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Provincial governments mandate that you carry certain types and amounts of insurance coverage. These vary from province to province. Contact your insurance representative for detailed information about the minimum coverages that you must have.

Generally speaking, there are two types of mandatory auto insurance coverage: Accident Benefits and Third-Party Liability.

Accident Benefits coverage pays for medical treatment, income replacement and other benefits to help you heal if you are injured in a collision. Accident benefits are also called �no-fault benefits,� which means they are paid to you by your own insurer regardless of who caused the collision. Accident Benefits coverage is mandatory in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador.

The other mandatory coverage is Third-Party Liability. In most provinces, the person who did not cause the collision has the right to sue the at-fault driver for additional costs and damages not covered by Accident Benefits. Third-Party Liability covers you for the legal costs of being sued if you are the at-fault driver.

Three provinces � Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec (all with government-run auto insurers) � have pure no-fault systems, which means there is no right to sue. Ontario has a hybrid (mixed) system, with a generous set of accident benefits plus the right to sue for additional compensation for economic loss, if your injuries are recognized as permanent and serious.