If you are a driver, you may have an insurance rebate awaiting you due to COVID-19.

Many motorists are claiming rebates from their insurance companies since they are driving less these days due to a spread of the virus.

A number of Toronto auto insurance companies earlier this month began offering rebates to customers who are working from at home, in quarantine, lost their jobs or staying indoors as ordered and only going out for essential trips.

It is easy to apply. All you do is contact your insurance agent, or send them an email, requesting a COVID-19 rebate for driving less.

The agent will send you by email an application form which asks for your name, policy number and other information. It takes less than 10-minutes to fill, then you can send back electronically. The form says you will receive a rebate by mail, or by direct deposit, in 10-days.

It is not a huge chunk of change and works out to up to one monthly payment, or more, depending on the amount of driving you do.

Don Forgeron, CEO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says “insurers understand that many drivers are no longer commuting or using their vehicle as regularly, which could result in savings.”

“This is an incredibly challenging and uncertain time for many Canadians, and insurers want to help alleviate some of the financial burden for the most vulnerable,” he says.

Some drivers can also save money on their car insurance by dropping a few coverages they do not need, says the Bureau.

Some of the auto insurance providers offering discounts because of COVID-19 include Allstate Canada, Aviva Canada, Desjardins Insurance, belairdirect, CAA, Co-operators, Intact Financial Corporation, Travelers Canada, Wawanesa Canada, SSQ Insurance and La Capitale Insurance and Financial Services.

Big changes are planned for the Mimico area with some major condo developments on the horizon.

Work will once again continue at a construction pit which was to have been the high-profile On The GO Mimico condo that has been sitting idle for about three years.

The site has languishing since 2017 when the 327 Royal York Rd. project was placed in court receivership after the developer ran out of money.

A rezoning application was submitted for the property and that of the GO Station at 315 Royal York Rd., last October by Vandyk Group of Companies which is hoping to build a 29 and 44-storey residential towers and commercial space with a reconstructed Mimico GO Station integrated into the podium.

Vandyk purchased the property in 2017 and is the largest landowner in the area with proposed high-density developments at 23 Buckingham Street and 39 Newcastle.

Metrolinx said in a 2018 deal they had partnered with the developer who would pay for the construction costs of a revamped Mimico GO Station in exchange for the air rights above the transit hub.

Mimico Station was built in 1967, the same year GO Transit began operation. It serves about 1,200 riders daily and ridership at the station is expected to triple by 2031.

Vandyk says the condo will feature 499 one-bedroom units, 121 two-bedroom units and 67 three-bedroom units for a total of 687 residences. There would be total 514 parking spaces for residential, visitor, office and retail users, with 103 of these spaces reserved for commuters.

The new Mimico GO Station would include direct connectivity to Royal York Rd., pick-up and drop-off spaces, a west tunnel providing platform access, a transit plaza and bicycle facilities.

Metrolinx has said a temporary station will be in place by 2023 while the new building is constructed. The rezoning application is currently being reviewed by the City.

Plans for another GO Station has also been given a green light for the former Christie Cookie site, which is in the planning stages. A similar upgrade is also planned for the Long Branch GO station.

TTC workers first began complaining of suspected COVID-19 cases at their Queensway Division, where eight staffers had gotten sick.

Today the transit company said in a release they were laying off 1,200  employees over the coming weeks in response to a dramatic decline in ridership due to the virus and a loss of $90 million in monthly revenue.

Earlier in the day the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents TTC workers, had called on Toronto Public Health (TPH) to conduct COVID-19 tests on employees at the Evans and Kipling Aves. Division, where it said four workers have contracted the virus and four others had symptoms.

“Our concerns are that this is an outbreak in this garage,” ATU Canada President John Di Nino says.

Earlier this month, some 33 bus drivers walked off the job refusing to work at Queensway, demanding more personal protective equipment (PPE) to shield them from the novel coronavirus.

“We do not want to lose a member in the line of duty or any of the public who could be potentially affected by COVID-19,” Di Nino vows.

TTC officials say  1,000 transit operators and 200 non-unionized employees will be affected by the temporary lay offs.

The TTC plans to introduce a salary freeze for non-unionized employees, reduce the use of overtime across the organization, forgo seasonal hires and “delay all non-essential capital projects.”