A southern Ontario resident who misrepresented his place of residence in northern Ontario to obtain a discount on car insurance has been instructed by the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal to reimburse the benefits he received.
The individual, residing in North York, falsely asserted to the insurance company that he lived in Thunder Bay, resulting in a reduced annual insurance rate of $2,810.38 — a 23% reduction compared to rates in southern Ontario.
To support his deception, the man submitted a counterfeit bank statement with the Thunder Bay address and a fabricated lease agreement for a Thunder Bay residence. Despite claiming to have leased an apartment from a woman in Thunder Bay, she refuted this assertion in a sworn affidavit, stating that she only consented to the use of her address for mail purposes and had not leased her apartment to him at any point.
Furthermore, the individual filed for accident benefits following an alleged collision on January 20, 2020, and received $2,315. Subsequently, the insurance company launched an investigation after further benefits were denied. Although the man withdrew his claim during legal proceedings, suspicions regarding the validity of his residency arose.
While the tribunal did not find evidence to support the insurance company’s claim that the accident was staged, it deemed the submission of a fraudulent address sufficient to invalidate his claim for benefits. Consequently, the tribunal ruled in favor of the insurance company, ordering the individual to repay the $2,315 in benefits received.