Definity, Economical, and whose name is on your policy
If your documents say Economical, you are in the right place — Economical policies now sit within Definity, the company formed when Economical demutualized, and claims run through the same organization either way. Most of these policies are sold through independent brokers, so your broker can take the first call and confirm which coverages respond, while the claim itself is handled by an assigned adjuster.
File with the usual kit: date, time, and precise location, the other driver’s plate and insurance details, photos from the scene, and a Collision Reporting Centre number if injuries or the $5,000 combined-damage threshold put you there. Name the shop at the same time — Collision Auto Center, in the Keele and Sheppard area of North York. We hold no affiliation, endorsement, or repair-program membership with Definity or Economical; their names appear here only because this is what drivers search for after a crash.
A leased or financed car raises the stakes
When a lender or leasing company is on the vehicle, mention the lienholder as you file — they are listed on the policy and will usually appear on the repair payment. The lender expects the car returned or resold in pre-accident condition, and lease-end inspections notice mismatched colour and misaligned panels years after everyone else has stopped looking.
That is precisely why choosing the shop yourself matters on these vehicles. An insurance company’s cost target and your lease-end bill are not the same objective. Ontario law leaves the decision with you regardless of who financed the car: no insurance company can require a particular facility or pay less because you chose your own, and a recommendation list is never a condition of coverage.
What the repair needs to survive a lease inspection
It needs the right parts and a finish nobody can find. No Ontario rule forces OEM parts onto an estimate — insurance companies may write for like kind and quality — but you can request OEM and pay any difference, and we write OEM part numbers first with documented reasons on anything structural or sensor-bearing. On a leased vehicle that paper trail is worth real money at turn-in.
It also needs measurement. When an impact reached the structure, the vehicle goes on the bench and is measured against manufacturer specification before and after any correction, with the readings saved to your file. The refinish is colour-matched by reading your actual paint, blended into the neighbouring panels, and covered by our lifetime paint and refinish warranty, with a parts-and-installation warranty on the replacements.
- Lienholder flagged at filing so the payment clears smoothly
- OEM parts written first, with the justification attached
- Structural measurement to factory specification, recorded both ways
- Sensors and cameras transferred, refitted, and function-checked
- Full line-item invoice and photo file handed over at delivery
Supplements, in the open
First estimates are written from what was visible, so they regularly miss what teardown finds. The supplement is the formal correction: added parts and operations, filed with photographs of the damage in place and the part numbers required. We file it, track it, and keep the authorized work moving while the added lines are reviewed — a pending item should cost hours, not days.
You are told what was added and why at the time we file it, rather than discovering it on a final bill, and if a line is denied we ask for the decision in writing along with the reasoning. Documented positions get resolved. Your policy terms govern coverage; what the repair requires is a technical question, and manufacturer procedures answer it better than a cost target does.
