In the past my buddy has had this happen.

He wrecked the car, he ran a stop sign. The co. covered it. BUT...... he now pays a ridiculous amount for insurance. So much so both cars are in his wifes name..

On a little side note.... I grew up with a guy.. 3 days age difference... he totaled a Ferrari Testorosa...He then paid 3 thousand dollars a year for basic liablility on a 72 buick skylark. Talk about bend over.

My experiences have been a lot different. My insurance company:
1) Sent me to a way over priced shop so that the cost of repairs would well exceed the value of the car.
2) Undercut the true value by about $1000.
3) Argued with us and eventually gave us a check for about $500 less then what I thought the car was worth at a minimum.

and when we went through the person at fault'* insurance company the next time:
1) Adjuster was there the next day
2) We got a rental for a full size luxury car, no charge.
3) Sent a check within 7days for what the car was worth + extra for the tires and brakes we had just had installed
4) Payed for rental car until 7 days after the check arrived.

The 2nd insurance company was a business insurance company for an engineering firm.

Thats why i like my insurance company... No questions asked Full replacement value...
If my car were to be stolen or written off I go shopping to replace the car not what its worth but what its worth to replace.

this incident has made me call and double check a few things lol

All I can say is that it depends on the company and on the location. I don't know other companies or how Canadian insurance works. Like previously mentioned the company I work for has paid for claims we didn't owe. I fought with them to try and stop them from paying because the insured lied and was committing fraud. My company had already accepted liabillity and paid.

As a rule with my company a claim is chargeable if the payout is over $750. They can either remove any accident free discounts and/or surcharge based on dollar amount and claim frequency. If an insured has had a clean record for the past 9 years they will forgive an accident.

My son'* last accident was a doozy and they removed his discount and surcharged him 5% so he pays roughly $660 every 6 months but has high liablility limits and low deductibles. He'* 23 now and has an 04 gp.

You really need to read your policy to see what is excluded.

as mentioned above i've had more than my share of experience with ontario insurance companies. the only things they will not cover you for is if you were charged with dui or were running from the cops. otherwise you're covered. if it deemed your fault, you will have to pay your deductible whether the car is repairable or totalled. if its totalled you'll want to get as much documentation as you can to show the actual value of the car as most companies will lowball you. if you have rental coverage they will give you another car for usually about a 10 day period or until you settle on a total loss. and yeah, if you get charged with careless or dangerous driving, be prepared for a big price hike next renewal. you said you have had no claims so the shouldn't cancel you.

on a personal note being from peterborough i've had some experience ( in my younger days of course!) with the belleville cops. i can't remember if trenton has their own force or not. i hope for your sake they do as the belleville boys are one of the nastiest forces i've ever had to deal with.

finally, just sorry to hear about the accident. as i remember you have a fairly new car and no matter who'* at fault, it hurts like hell when they get hit.

best of luck
bil