Short Rate TableCalculator
View and compare insurance short rate tables used by major Canadian insurers
This is the full, day-by-day short rate cancellation table that Canadian auto and home insurers use to calculate your refund when you cancel a policy before its renewal date. Choose an insurer below to see its exact schedule, or enter your own numbers in the short rate calculator to get your refund in dollars.
Desjardins Insurance Short Rate Table
Percentage of annual premium earned based on days in force
| Days in Force | Earned % | Refund % | Penalty % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 days | 8% | 92% | 7.5% |
| 4–7 days | 9% | 91% | 7.5% |
| 8–11 days | 11% | 89% | 8.4% |
| 12–15 days | 12% | 88% | 8.3% |
| 16–19 days | 14% | 86% | 9.2% |
| 20–23 days | 16% | 84% | 10.1% |
| 24–26 days | 18% | 82% | 11.2% |
| 27–30 days | 19% | 81% | 11.2% |
| 31–34 days | 21% | 79% | 12.1% |
| 35–38 days | 22% | 78% | 12.0% |
| 39–42 days | 23% | 77% | 11.9% |
| 43–46 days | 24% | 76% | 11.8% |
| 47–49 days | 25% | 75% | 11.8% |
| 50–53 days | 26% | 74% | 11.9% |
| 54–57 days | 27% | 73% | 11.8% |
| 58–61 days | 28% | 72% | 11.7% |
| 62–65 days | 29% | 71% | 11.6% |
| 66–69 days | 30% | 70% | 11.5% |
| 70–73 days | 31% | 69% | 11.4% |
| 74–76 days | 32% | 68% | 11.5% |
| 77–80 days | 33% | 67% | 11.5% |
| 81–84 days | 34% | 66% | 11.4% |
| 85–88 days | 35% | 65% | 11.3% |
| 89–92 days | 36% | 64% | 11.2% |
| 93–96 days | 37% | 63% | 11.1% |
| 97–99 days | 38% | 62% | 11.2% |
| 100–103 days | 39% | 61% | 11.2% |
| 104–107 days | 40% | 60% | 11.1% |
| 108–111 days | 41% | 59% | 11.0% |
| 112–115 days | 42% | 58% | 10.9% |
| 116–119 days | 43% | 57% | 10.8% |
| 120–122 days | 44% | 56% | 10.8% |
| 123–126 days | 45% | 55% | 10.9% |
| 127–130 days | 46% | 54% | 10.8% |
| 131–134 days | 47% | 53% | 10.7% |
| 135–138 days | 48% | 52% | 10.6% |
| 139–142 days | 49% | 51% | 10.5% |
| 143–146 days | 50% | 50% | 10.4% |
| 147–149 days | 51% | 49% | 10.5% |
| 150–153 days | 52% | 48% | 10.5% |
| 154–157 days | 53% | 47% | 10.4% |
| 158–161 days | 54% | 46% | 10.3% |
| 162–165 days | 55% | 45% | 10.2% |
| 166–169 days | 56% | 44% | 10.1% |
| 170–172 days | 57% | 43% | 10.2% |
| 173–176 days | 58% | 42% | 10.2% |
| 177–180 days | 59% | 41% | 10.1% |
| 181–184 days | 60% | 40% | 10.0% |
| 185–188 days | 61% | 39% | 9.9% |
| 189–192 days | 62% | 38% | 9.8% |
| 193–195 days | 63% | 37% | 9.8% |
| 196–199 days | 64% | 36% | 9.9% |
| 200–203 days | 65% | 35% | 9.8% |
| 204–207 days | 66% | 34% | 9.7% |
| 208–211 days | 67% | 33% | 9.6% |
| 212–215 days | 68% | 32% | 9.5% |
| 216–219 days | 69% | 31% | 9.4% |
| 220–222 days | 70% | 30% | 9.5% |
| 223–226 days | 71% | 29% | 9.5% |
| 227–230 days | 72% | 28% | 9.4% |
| 231–234 days | 73% | 27% | 9.3% |
| 235–238 days | 74% | 26% | 9.2% |
| 239–242 days | 75% | 25% | 9.1% |
| 243–245 days | 76% | 24% | 9.2% |
| 246–249 days | 77% | 23% | 9.2% |
| 250–253 days | 78% | 22% | 9.1% |
| 254–257 days | 79% | 21% | 9.0% |
| 258–261 days | 80% | 20% | 8.9% |
| 262–265 days | 81% | 19% | 8.8% |
| 266–268 days | 82% | 18% | 8.8% |
| 269–272 days | 83% | 17% | 8.9% |
| 273–276 days | 84% | 16% | 8.8% |
| 277–280 days | 85% | 15% | 8.7% |
| 281–284 days | 86% | 14% | 8.6% |
| 285–288 days | 87% | 13% | 8.5% |
| 289–292 days | 88% | 12% | 8.4% |
