As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to evolve, Manitoba Public Insurance is committed to serving Manitobans while doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our customers and staff.

In doing our part to help flatten the COVID-19 curve, we are abiding by social/physical distancing guidelines at all of our service centres that are open to the public. In addition, many transactions can now be completed online or over the phone, and we have enabled a majority of our employees to work from home.

Going forward, we will continue to follow the recommendations from Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living.

Should you require assistance during this time, we encourage you to call our Contact Centre at 204-985-7000 or 1-800-665-2410, reach out to your Autopac agent, or explore our online self-service options.

Our service centres

For the safety of our staff and customers we will continue to follow physical distancing guidelines and we ask that all customers please allow for a two-metre (six-foot) distance from other customers and staff. We also ask that all customers who have travelled outside of western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon, Northwest and Nunavut territories) or Northwestern Ontario (defined as west of Terrace Bay) in the last 14 days do not visit our Autopac agents or MPI service centres until their self-isolation period has ended and they are feeling well.

Most payments, including most driver’s licence charges, policy fees, registrations, premiums and overdue amounts can be made online with a credit card or through online banking with your financial institution. (See our Transactions & Payments section below for more details.)

Mandatory mask requirement

In alignment with provincial public health recommendations, masks will be mandatory at all MPI locations for both staff and customers, effective Wednesday, September 9.

Signage will be posted at entrances of all locations to remind customers of this requirement.

All customer-facing employees will also wear masks when interacting with the public – this includes front counter staff and estimators.

Manitoba Pandemic Response System restrictions

As part of the Prairie Mountain Health Region moving to Orange: Restricted on the Manitoba Pandemic Response System, we have made some changes for locations in this region, effective Monday, August 24.

At our Brandon Service Centre, Dauphin Service Centre and Swan River Claim Centre, we will only be allowing 10 people inside at a time. Please wait outside of the building until an MPI employee tells you may enter the building.

Customers visiting these locations, must adhere to the following guidelines:

Follow public health guidance on travel and self-isolation.

Wear a non-medical mask at all times.

Follow physical distancing guidelines and allow for a two-metre (six-foot) distance from other customers and staff.

Have only one family member per household to enter, unless otherwise required for business.

Hours of operation

Effective June 15, MPI service centres have resumed their regular hours. You can find each location’s specific hours of operation here.

Our Contact Centre has also adjusted its hours of operation: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

Reopening locations

Our Dauphin Service Centre and Swan River Claim Centre reopened effective Monday, June 8.

Winnipeg’s Bison Drive Service Centre reopened to customers on June 15.

Our The Pas Claim Centre reopened to customers on Aug. 10.

Temporary closures

Our Main Street Service Centre is closed until further notice as it is currently operating as a drive-thru COVID-19 testing centre.

Last updated: September 15, 2020



Supporting Manitobans through COVID-19

Financial support

Recognizing that many Manitobans have been financially impacted by COVID-19, MPI has worked with the Government of Manitoba to provide rebates to policyholders totalling approximately $110 million from both the Basic and Extension lines of business.

Customers will receive rebates for their insurance costs from last year and also from current year's COVID-19 period. The rebate is expected to be around 11 per cent, or between $140 to $160 per average policyholder.

Rebate cheques have been mailed to all eligible customers. See more information on rebate cheques here.

Last updated: June 11, 2020



Transactions and payments

Temporary phone transactions

Manitobans are now able to conduct many transactions by phone with Autopac agents, including:

New registration and policy application (including the issuing of new licence plates)

Renewal of an expiring/expired driver’s licence (including photo)

Renewal of enhanced identification card (EIC) or enhanced driver’s licence (EDL)

Reapplication of a lapsed driver's licence

Manual reassessment of an active or lapsed driver's licence

Driver's licence replacement

Basic ID card replacement (with no information changes)

Vehicle insurance coverage renewal, reassessment, reactivation, reapplication

Transfer of policy

Mailing and permanent address changes within Manitoba

Cancellations

Payments

Most payments, including most driver’s licence charges, policy fees, registrations, premiums and overdue amounts, can be made online with a credit card or through online banking with your financial institution.

Please note: If you are making a phone or online payment through your financial institution, please use your customer number as your account number during set up.

If you’re unsure of which payment options are available to you, please look at your latest statement.

If you have an Annual Statement of Account, most payments can be made here.

Please note: If you are paying online through Online Services, follow the process below that applies to you:

You have a personal account and a driver’s licence or identification card: You will be required to enter your document number (DD/REF) from your driver’s licence or identification card. This is not your customer number.

You have a personal account but you do not have a driver’s licence or identification card: You will be required to enter your customer number.

You have a corporate account: You will be required to enter your customer number.

If you need help locating your document number (DD/REF) or customer number, examples of where these numbers can be found are provided on Online Services.

If you have a Renewal Notice (that says you are required to visit in person and/or need to have your photo taken for your driver’s licence, pictured below), call your Autopac agent.

Special services for Class 1 drivers during COVID-19

All Manitobans are grateful for the efforts of professional truck drivers, especially those who travel outside Manitoba to ensure that our province continues to receive critical goods and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recognition of the important role played by Class 1 drivers, we have created special processes for all Class 1 drivers to do business with MPI over the phone and online. This includes making payments, requesting commercial driver abstracts, renewing a driver’s licence, registration or insurance and more.

You can find all the details here.

