Opening the claim
Report the collision once everyone is safe and information has been exchanged. If anyone was hurt, or the combined damage looks like it could pass $5,000, the crash also has to be reported to police or a Collision Reporting Centre — in most of Toronto that means driving or towing the vehicle to a CRC and filing there. Have the date, time, and location, the other driver’s licence and plate details, and a set of damage photos ready before you call the claims line.
When you are asked where the vehicle will be repaired, say Collision Auto Center, off Keele just south of Sheppard in North York. You do not need permission and you do not need to pick from anyone’s list. Collision Auto Center is an independent shop with no affiliation to Intact — the company’s name appears on this page only to describe how a claim of that kind proceeds. Intact is one of the largest home and auto insurance companies in Canada, so a large share of the claims we handle start exactly this way.
A recommended shop is a recommendation, nothing more
Ontario drivers choose their own repair shop. An insurance company can suggest a preferred or direct-repair facility, and adjusters often will, because those networks come with negotiated rates and familiar paperwork. What no insurance company in Ontario can do is require you to use one, or reduce what your policy owes because you went elsewhere. There is no form to fill out and no approval to seek — you name the shop, and the file follows.
A network is a business arrangement between an insurance company and a group of shops. It is not a quality ranking. We stay off those lists deliberately, because the repair plan we write answers to your vehicle manufacturer’s procedures rather than to a volume agreement. If an adjuster hints at delays or warranty problems for going your own way, one calm sentence settles it: the car is going to Collision Auto Center in North York, please send the estimate there.
What happens once the car is here
We open a file, photograph the vehicle as it arrives, and take the damaged area apart before the estimate is finalized. Teardown is where the real repair plan comes from — the crushed brackets, cracked mounts, and bent reinforcements behind a bumper cover are invisible until the cover is off. The adjuster then reviews the car already apart, instead of guessing at an assembled one from photographs.
From that point you deal with the owner, and he deals with the claims file — one person guides your repair start to finish. Structural damage is measured against factory specification, paint is matched by reading the colour off your own vehicle, and the refinish is blended into the neighbouring panels. Paint and refinish work leaves with a lifetime warranty, and replacement parts carry a parts-and-installation warranty.
- Vehicle photographed on arrival and a repair file opened
- Full teardown before the estimate is finalized
- Adjuster reviews the vehicle at our shop, already disassembled
- Structural work measured to factory specification
- Lifetime warranty on the paint and refinish work
DCPD, deductibles, and supplements
Who pays depends on fault, which Ontario assigns under its Fault Determination Rules in steps of 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent. When you are not at fault, your own policy pays for the vehicle damage under Direct Compensation – Property Damage, and in the standard setup no deductible applies to the not-at-fault portion. When you carry some share of fault, your collision coverage picks up that share, with your collision deductible. Since January 1, 2024, drivers can remove DCPD with the OPCF 49 endorsement — if you opted out, there is no coverage for not-at-fault damage, which is worth confirming before you file.
First estimates frequently come up short, because they are written from what was visible. A supplement is the routine fix: we file the missing parts and operations with teardown photographs and part numbers, then track the request while approved work keeps moving. Coverage is always governed by your policy; what the repair needs is a matter of evidence, and evidence is what we send.
