If you believe that the City has been negligent in its maintenance of City facilities, roads, trees and sewers, which has caused bodily injury or damage to your property, you can file a claim against the City of Toronto.

1. What you should consider when making a claim
2. What is the difference between making a claim through my insurance company and making a claim against the City?
3. What is negligence?
4. How to file an insurance claim against the City

1. What you should consider when making a claim

Any damage to your property can be upsetting and disruptive; however, it's important to know that the City of Toronto is not your insurer.

If you have auto or property insurance, we suggest you consult your insurance company or broker first, for advice on how to deal with your loss. Your insurance coverage may be more extensive than what you can recover from the City.

If your insurer believes the City is responsible for your damages they may seek compensation against the City on your behalf.

2. What is the difference between making a claim through my insurance company and making a claim against the City of Toronto?

• Making a claim through your insurance company means that you are taking advantage of your insurance coverage for your personal assets according to your insurance policy.


• Making a claim against the City of Toronto is a third-party liability claim, which means you believe that the City has been negligent in its maintenance of facilities, roads, trees and sewers, causing bodily injury and/or damage to your property, and you are seeking compensation.



• What you should know about going through your insurance:


• Your insurance coverage is generally more extensive than what you may recover from the City through a third party liability claim.
• Often your insurance company will pay for your loss up front, regardless of who is responsible for your damage. This may, however, result in higher premiums in the future.


• What you should know about making a claim against the City of Toronto:


• Third party liability claims will take more time as an investigation will be conducted by the City's adjusters to determine if the City was negligent, causing damage.
• Payment from the City is not guaranteed.
• If the City is found to be negligent, the amount that you would receive in compensation is limited to its current value, not its replacement value.

3. What is negligence?

The City has an obligation to maintain its infrastructure. In doing so, it must exercise a reasonable standard of care. The City may be found negligent if it fails to meet the appropriate standard of care, and that failure results in damage or injury to the public.

If you choose to submit a claim against the City, it is important to outline why you believe the City is responsible for your accident and provide proof of your damages. The City will conduct an investigation to determine if it met its maintenance obligations.

If the City did not exercise a reasonable standard of care, the City may be found to be negligent. In that circumstance, the City will attempt to resolve your claim. Any compensation paid to you will be based on proof of damage that has arisen as a result of the City's negligence. If the City did exercise a reasonable standard of care, your claim will be denied.

4. How to file an insurance claim against the City

For additional information pertaining to your specific claim type please click on its photo below.

For Potholes	For Floods
For Fallen Trees and Branches	For Other Claims

Complaint Process

Insurance and Risk Management (IRM) has a complaint process available to the public.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction related to a City of Toronto program, service, staff member or the City's insurance adjusters, Granite Claims Solutions; where a customer believes that the City or its staff has not provided a service experience to the customer's satisfaction at the point of service delivery, and a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.

A Complaint can be about one or more of the following:

• Timeliness of Service
• Quality of Service
• Agents (City's Insurance Adjusters, Granite Claims Solutions)
• Staff
• Access to Service

A complaint process involves the following steps:

1. Customer Initiates Contact
2. Informal Resolution
3. Log
4. Assess
5. Investigate
6. Resolve

1. Customer Initiates Contact

• Verbal complaints are made by telephone to our General Inquiry line at (416) 397-4212.
• Written complaints may be made by filling in a complaint form and submitting it by mail, fax or e-mail:
  
  
  • By Mail:
    Corporate Finance Division
    Insurance & Risk Management - Claims Complaint
    5th Floor, East Tower, City Hall
    100 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2
  
  
  • By Fax:
    416-397-4555
    
    
  • By e-mail:
    irmcomplaints@toronto.ca

Your complaint should include the following:

• Contact details of the complainant
• Summary of the complaint (details, location, staff involved, resolution requested, enclosures, date complaint submitted)
• Type of the complaint
• Desired outcome

We will endeavour to resolve your complaint within 14 days of receipt.

2. Informal Resolution

3. Log

4. Assess

• Confirm the complaint is not an enquiry, feedback, a suggestion, or a comment;
• Check to see if there are any previous complaints from this complainant or about the issue(s) concerned;
• If necessary, contact the complainant to clarify the complaint and capture any missing required details;
• Categorize and prioritize the complaint; and
• Ensure complaint information is complete for the investigation.

Staff will outline the steps that will be taken to settle the matter and the estimated investigation duration.

5. Assess

Internal Review
Staff will determine what has happened and identify appropriate action to resolve the complaint (if possible) and summarize findings. If the complainant is not satisfied, staff will escalate the complaint to their immediate supervisor. If necessary, the complaint will be escalated to the Manager.

External Review
Internal review of complaints may not always result in resolution, and a complainant may seek external review. External review can take a number of forms:

• External investigation agencies - There are a number of accountability/complaint bodies that receive and investigate complaints from the public and public sector agencies about the conduct of agencies (e.g., the Office of the Ombudsman at the City of Toronto).
• Alternative dispute resolution - A professional mediator, through a formal face-to-face process of discussion, helps the parties to clarify issues and reach a solution agreeable to both sides.
• Other appeal mechanisms - Where rights of appeal to outside tribunals or other legal remedies exist, dissatisfied complainants should be advised of these avenues of redress after all others have been exhausted.

6. Resolve

If the resolution is accepted by the complainant, the complaint is closed.

Claims Disclosure

In October 2005, Toronto City Council adopted a recommendation to disclose information about insurance claims related to the City of Toronto.

The City of Toronto's reports on property, automobile and general liability insurance claims provides Toronto residents with a better understanding of the financial impact insurance claims have on the City.

• Reports

March 2011 March 2010 February 2009 May 2006 October 2005