Last updated: August 11, 2020



Licensing & ID

Driver testing

We have resumed driver testing services for the following classes:

Class 2-6 road tests

We resumed booking new road tests for Classes 2-6 on July 8 with the following changes:

For Winnipeg service centres:

In order to effectively manage the high interest in booking new road tests, available appointment slots for Classes 5 and 6 will be made available every Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. until we are able to work through the appointment backlog. When all the available appointments are filled, new appointments will not be made available until the next Wednesday. Cancelled appointment slots will also not become available until the next release date.

For service centres outside of Winnipeg, including Brandon: As of July 9, we have worked through the backlog of previously scheduled tests for locations outside of Winnipeg and road test appointments will be available as per our usual process throughout the week, based on availability. Please note: Road tests must be booked at your closest location. Winnipeg residents must take their Class 5 road test at a Winnipeg service centre.

Customers are encouraged to book Class 5 and 6 road tests through MPI’s Online Services. To assist customers who either cannot or do not wish to visit an Autopac agent or service centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, MPI is allowing customers to perform certain critical transactions, such as booking driver testing services, over the phone or by email with their Autopac agent. Road tests can also be booked in person at Autopac agents or MPI Service Centres.

Mobile testing: In the coming weeks, we will resume driver testing services at many of our mobile testing locations throughout the province. Find the specific locations here.

Prior to starting a road test for Classes 2-5, customers must:

Maintain physical distancing (minimum of 2 metres/6 feet) when possible.

Provide and wear their own mask (non-medical masks are permitted).

Answer questions to ensure they have not been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing respiratory illness symptoms.

Sanitize all touchpoints in their vehicle.

Prior to starting a road test for Class 6, customers must:

Maintain physical distancing (minimum of 2 metres/6 feet) when possible.

Answer questions to ensure they have not been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing respiratory illness symptoms.

Class 1 road tests

We resumed booking Class 1 road test the week of June 1 with the following changes:

Requiring all customers to wear their own masks (non-medical masks will be permitted), sanitize the inside of their vehicles, and answer questions to ensure they have not been exposed to COVID-19

MPI staff wearing PPE, including masks, gloves and face shields

Cancelling the test immediately if a customer shows any symptoms of a respiratory illness and/or COVID-19 (coughing, etc.) at any time during the pre-test or road test and rebooking for a later time

Knowledge tests (All classes)

We resumed booking new knowledge tests for all licence classes the week of June 1 with the following changes:

Arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment, park in any available parking stall and check in at the front entrance doors if there is a line up

Provide their identification (passport, PR card, birth certificate, etc.) and sanitize their hands

Provide their own pen to complete their paper test

If customers are not able to comply with the outlined requirements for their class or test type, the test will be cancelled immediately and rebooked for a later time.

Detailed requirements can be found on our COVID-19 Driving Tests page.

Enhanced ID interviews

We have cancelled all enhanced ID interview appointments until further notice. Once we are able to resume interviews, customers will be able to re-schedule their appointments.

Driver abstracts

Our regular procedures have resumed.

Last updated: August 10, 2020



Registration & insurance

Personalized licence plates

Our regular procedures have resumed.

Last updated: August 26, 2020



Claims

Vehicle claims

We have made adjustments to our claim and estimating process to ensure the safety of our customers and staff. However, our goal remains to ensure our customers will not be without a vehicle, or in a rental vehicle for a lengthy period after a claim is made. As such, we encourage customers to call in and report any vehicle claims they may have.

Please note the following updates to our processes based on the condition of your vehicle:

Drivable vehicles

If you are making a claim for a vehicle that is still safe to drive, you can continue driving it and have it estimated when we are able to resume regular operations.

However, if you choose to have your drivable vehicle repaired at this time, you can visit any Accredited or Direct Repair shop to have it estimated and repaired.

Photo-based estimating is an option for customers who choose to visit a non-Direct Repair shop. Estimators have been assigned to work with repair shops in creating estimates based on photos.

Non-drivable vehicles

Claims for non-drivable vehicles will follow our existing processes. They are towed to our compound at our Physical Damage Centre to limit social interaction during the process.

As previously announced, all adjusting appointments are now being conducted over the phone, rather than in person.

Should you have any questions about an open claim, please contact your adjuster for the most up-to-date information.

Adjusting appointments

In-person adjusting appointments are being transitioned to be completed over the phone. Adjusters will be contacting impacted customers with appointments directly with more information.

Disinfecting program

We have implemented a new program to allow for the cleaning and disinfecting of vehicles before repairs start, and after repairs are complete. The pre- and post-repair cleaning/sanitization will consist of surfaces frequently touched by a customer, including but not limited to:

exterior/interior door handles

interior door trim panels

consoles

steering wheel

levers attached to the steering column (signals, cruise control)

dash including radio/climate controls

seatbelt buckles

hood latch and releases

Last updated: May 1, 2020



Salvage

All in-person salvage viewing and auctions at MPI's Physical Damage Centre, located at 1981 Plessis Road, are temporarily suspended. Auctions will now be held in an online format until further notice.

In addition, some rural storage facility locations where salvage tender items are listed may be closed and/or not be allowing public viewing at this time. We recommend calling any location where a salvage tender is listed to confirm their status and/or any changes to their viewing availability.

You can find the current tender listings here.

Last updated: May 1, 2020



Driver Z

Driver Z is now offered as a modified program, with virtual classes replacing in-person classes and additional safety precautions for in-car instruction. You can find more information here.

Last updated: September 3, 2020

DriVR-X

Due to COVID-19 concerns, we have postponed all upcoming DriVR-X events until further notice.

If you have any questions, please contact the Community Relations department.

Last updated: May 1, 2020