defines the offence of Driving without Insurance. If you are convicted, the offence only shows up on your Driving record, not your criminal record. And generally, the maximum penalty is limited to financial. It is designed to create “general” and “specific” deterrence. This means that the high fines, starting at $5,000 are put in place to deter not only you from commiting this type of offence, but also the general public at large.
So that’s it? There’s nothing I can do? I have to pay $6,250?
Absolutely not! Just because you have been charged with No Insurance, it does not mean that you will be convicted of No Insurance or have a $6,250 fine. The charge is just the beginning of the legal process.
Now it’s time to get some legal advice and proceed carefully. While No Insurance may seem like a “traffic” charge that many people may not take seriously, think more about how you would function if you had to pay $6,250 or more out of your bank account.
Reach out and get free legal advice. A proper law firm (that specializes in No Insurance) may have a strategy and legal course of action that could prevent these huge fines. And best of all, this call is free.