- Most disputes with your own insurer over a denied claim are civil claims and are generally subject to Ontario’s basic limitation period — commonly two years from the day the claim is…
- On top of the general limitation period, insurance is a contract, and many policies contain their own notice requirements — for example, obligations to report a loss or file proof of a…
- Many insurers offer an internal appeal, reconsideration, or review process after an initial denial.
When your own insurer denies a claim you believed was covered, the dispute is different from suing a stranger who caused you harm — you are suing the company you have a contract with, and the limitation period for suing your insurance company in Ontario can interact with your policy’s own rules, not just the general civil deadline.
Two separate clocks can matter here: the general limitation period that applies to most civil claims, and any notice or proof-of-loss obligations built into your insurance policy itself, or set out in insurance-specific rules. Missing either one can cost you the claim, even if the underlying denial was wrong.
This guide walks through both layers so you know what to check, and why insurance disputes are not a place to guess at deadlines.
Layer One: The General Limitation Period
Most disputes with your own insurer over a denied claim are civil claims and are generally subject to Ontario’s basic limitation period — commonly two years from the day the claim is discovered (as of mid-2026 — verify the current period before relying on it). In an insurance dispute, discovery is usually tied to when the insurer clearly denied your claim, or when you knew, or reasonably should have known, that the insurer was not going to pay as you expected.
That said, discoverability disputes are common in insurance cases specifically because insurers sometimes go through extended review, appeals, or reconsideration before issuing a final denial, and exactly when a "final" denial happened, for limitation purposes, can itself become an argued point.
Layer Two: Your Policy’s Own Rules
On top of the general limitation period, insurance is a contract, and many policies contain their own notice requirements — for example, obligations to report a loss or file proof of a claim within a set window, separate from any lawsuit deadline. Some categories of insurance claim are also governed by specific rules set out in insurance-related legislation with their own timelines, distinct from the general civil rule.
Because these policy-specific and regime-specific rules vary and are outside the scope of this general guide, do not assume the general limitation period is the only deadline that matters in an insurance dispute. Read your policy’s notice and proof-of-loss provisions closely, and confirm with a lawyer whether any insurance-specific rule applies to your type of claim before assuming you have the full general period to act. If you just want a quick read on what applies to your policy, our Ask a Lawyer service is a low-cost way to start.
A Common Trap: Assuming the Appeal Process Buys You Time
Many insurers offer an internal appeal, reconsideration, or review process after an initial denial. Pursuing that process is often reasonable, but it does not automatically pause either the general limitation period or any policy-specific notice deadline. A policyholder who spends months going back and forth with an insurer’s internal reviewers, without separately confirming their legal deadlines, can end up time-barred from suing even while genuinely believing the matter was still "under review."
What to Do When Your Insurer Denies a Claim
- Get the denial in writing, and note the exact date you received it.
- Locate your policy and read the notice, proof-of-loss, and any limitation-related clauses closely.
- Decide whether to pursue the insurer’s internal appeal process, but treat that as running in parallel with your legal deadlines, not instead of tracking them.
- Get a lawyer to confirm which deadlines apply to your specific type of claim before you rely on the general rule alone.
- If a deadline is approaching and the dispute is not resolved, protect your position by starting a claim rather than waiting for the insurer’s process to conclude.
Why This Isn’t a "Just Wait and See" Situation
Insurance disputes often feel like they are moving forward through an insurer’s internal process, which can create false comfort about deadlines. Because policy-specific notice periods can be considerably shorter than the general civil limitation period, and because exactly which rules apply depends on your type of coverage, this is one of the clearer cases where getting advice early costs far less than finding out later that a technical deadline passed while you were still negotiating.
Frequently asked questions
My insurer said they’re "still reviewing" my claim — does that stop the clock?
Not automatically. An ongoing internal review or appeal generally does not pause your legal deadlines unless the insurer has clearly agreed in writing to extend them, which is why it’s worth confirming your position in writing rather than assuming the review process protects you.
Is the deadline to sue my insurer the same as suing the other driver or another third party?
Not necessarily. A claim against your own insurer, under your own policy, is a different kind of claim from a claim against a third party who caused you harm, and the two can be governed by different rules and different timelines.
What if I never got a clear, final denial in writing?
That can actually complicate the discoverability analysis, since the clock is often tied to when a reasonable person would have understood the insurer was denying the claim. Getting a clear written position from your insurer, and getting advice about what it means for your deadlines, is worth doing sooner rather than later.
Can my policy make my deadline shorter than the general two-year rule?
Many policies include their own notice and proof-of-loss requirements that can function on a much shorter timeline than the general civil limitation period, which is exactly why you should not rely on "I have two years" without checking your specific policy and claim type.
This is a litigation question
Start a file online — flat, published fees, reviewed by a licensed Ontario lawyer before a dollar is owed.