Originally Posted by rwgs811

Also, when they do the exchange, do they put the date you passed (from the UK on there), or is it the date you actually exchange. If the latter, is there any way of proving how long you have actually been driving as wouldn't the insurance companies then just see you as a brand new driver? I'm not talking about NCB here. I can't see it included on any example copies I've seen - on the UK one for instance, it's on the back.

Or for insurance purposes, can you just tell them the date you passed your UK test?

Originally Posted by evets

They put the date as of the day of the exchange.

Take photocopies of your UK license and the paper section if you have it, as that contains the details of how long you have had your UK license.
Note: You have to surrender your UK license, and my own experience of changing license and years of experience are pretty much moot in Ontario.

Insurance companies in Ontario WILL see you as a newly passed driver and do not care how long you have had your license in the UK. 2 points to note here:
- If you have no claims bonus in the UK, at least 3 years, then you need to contact your insurance company and ask them to provide a letter, wording is very specific as they do not accept the standard letter that your insurance company issues. Check out the wiki section which has page which covers this.

- Consider doing the basic drivers education program, costs around $500 but gives you around 3 years Ontario driving experience to put forward to your insurance company. This was advised by my insurance broker and showed me the overall saving which paid meant it paid for itself in the first year. In the UK, I was paying £500 which is about half that and for a much smaller/cheaper car, so it seems about fair to me, although I will look for another quote elsewhere before I make a decision.

Finally, if you have not already checked car insurance quotes, make sure you are sitting down with a large stiff drink! Also combine your car and contents/tenants insurance, does take a large chunk of your car ins.

Originally Posted by rwgs811

Thanks for the advice. I've actually been quoted just under $2k for a 2015 SUV. My first quote was almost $3k which was more like the horror stories I've read on here. Does $2k sound good considering they didn't even take in account my UK experience? Not sure how much more it would go down buy if I did manage to get them to include it?

Originally Posted by evets

They put the date as of the day of the exchange.

Take photocopies of your UK license and the paper section if you have it, as that contains the details of how long you have had your UK license.
Note: You have to surrender your UK license, and my own experience of changing license and years of experience are pretty much moot in Ontario.

Insurance companies in Ontario WILL see you as a newly passed driver and do not care how long you have had your license in the UK. 2 points to note here:
- If you have no claims bonus in the UK, at least 3 years, then you need to contact your insurance company and ask them to provide a letter, wording is very specific as they do not accept the standard letter that your insurance company issues. Check out the wiki section which has page which covers this.

- Consider doing the basic drivers education program, costs around $500 but gives you around 3 years Ontario driving experience to put forward to your insurance company. This was advised by my insurance broker and showed me the overall saving which paid meant it paid for itself in the first year.

Finally, if you have not already checked car insurance quotes, make sure you are sitting down with a large stiff drink! Also combine your car and contents/tenants insurance, does take a large chunk of your car ins.

Originally Posted by Siouxie

Johnsons, TD Meloche Monnex and several others will take UK experience into consideration.