| 293–296 days | 89% | 11% | 8.3% |
| 297–299 days | 90% | 10% | 8.4% |
| 300–303 days | 91% | 9% | 8.4% |
| 304–307 days | 92% | 8% | 8.3% |
| 308–311 days | 93% | 7% | 8.2% |
| 312–315 days | 94% | 6% | 8.1% |
| 316–318 days | 95% | 5% | 8.2% |
| 319–326 days | 96% | 4% | 7.6% |
| 327–334 days | 97% | 3% | 6.5% |
| 335–341 days | 98% | 2% | 5.4% |
| 342–349 days | 99% | 1% | 4.3% |
| 350–365 days | 100% | 0% | 2.1% |
What is a short rate table?
A short rate table is the schedule an insurer uses to decide how much of your annual premium it keeps when you cancel a policy mid-term. Instead of refunding the premium for every unused day, the insurer keeps an “earned” percentage that is slightly higher than a simple day-by-day (pro rata) split. That extra few percent covers the fixed cost of writing — and then unwinding — a policy that was meant to run a full year.
The table is read by “days in force”: find the row matching how many days your policy was active, read the earned percentage, and the rest is your refund. Most Canadian auto and home policies run on a 365-day term, so the schedule climbs from a single-digit penalty in the first week to keeping 100% of the premium in the final days before renewal.
Why insurers use short rate instead of pro rata
A pro rata cancellation refunds exactly the unused portion — cancel halfway through a $1,200 policy and you get about $600 back. Short rate keeps a little more than that. The gap — rarely more than about 8% of your annual premium, and smaller the closer you get to renewal — is how the insurer recovers acquisition costs (broker commission, underwriting, issuing documents) that were spread across a full year, and discourages treating an annual policy as month-to-month coverage.
Short rate is not always charged. Most insurers switch to pro rata — no penalty — when you cancel for a qualifying reason such as selling your vehicle, a total loss, moving out of province, or switching to another policy with the same insurer. Always ask whether your reason qualifies before you confirm a cancellation.
How to read this table
- • Days in Force: how many days your policy was active before cancellation.
- • Earned %: the percentage of your annual premium the insurer keeps.
- • Refund %: the percentage you get back (100% minus earned).
- • Penalty %: roughly how much more you lose than a pro rata cancellation. This column is an approximation — it compares the earned percentage against a day-by-day estimate taken at the middle of each row's day range, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact figure.
Worked example: on the standard table, a policy cancelled at 90 days has earned about 31%. On a $1,200 premium the insurer keeps $372 and refunds $828. A pure pro rata refund would have returned about $904, so the short rate penalty here is roughly $76 — a little over 6% of the annual premium.
Which insurers use the standard table
Many Canadian insurers — including Aviva, CAA, Pembridge, Coachman, Echelon, Travelers Dominion and Facility Association — use the same industry-standard schedule shown above, so their cancellation maths is identical. Others run their own schedules: TD, Desjardins and Intact run a little steeper through the middle of the term, while Economical (Definity) uses a flatter method. Switch insurers in the dropdown above to compare.