ABC's of Insurance > How Rates are Determined
Qualifying For a Merit Discount
To qualify for a merit discount, you'll need all of the following:
- At
least one year of claim-free driving.
When your claim record on your anchor
date shows that you haven’t had
any 50% or more at-fault accidents
during the
past year, you’re entitled to
a merit discount. How much
of a discount
depends on the number of years you’ve
been claim-free. If you have at least six years of no at-fault
accidents, you
can have one at-fault accident and still qualify for a merit discount. However, you will have to pay a one-time
surcharge on your driver’s licence of
$200.
Note: You will be moved into Driver Safety Rating 60 days prior to your anniversary day. If an at-fault accident goes on your record 61 or more days before your anniversary day, a one-time charge for extra premium will go on your driver’s licence. If the at-fault accident goes on your record within 60 days of your anniversary day, your Driver Safety Rating will drop five levels for the following year.
- At
least one merit on your valid Manitoba
driver’s
licence. You need at least one merit
on your Manitoba driver’s licence
when you apply for Autopac insurance to be
eligible
for a merit discount.
- No convictions for a major offence during the previous 2-year period before your anchor date. (A reprimand means a conviction.)
Note:
- A reprimand is a conviction.
- A discharge under the Criminal Code of Canada for certain driving related offences may be treated as a conviction under the Highway Traffic Act.
Merit Discount Levels
Discount chart for a safe driving record
and no at-fault accident claims
| No at-fault claims for 1 year before your policy starts: | 5% discount |
| No at-fault claims for 2 years before your policy starts: | 10% discount |
| No at-fault claims for 3 years before your policy starts: | 15% discount |
| No at-fault claims for 4 years before your policy starts: | 20% discount |
| No at-fault claims for 5 years before your policy starts: | 25% discount |
An at-fault accident is one for which you're found 50% or more responsible.
When you're eligible for a merit discount on your basic Autopac insurance, you'll also get a discount for:
- lower Autopac deductibles
- higher third party liability limits
- Auto Loss of Use
- New Car Protection
- Leased Car Protection
Anchor date: The anchor date for your policy is the day on which we assess your driving record to determine whether you'll get a merit discount. We consider any at-fault claims, driving convictions, demerit assessments, and other events that occur on or before your anchor date.
- For annual renewals, the anchor date is the day before your anniversary day.
- For new policies and policies renewed more than 30 days after expiry, the anchor date is the day before the policy starts.
Anniversary day: For individuals, your personal anniversary day is four months after your birthday. You can start your annual Autopac coverage any time during the year but it'll always expire at 11:59 p.m. on the day before your anniversary day. For example, if your birthday is May 12th, your Autopac policy will expire at 11:59 p.m. on September 11th.
NOTE: Corporate customers, including corporations, government bodies, registered charities and school districts can choose the first day of any calendar month for their anniversary day.
Timing of merit discounts: Qualifying for a merit discount depends on your driving history on your anchor date. If you had no merits on your anchor date but received one part way through your insurance year, you wouldn’t qualify for a merit discount until your next Autopac renewal date (your anniversary day).
Similarly,we won’t take back your merit discount if you lose your merit part way through the year. Instead, You’d lose your merit discount the next time you renew your insurance—on your next anniversary day—or when you buy insurance for a new vehicle during the year.
Sometimes we have to rely on information that isn’t up-to-date to determine whether you qualify for a merit discount. This happens when we haven’t yet received the information we need from the courts, our Claims Division, or another province, territory or state. If we credited you with a discount incorrectly, we’ll bill you for the difference between the amount you should’ve paid and the amount you actually paid. If we didn’t give you a discount when we should have, we’ll send you a refund.
How much your driver’s licence costs - Basic insurance on every Manitoba driver’s licence
We charge a basic insurance premium on every Manitoba driver’s licence. Collecting this premium ensures that all Manitoba drivers share the risk of accidents. It also provides drivers with $200,000 third party liability coverage if they’re in an accident while driving an uninsured vehicle—as long as they didn’t own the vehicle and didn’t know it was uninsured.
But your driver’s licence insurance won’t cover you if you’re driving:
- a vehicle owned by the Government of Canada
- a vehicle owned by any government’s fire department
- a commercial truck with a gross vehicle weight of 5,499 kg driven more than 161 km (100 miles) outside Manitoba
- a public service vehicle driven more than 161 km (100 miles) outside Manitoba.
How to get a merit discount on your driver’s licence
You need:
- at least one merit on your Manitoba driver’s licence
- no at-fault accidents in the year before your most recent anniversary date
- no major convictions in the two years before your most recent anniversary date.
You get a $5 discount on your driver’s licence renewal for each merit. The maximum discount is $25 for five merits. You can earn one merit for each two years that you’re free of convictions and free of accidents that were 50% or more your fault (as long as your driver’s licence is active).
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