Private vs Commercial Car insurance, ON

by Dieter S
(Port Elgin, ON, Canada)

Hi, I am operating a Carpet Cleaning business from my home. My activities are both at home and with customers. I am driving a 2011 Ford Edge which is currently insured with "The Personal" insurance as privately used car. The ratio of using the car private/business is about 50/50. There is no firm installed equipment in the car, everything is portable. In order to increase my market presence, I am intend to put signage on my car. The confusion now with me is that I don't really know whether I have to use a commercial insurance or can the private insurance do the job. I had been asked by my current insurer, whether I have signage on my car or not as an criteria to determine the right insurance. However, I saw cars in Ontario, driving with a blue on white car registration and having signage on.
So, I hope my story is not to confusional, but I need to know which kind of insurance do I need.
The second question I may ad: I had an accident in Oct.2010 where the situation was that I said the car drove in to my back and the other driver said I reversed. The witness of my wife was not counted. My insurance adviced me wrongly and I have now an "at fault" report on my history. Is there anything I can do to change that?
Kind regards
Dieter S

Commercial or Personal Insurance

Hi Dieter
To answer your first question, you need to be "rated" for business use if you stay on your personal policy. But most insurers will want to put the vehicle on a commercial policy instead. This might not be more expensive, in fact, sometimes it is less for commercial than personal.

I'm not sure what you mean by the blue and white registration? The important thing is fully disclosing your activities to your insurer.

The rating of an accident can be changed. But extremely rarely. So rarely that I am not sure I ever saw it done. It will be a tough battle.

By the way, are your rates too high? Check here:

FREE Auto Insurance Quotes

Other Pages of Interest
car insurance in Ontario Canada
Car Insurance Canada
Car Insurance Quote Canada
Auto Insurance Questions

Or Ask another question at Ontario Auto Insurance Questions and Answers

Note: Keep in mind that insurance licensing, legislation, and policies often vary by province and most certainly by country. Canada Insurance Source is a free information source. So use this site to gain a general understanding of insurance with your own area and situation in mind. This insurance information is general in nature and the policy wordings always take precedence. It is possible that there are errors and omissions in this website and www.canada-insurance-source.com, or its authors, take no responsibility. Make sure you review the "please read" page.