What are some suggestions for getting reasonable car insurance for my English husband.

He brought a letter from his insurance company stating his driving and insurance record, but right now, a quote for a new smart car for him is costing over $4,000, crazy!

Let me guess you are in Ontario?
Try getting a quote from Johnsons there are many threads on getting insurance in Ontario and what needs to be done re previous UK driving history.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...urance+ontario
If not in Ontario and BC then this
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...urance+ontario

Yes, we are in Ontario!

My husband lived in the States for 7 years and was insured to drive there. Will that help him?

Maybe you should ask a broker

I am still waiting for a reply from my broker. her original quote for my husband was over $4,000 for a Smart Car!

I would try a different broker. We got an amazing quote from ours but we are in Alberta otherwise I would have sent you her details

+1

Id try 3 or 4 different brokers, some are better connected than others, or more interested in the business.

Any broker who cant get back to you within a day is not worth the trouble.

I don't know if it is the same in Ontario but a broker that gave a talk on such things in Calgary once stated that, once a broker has contacted insurance company A a subsequent broker is not permitted to obtain business from company A on behalf of that same individual.

I am sure that Jericho will be able to confirm or deny this.

I left the seminar with the impression that, in Alberta at least, the brokers have minimal impact on the premium obtained as that is dictated by the insurers.

I just know when I first arrived here in Ontario I contacted 3 or 4 agents, and there was a wide spread in premiums, from over $5k to about $1500... back in the day.

Some would deal for UK experience, some would not. Being the spiteful bastard I am, I still wont have anything to do with StateFarm, to name but one of the more expensive, less interested companies involved.

Something to be wary of in trying lots brokers is that each one may run a credit check (some companies use credit rating as a pricing factor), the act of checking a credit rating may cause that rating to drop. I'd pick a couple of brokers and leave it at that.

I accept that they may provide different premiums but based upon what I was told, I suspect that this was because of different insurers. The broker should obtain premiums from all relevant insurers and, if what I was told was correct, the premium for insurer A will be the same irrespective of which broker obtains the business.

The reason why this sounded right to me was that, when I first arrived, I went to broker A and they placed me with insurer A. When they told me how much it was, I was happy so went with it. I was given a binder letter so did not obtain a written confirmation of what the actual premium was.

I then spoke to Butch Cassidy and he stated that I had been ripped off and suggested another broker. I went to that broker and achieved a large reduction with insurer A with the same coverage. Upon contacting the first broker to cancel they asked me why I had cancelled. I told them. They checked their records and informed me that the amount quoted by them was wrong and gave me a figure that was identical to the figure given by the second broker (I hadn't told the first one what that figure was). They explained that that particular member of staff had had similar issues in the past

It wouldn't surprise me if that were true, but not all brokers deal with all insurers, so it pays to shop around at that level.

As your credit rating starts in the crapper anyway Im not sure how much damage you can do to it if they check ratings. Legally are they not supposed to inform you if they are going to do that? Dont they require consent?

A couple of points:

- insurance policies and premiums are more tightly legislated in AB so there's more possibility of variation in ON.

- brokers are paid on commission, their interests are best served by charging a higher premium, using a couple may result in a lower premium even if they're quoting for the same carrier.

- brokers have some discression in setting premiums, they're not likely to do anything for a car but for a commercial policy they'll cut their percentage if they think it'll close the deal. Bundling all you insurances makes you more likely to be a customer of interest to them.

It aint ever cheap though, to insure a car in Canada.

If you don't consent they give you a punitive rate, worse than if your credit rating was very poor. The legalities are a bit murky, in some jurisdictions rating by credit score is outlawed so "insurance score" is used instead; it's the same thing but expressed in letters instead of numbers, legally it must not count as credit score.

I suspect that typically the agents don't tell you they're running a check, you can find out but doing so is, itself, a check. Still, you're right, immigrants don't have much to lose.