dbd33

No mistake, you're right that the two of you are named drivers on the policy. That's unusual but plainly it does exist.

yzf.shaun

One of things about moving to Canada I am really not looking forward to

Former Lancastrian

If you are moving to Yellowknife as in YZF you will even have less options as it is private insurance companies up there. Co-Operators is the biggest one.
I would take any copies of previous insurance policies with you and see if they will take them into account as it will be pricy up there.

yzf.shaun

I will be GTA all being well. Although still a few months off.

Im 31, Driving since 17 Full NCB.

£330 on the current car and only £76 on my current motorbike. I was looking at bike insurance as well and that really did hurt to look at.

dbd33

Surely private insurance means more options, not less. The Cooperators do have provision to credit foreign driving experience but their rating criteria are quite strict so an immigrant is unlikely to have the option of insuring with them.

Former Lancastrian

Basically, insurance would be cheaper if it was all private - even better if the companies could compete nationwide. Real competition lowers costs - something that is a universally true everywhere.
That quote was made by Alan2005 in another thread.
Comparisons with other countries are perfectly valid. Driving is driving. I understand that generally Canadians are bigger suckers than people in other countries and tend to accept being ripped off by everyone all the time, but when you look at it there's no real reason for it at all - only a list of excuses.
This is Alan2005 again.

He makes some very valid points so the question is we do have competition so we should have more options am I correct?
If we have more options then why are Canadas rates deemed expensive compared to others and are we getting ripped off, and if so isnt it the private insurers who are ripping us off but some think that private is the best way to go and the cheapest.
I think we can all agree that we pay high rates regardless if it is private or Govt run insurance.

Tuppence

Car insurance is one of the only three outgoings that increased when we moved from NS to the GTA (mortage and property tax (only because relative to house value) were the other two).

Jumped from about $1100 per car (Halifax area) to $1900 per car (Mississauga).
We were told it would be lower if we went over the border to Oakville.
I think we are currently lumped into a big Peel / Toronto blob, and Halton region is more favourable.

By the way that's with Johnsons. We had their 6* rating thingy for the last 5 to 6 years we have been in Canada, as they took our UK no-claims into account.

Almost Canadian

There is competition but not as the rest of the world would recognize it. There is no competition if the competitors don't actually compete. Cell phones, banks, lawyers, accountants, you name it. In theory, there is competition, in practice everyone sets their prices at the same level.

dbd33

The more companies there are the more choices the consumer has, I take issue with your claim that government insurance offers more choice; that would only be true if there were both government and private insurance in the same market.

Monopolies tend not to offer the consumer the best price or service though I disagree with the idea that this is universally true, railways, for example are a natural monopoly; two sets of tracks will never be better than one. Certainly monopolies in Canada have a poor record, I don't think anyone would argue that the telephone companies offer good value or that Ontario Hydro delivers power reliably or economically. Thus, I find it improbable that the state run insurance in, for example, BC offers low premiums and timely claim settlement. Perhaps some happy users of that "service" would like to comment.

As noted above, I believe the reason that car insurance in Canada is expensive relative to the US and the UK is primarily that people in Canada drive badly and secondarily that Canada has a litigious society. Beyond that, government meddling is a factor, every province has a different set of rules and the rules change constantly. It's expensive for the insurance companies to keep finding new ways of circumventing the rules and, each time there are new rules, some companies give up. This is why very small and highly legislated markets, such as Newfoundland, have so few carriers.

All that said, car insurance in Canadian markets is not expensive compared to other markets with similar standards of driving and vehicles, Malaysia or Kenya, for example.

Former Lancastrian

Not appearing to nitpick but where did I say that you get more choices with Govt insurance? I did say you have 2 x choices dependent where you live on either private or Govt insurance (which really isnt a choice as those Provinces mandate that coverage).
I also suggested that those with Govt run coverage might pay lower premiums than private and that some are happy with it but that others are not.
As for Canadians being litigious dont Govt run insurance companies sort of hold that in check when making claims?

flipflops

Some insurers will recognize your claims free UK status and others won't, you will have to check. I've been in the insurance industry in Canada for 20 years. Each province is different, some have government insurers and others private. My advice is to have letters from your insurers in the UK before you come. In those letters you will need the following, the letter has to be from the insurer:

name of insurer (not the broker)
policy number
dates insured
list of claims or "no claims"

You will need to show 6 years consecutive insurance coverage without at fault claims. If you have changed insurer during that time you will need a letter from each one until all your 6 years are covered. Get these together before you leave as it is a nightmare to sort out after.

I see a lot of people contacting TD and the banks, steer clear of them. The banks only want top of the line risks and they cannot accomodate you at this point. Go to a broker or two and get them to check all the insurers they represent. Keep copies of your letters as you may want to move your insurance in a couple of years time.

Increasing deductibles generally doesn't help in my opinion. If your car is older, drop the collision coverage but keep the comprehensive (remember comprehensive covers impact by animal)

Good luck.

dbd33

"If you are moving to Yellowknife as in YZF you will even have less options as it is private insurance companies up there."

I don't know if you can sue the quangoes, I was thinking of the process with insurance companies.

dbd33

It directly reduces the premium so, if that's the objective, it helps. On edit, I'd like to amplify that, if you make a claim your subsequent premiums will be punitive, ruinous, so you're only going to claim if you leave someone dismembered but not dead. Accordingly, you may as well have a $5,000 deductible on a $3,000 policy.

I'd very strongly suggest using more than one broker and calling the companies directly. Remember that the broker is paid a percentage of the premium, finding a low premium does the broker no favours.

Former Lancastrian

I tend to think that if you look closely at the Yellowknife remark it says private insurance companies
Having lived up there for just over 2 years there are very few private insurance companies offering those services but the Co-Op is the biggest. It might surprise you that a lot of YK residents actually take out policies from Alberta companies for more competition.
Just to clarify its private not Govt run.

dbd33

Private companies offering "even less options" than what?

It's not germane but the Cooperators isn't a private company, the clue is in the name.

It does surprise me that there are AB companies writing business in the Yukon, I didn't think there were any in AB, what are they called?