How you report property damage from a collision is changing in Alberta
The Alberta government announced on Thursday it is increasing the threshold in which one must report property damage after a collision to $5,000 from $2,000.
The province says the change, effective January 1, was done to “better reflect current vehicle repair costs,” and drivers will not have to report property damage from a collision to law enforcement unless the cost of the damage is more than $5,000.
The new $5,000 threshold was a carefully chosen figure to reduce reporting minor collisions while also making it difficult for fraudulent resales of damaged vehicles, the province stated in a news release.
Collisions resulting in injuries and fatalities will continue to be reported regardless of the estimated cost of property damage repairs.
Future increases to the collision reporting threshold will be adjusted for inflation based on annual calculations using the Statistics Canada consumer price index.
The carrier collision reporting threshold will also be increased to match the collision reporting threshold of $5,000.
In 2021, there were 89,976 property damage-only collisions reported by law enforcement, and on average, about 90% of all collisions only involve property damage.
Data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada shows that in 2022, the average property damage collision claim in Alberta was $6,756.
Alberta last increased its property damage collision reporting threshold to $2,000 from $1,000 on January 1, 2011, and implemented the commercial carrier reporting threshold ($1,000) in 2009.