Ontario driver shocked after being told stolen vehicle won't be covered by insurance

An Ontario roofer who had his truck stolen out of his driveway two months ago was shocked when his insurance company said they wouldn’t cover the costs of a rental car.

Mississauga resident Damir Pogarcic called the initial theft “sad and scary,” but was relieved that his family was safe and that he had insurance.

Shortly after the theft, Pogarcic filed a claim with his insurance company, Aviva Canada, to replace his truck, a 2020 Ford F-150.

Pogarcic said he uses the truck to drive to customer's homes to give them quotes for roofing jobs.

"I do sales for the roofing business. I go and give prices and that's it,” he said Wednesday.

Pogarcic says he was originally given another truck as a rental, but when the insurance company found out the vehicle was being used for work, they halted payments on his rental and his case was immediately put under review.

His wife Alenka Pogarcic said she was under the impression their insurance policy did provide coverage because the policy contains the wording “vehicle used for business or business and pleasure.”

She wants Aviva to settle the claim and pay for their rental and replace their stolen pick-up truck.

“I'm saying that the vehicle needs to be paid off and replaced. It wasn't stolen on a construction site, it was stolen from our property. We have paid high insurance premiums and now we need them to pay us what we deserve,” Alenka said.

If you do use your vehicle for business purposes depending on your policy you may need to pay for additional commercial insurance and, if you don’t, an insurance company could deny your claim.

CTV News reached out to Aviva Canada and a spokesperson said “We are in the process of working with Mr. Damir Pogarcic on his claim and we do not discuss personal details of our customers’ insurance policies.”

“By way of a general comment, customers should be aware that insurance coverage for private vehicles are different from insurance coverage for commercial vehicles,” they said.

“It is important for customers to let their insurance advisors know how they are using their vehicles to ensure they have the correct coverage needed to be protected.”

The Pogarcic family is hopeful their case will be settled soon, but in the meantime, they are having to cover the cost of the rental, insurance payments and loan payments on the stolen truck.

"I have to go to work. I’m the only one making money for this family and I have two kids. I want to solve this problem and continue life,” Pogarcic said.

Drivers who use their vehicles for business purposes to make deliveries, for ride-sharing platforms, or for sales or marketing should know that they may require additional insurance.

Without it, they could have their claim denied if they're in an accident or their vehicle is stolen.