Sent via email to Members on March 26, 2020

A lot has happened over the past two weeks.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started to have significant impacts on the community, we acted quickly to proactively work with Members and customers to help them navigate travel plans and travel insurance coverage.

We temporarily closed all CAA stores across South Central Ontario and asked all CAA Associates to work from home. We also made the hard decision to implement contact-free service throughout our roadside network in an effort to keep CAA drivers and our Members safe.

We are doing our part to help contain this pandemic, but as a care-driven company, built on the values of making a difference in the community, to us, that isn’t enough.

This week, we quickly started looking at how else we can make a difference during this difficult time.

Now that we have been deemed an essential service by the Government of Ontario and we can continue to operate, we feel a responsibility to not just help our Members, but to do something good for the community.

I wanted to share a few things we are working on to help make a difference for people during this crisis.

1. Support for our healthcare workers and first responders. Those working on the front lines of this crisis have enough to worry about, and we want to make sure they are able to get to and from work safely. We are now offering them free roadside assistance in Ontario during this crisis.

   If you work in a hospital or health care centre, or as a first responder for emergency services, you can request CAA Roadside service by calling *222 or 1-800-222-4357.

   This free service is currently being offered to Members and non-Members alike. If you are a Member and a healthcare worker or first responder, these calls will not be counted on your Membership.

2. Delivery of vital food and supplies. CAA has actively reached out to see how we can be of service to those delivering front-line care. We have connected with several large organizations in need, such as food banks, Meals on Wheels, pharmacies, and other community service groups. When we’ve got extra capacity amongst our fleet of vehicles and drivers, we are working with these organizations to assist with delivering vital supplies where they’re most urgently needed.

Our Associates are always looking for ways to make people’s days better and to keep them safe. We will continue to explore opportunities in which we can help ease the burden of this crisis on our Members and the community at large.

We encourage our incredible Member community to continue to do what’s necessary as we all face this crisis together. Stay safe, practice social distancing to keep yourselves and our communities safe, and reach out to vulnerable community members to help them feel less alone. We are in this together!

Thank you for your continued support and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Jay Woo
President and CEO
CAA Club Group

Our Members continue to be impacted by this extraordinary situation and we have taken steps to ensure your safety and well-being.

• Road service will continue to operate without interruption. However, steps have been taken to prepare our roadside network:
  • Drivers have been asked to limit physical contact with Members (no hand shaking).
  • We have increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting of CAA trucks.
  • Best practices to reduce the risk of illness have been shared across the network.
• Contact centres will continue to operate as normal, please call us for inquiries and service.
  • Roadside 1-800-222-4357
  • Membership 1-800-268-3750
  • Travel 1-855-660-2294
  • Travel Insurance 1-833-394-3892
  • Home & Auto Insurance 1-877-222-3939

We continue to offer services via phone and online seven days a week. We will be temporarily closing all stores across South Central Ontario starting March 17, 2020.

• Global Affairs Canada has advised all travellers to avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice.
• We are receiving continuous updates from our travel partners, many of which are amending their change or cancellation policies to help travellers adjust their plans. We are committed to help you navigate your options.

The safety and well-being of CAA Associates continues to be paramount.

• Effective immediately, CAA Associates who can work from home have been encouraged to do so. We are doing our part to help contain this pandemic.
• Despite the economic impacts of the pandemic on the travel industry, we will not layoff Associates or downsize the organization. Our Associates will be taken care of during this difficult time.

We are experiencing a very high volume of inquiries related to the impacts of COVID-19 and are working hard to connect with each of you as quickly as possible. For updated information about what travellers need to know about COVID-19, please bookmark this page.

Our priority is, as always, the safety and well-being of our Members and Associates. While we modify how we deliver on our services, rest assured that we remain committed to being there for our Members during these uncertain times.