Insurance - Automobile - Be sure about your insurance

FCSA - A new concept : custodian of the vehicle

Changes have been made to the FCSA over the years to improve data quality, ensure greater transparency and promote a better understanding of this valuable rating tool for drivers.
More recently, the rules governing how a claim is attributed were changed. Since April 1, 2009, each claim is attributed to only one person, namely the custodian of the vehicle at the time of accident. The custodian is the person who was at the wheel at the time of the accident or - for a claim with no driver - the person who had charge of the damaged vehicle.
Undeniably, introducing the concept of custodian of the vehicle at the time of accident is a step closer to ensuring that all policyholders are treated fairly. In fact, the change was made to meet the expectations expressed by consumers.
Another major change: the insurer systematically investigates all claims declared to it in order to clearly identify and attribute the claim to the custodian of the vehicle. The investigation also allows the insurer to establish the level of responsibility of an insured involved in an accident, even if the insured does not file a claim.
To ensure transparency, following its investigation the insurer sends a notice to each insured whose vehicle was involved in a claim.
Under certain circumstances, the insurer will also notify the vehicle custodians that the claim is being attributed to them and forwarded to their file at the FCSA.

Under the rules in effect up to March 31, 2009, the same claim could be attributed to two individuals: the driver at the time of the accident and, de facto, the principal driver of the damaged vehicle designated under the policy.
It is important to note that, in more than 85% of cases, the claim was recorded in the file of only one individual, since the driver at the time of the accident was often also the principal driver named in the policy. Therefore, the claim was attributed to only one individual.
In instances where the same claim was attributed to two individuals, the majority of cases involved the two drivers named under the same insurance policy, namely, the principal driver and the driver at the time of the accident (i.e., a spouse or child, etc.).
In most cases, the fact that both individuals were registered in the FCSA in no way penalized the two drivers, since the claim was taken into account only once in setting the premium (since the drivers were named under the same policy). However, for some drivers this constituted an irritant, which is why, starting April 1, 2009, each claim is now attributed to only one individual.