Everything you need to know about insuring ATVs

Mandatory civil liability insurance

As the owner of a snowmobile or ATV, you must have at least $500,000 in civil liability insurance for the bodily injury and property damage you may cause to others with your snowmobile or ATV. Under the Act respecting off-highway vehicles, this coverage is mandatory for all ATVs and snowmobiles, whether the vehicle is on a trail or not. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in a fine ranging from $375 to $750.

What is the purpose of civil liability insurance?

Quebec’s public automobile insurance plan (administered by the SAAQ) does not provide any compensation for injury or death resulting from an accident involving a snowmobile or other off-road vehicle, except in a few very specific cases – for example, if the accident involves a car or any other vehicle traveling on a public road. In most cases, therefore, it is your insurer that would cover injuries to others caused by your vehicle and for which you were held liable.

Civil liability insurance therefore covers you as the vehicle owner (as well as anyone operating your snowmobile or ATV) for bodily injury caused to others who are not covered by the SAAQ. That’s why it’s advisable to carry $1 million in civil liability insurance. This protection covers:

• Property damage and bodily injury to others for any accident for which you were responsible in Quebec or outside of Quebec; in the event of a claim, it is therefore important to have sufficient civil liability insurance.
• Damage caused to your snowmobile or ATV during a collision in Quebec for which you were not responsible.

An attractive option: purchasing liability insurance together with your trail pass

To take your snowmobile or ATV out on an approved trail, you must first have a trail pass (sticker). In this regard, you should know that:

• As the official insurer of both the Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec (FCMQ) and the Fédération québécoise des Clubs Quads (FQCQ), Intact Insurance offers members of these two federations civil liability insurance at a preferential rate.
• When you purchase a trail pass for your snowmobile, you become a member of the FCMQ and automatically receive $1 million in civil liability insurance from Intact Insurance. The same $1 million coverage is provided to ATVers when they purchase a trail pass for trails maintained by the FQCQ.
• If you want even more protection and you live in Quebec, you can pay a small additional premium to increase Intact Insurance’s civil liability insurance to $2 million.

Here is an example that demonstrates the advantage of civil liability insurance: while driving on a trail, you collide with another snowmobiler. As a holder of Intact Insurance’s civil liability insurance, you would be covered if you were found responsible for causing injury to a third-party.