Do Parking Tickets Affect Insurance Rates In Canada?

It’s not fun to return to your car and see a parking ticket waiting for you on your windshield. And depending on the type of ticket you’re being slapped with, you could be looking at hefty fines. But more importantly, will a parking ticket impact your car insurance rates?

The good news is that, while parking tickets are annoying and potentially expensive, they typically won’t make your insurance premiums increase. 

Let’s dig into parking tickets a little deeper in terms of how they relate to your car insurance policy.

Types Of Parking Tickets

There are several types of parking tickets that parking enforcement officers can charge you with, including the following:

• Parking in a no-parking zone
• Parking in a disabled/accessible spot without a valid permit
• Parking in a no-stopping zone
• Parking in front of a fire hydrant
• Leaving your car parked in a spot after the meter/time expired

Can Parking Tickets Affect Your Insurance?

Thankfully, parking tickets have no effect on your auto insurance policy rate. While you’ll have to dish out a few dollars to pay for your ticket, you won’t have to pay any more for your policy because of them. Your rates won’t go up regardless of how many parking tickets you accumulate, as they are not classified the same way as a traffic ticket is. 

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How Much Does A Parking Ticket Cost? 

The cost of a parking ticket varies depending on where you are. Here is a list of various locations across Canada and the average cost of a parking ticket you could pay if you’re ticketed.

Can Unpaid Parking Tickets Affect Your Insurance? 

Even if you don’t pay your parking tickets on time, your insurance rates won’t be affected. But failure to make timely payments could cost you in different ways.

Depending on where you live, you’ll have a certain grace period within which to pay your parking ticket before you’re charged a late fee. In Toronto, for instance, you have 15 days to pay your parking ticket. If you don’t pay by then, you’ll be given 30 days from the ticket date to ask to have the payment due date extended. 

Late fees will continually be added to your bill after every payment time frame until the bill is finally paid. Even though your car insurance premiums might not be impacted by an unpaid parking ticket, you’ll still be paying in different ways. 

Further, unpaid fines that are not dealt with in a timely manner can have an impact on your ability to renew your driver’s license when it expires. 

Check out our list of car insurance discounts to see if you can benefit from any.

Parking Ticket Payment Laws By Province

Each province and the cities within them may have their own rules about late ticket payments and incentives to pay early. Let’s take a closer look at the different laws between provinces in Canada.

Ontario

If you live in Ontario, you have 15 days for the date of ticket issuance to either pay the ticket out of court, make submissions about your penalty (such as the amount you have to pay or when it’s due), or go to court to fight the ticket. 

Quebec

In Quebec, you have 30 days from the date the ticket was issued to pay the fine. Before paying, you’ll need to complete the plea section on the statement. If you want to have the deadline extended, you’ll need to get in touch with the court directly. 

British Columbia (Vancouver)

You have 35 days from the date the ticket was issued to pay your parking ticket in Vancouver. If you pay your ticket within 14 days of receiving it, you can get a 40% discount. 

After 35 days, you’ll be charged with a late payment penalty, and if you wait at least 60 days before paying, your ticket will be sent to collections, which could negatively impact your credit rating.  

Alberta (Calgary)

In Calgary, you have 30 days to pay your ticket before late payment fees are applied. If you pay within 10 days after receiving your ticket, you can save as much as 20%. There are also discounts for tickets paid after 10 days but before 30 days. 

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, the ticket issued will detail the amount of time that you will have to make full payment before late payment charges take effect. You will have the option to make a partial payment for parking tickets if you don’t want to pay all at once. If the ticket isn’t convicted by a court in full yet, you’ll need to pay a summary offence ticket.

If the ticket is paid by the due date specified on the ticket, you won’t need to go to court.

PEI (Charlottetown)

If you get a parking ticket in Charlottetown and pay within 7 days of ticket issuance, you can get $10 knocked off the total. If you pay it within 20 days of ticket issuance, your ticket amount can be reduced by $35. If you don’t pay your ticket by the due date, a summons will be issued and you may be subject to a penalty plus service fees, towing fees, and court costs. 

Manitoba (Winnipeg)

Tickets issued in Winnipeg for parking infractions can range from $70 to as much as $300. The due date for payment will be specified on the ticket. if you pay within 14 days after the ticket has been issued, you may have an early payment option available with a lower fee. 

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What Type Of Traffic Tickets Can Affect My Car Insurance?

While parking tickets don’t affect your car insurance rates, traffic tickets can. More specifically, tickets that involve “moving” violations affect premiums. These can include the following:

• Speeding tickets
• Distracted driving
• Careless driving
• Failure to stop at a stop sign
• Drunk driving
• Stunt driving

Any one of these traffic tickets can result in higher insurance premiums because insurance providers look at convictions for traffic tickets to come up with your insurance premium rate. 

That said, your insurance might not be negatively impacted if you have a clean driving record. Just one single ticket shouldn’t have an effect on your insurance policy, unless it’s a more serious infraction, such as drunk driving or stunt driving. 

Additional Reading

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Final Thoughts

Having to pay for a parking ticket is frustrating, but the good news is that your car insurance premium won’t be impacted by them. As long as you pay the ticket on time or dispute it according to instructions on the back of your ticket, you won’t have to worry about the ticket anymore when all is said and done.