Why your auto policy doesn't show coverage limits

The three kinds of "limit" on one page

Liability: the one real limit

Third-party liability is the coverage that pays when you injure someone or damage their property. It has a genuine dollar ceiling, and it's the biggest decision on the page. Every province sets a legal minimum — most are $200,000 ($50,000 in Quebec's split system) — but almost nobody carries the minimum, because a serious injury claim clears it easily. $1,000,000 is the common choice; $2,000,000 costs surprisingly little more. If your declarations page shows a limit smaller than that, that's worth a conversation with your broker this week.

Your vehicle: covered to "actual cash value," so no limit is printed

Collision and comprehensive don't list a limit because the maximum payout is defined by the thing itself: your vehicle's actual cash value — what it was worth the moment before the loss, depreciation included. The insurer can't owe you more than the car; printing a limit would be redundant.

That's why the only numbers on those rows are the deductible (your share of any claim) and the premium. It's also why collision on an aging car eventually stops making sense — you're paying to insure a shrinking number. Run yours through the deductible optimizer if you're not sure.

DC-PD (direct compensation – property damage) works the same way: your own insurer pays for your vehicle when another driver is at fault, up to actual cash value.

Accident benefits: the limits live in provincial law

Accident benefits — medical care, rehab, income replacement after a crash, regardless of fault — are the strangest row for most people, because the amounts genuinely aren't on your policy. Each province writes them into regulation, your policy incorporates that schedule by reference, and the declarations page often just says "accident benefits — standard."

The amounts vary a lot by province: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec run public no-fault systems with their own benefit structures, while provinces like Ontario and Alberta set statutory benefit schedules that private insurers must provide — with optional increased benefits you can buy on top. Those optional top-ups do appear on your declarations page, which is the one time this row shows real numbers. Check your province's page in our provincial auto insurance guide for how your system works.

So what are those small dollar figures?

Almost always: premiums. Declarations pages print a premium column beside the coverage list — what each coverage costs you per term. A $642 beside "Third-Party Liability $2,000,000" is the price of the coverage, not the coverage. It's an easy misread, and it matters, because mistaking a premium for a limit makes good coverage look catastrophically thin.

Reading your dec page in 60 seconds

1. Liability: find the real limit. Under $1M? Ask why.
2. Collision/comprehensive: ignore the missing limits — note your deductibles and decide if they still fit the car's value.
3. Accident benefits: standard or increased? If the row is bare, you have your province's statutory floor.
4. Endorsement forms (OPCF 20, OPCF 44R, SEF 44…): these numbered add-ons change the rows above — rental coverage, family protection, depreciation waivers. Worth knowing which ones you have.
5. Everything else beside a coverage is likely a premium.

The Beast Policy Organizer now handles this for you: drop your declarations and rider pages into the document import and it files limits, deductibles, and premiums into the right boxes — with the no-limit coverages explained instead of left blank.

Educational content, not advice. Confirm details against your policy wording and your province's current rules.