Let’s be clear: “Parking insurance” is not a standalone insurance product in Ontario. What it means to people is generally stripping a policy down to comprehensive-only coverage while a car sits in storage, which your insurer does through an endorsement called the OPCF 16. Our team reviewed FSRA’s guidance related to this endorsement, along with the standard Ontario Automobile Policy (OAP 1), to answer questions about what the “parking insurance” covers, where the uninsured car can be stored, how much you could save, and how to switch back to full coverage afterward.
What Is Parking Insurance?
In Ontario, “parking insurance” is an unofficial name, not a product name. The actual mechanism is an endorsement to your standard auto policy called OPCF 16 (aka Agreement for Suspension of Coverage). It suspends the parts of the policy that only matter when the car is being driven, while leaving comprehensive coverage in force, so a stored vehicle stays protected against theft, fire, vandalism, and weather events. When you’re ready to drive again, your insurer lifts the suspension with the matching OPCF 17 — Reinstatement of Coverage.
What it Covers
While it’s off the road, your vehicle stays protected against theft, vandalism, and fire under the comprehensive section of a standard Ontario policy.
It also provides coverage for:
- Cracked windshields
- Falling or flying objects
- Civil unrest
- Fire
- Flooding
- Lightning
- Hail
- Windstorm
- Earthquake or explosion
- Damage from falling aircraft parts
If your parked car is damaged from a hit-and-run accident, you’ll only be covered if you have collision or all-perils coverage. Property damage caused by an unidentified driver isn’t picked up by the policy’s uninsured-automobile section either, so without collision or all-perils coverage, a parking-lot hit-and-run comes out of your own pocket.
Does Home Insurance Cover Damage to a Parked Vehicle?
No, home insurance will not cover damage to a vehicle even when it is parked on your property. However, it may cover personal items stolen from your car.
Is Car Parking Insurance Required in Ontario?
No — the OPCF 16 is optional, and no law requires you to keep comprehensive coverage on a stored car. The law cares about something else – whether the car is parked on a public road. Under Ontario’s Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, a vehicle on a public road must be insured and parking at the curb counts. A first conviction for an uninsured vehicle carries a fine of $5,000 to $25,000 plus a 25% victim surcharge.
When Parking Insurance Actually Makes Sense
Suspending your policy down to comprehensive-only is usually worth considering if you:
- Drive a seasonal or classic vehicle
- Drive more than one vehicle and store one or the other for long periods
- Want to avoid gaps in your policies
- Can no longer drive your vehicle because your licence is permanently suspended
How Much Does Parking Insurance Cost?
There’s no posted price list for the OPCF 16. What you pay is whatever’s left of your premium once the driving coverages are suspended, and comprehensive is typically one of the smaller pieces of the bill.
Based on MyChoice’s Ontario average premium breakdown, the average comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy costs approximately $230 per year, or about $19 per month. By comparison, the average full Ontario car insurance policy costs $2,132 per year.
That does not mean every driver will pay exactly $230 for parking insurance. Insurers may apply minimum premiums, administrative charges, endorsements, and different comprehensive rates based on the vehicle and where it is stored.
Insurance companies will calculate your premiums according to the following factors:
Parking insurance is usually much cheaper than full auto coverage because it removes liability and collision protection.
How to Switch a Stored Car to Parking Insurance (and Back)
- Call your broker or insurer and ask for the OPCF 16 (Agreement for Suspension of Coverage) on the vehicle you’re storing. It’s an endorsement to your existing policy, not a new product, so there’s nothing to shop for separately.
- Confirm what stays in force. Comprehensive (or specified perils) coverage should remain active so theft, fire, vandalism, and weather damage are still covered while the car sits.
- Ask about minimum storage periods. Many insurers apply the endorsement only if the vehicle is off the road for a sustained period, and the threshold varies by company. We recommend getting it in writing.
- Keep the car on private property (i.e driveway, garage, or storage unit) for the whole suspension period. On a public road, it must carry the mandatory coverages.
- Before driving it again, even briefly, have your insurer add the OPCF 17 (Reinstatement of Coverage). Until that’s done, taking the car out means driving without the mandatory coverages, which is illegal.
What to Do if Your Parked Vehicle Is Damaged Without Insurance
You must cover the repair or replacement costs if your vehicle is damaged and you do not have insurance. You can add comprehensive insurance to your existing auto policy to avoid this in the future.
If your car becomes the victim of a hit-and-run and you don’t have collision insurance, remember to note the following details to present to the authorities:
- The precise location of the incident
- The date and time the incident occurred
- The weather conditions during the incident
- The damage your vehicle incurred (including photos and videos, if possible)
- Any damaged cars nearby, including the vehicle model and plate number
- The contact information of any witnesses
Then report it to police or your local Collision Reporting Centre within 24 hours if the damage looks like it exceeds $2,000 (the reporting threshold under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, s. 199).
Read More: Post-Accident Checklist for Ontario Drivers
Tips for Protecting Your Parked Vehicle
Where and how you store your vehicle is essential to keeping it safe. Consider these tips when storing your car:
- Park your vehicle inside a garage, if possible.
- Use a vehicle cover when parking your car outdoors.
- Remove or secure your valuables from the vehicle.
- Speak to a mechanic about vehicle maintenance if leaving your car in a storage unit long-term.
