ShirleyEB

We moved to Newfoundland last year and got quotes ranging between $1600- $6600. We went with Johnstons; they took account of our 'drivers' abstract'- our previous history in Northern Ireland.. I think the equivalency is called a driving record in the UK. Basically we contacted DVLA paid £7 and they sent it to us via email. It evidenced that we'd 25-26 years clean driving experience. it was really helpful to have, as it was considered by some insurance companies and perhaps a good reason why we saved ourselves $5000!

suzeandmatt

Isn’t the driving record what you get for free anyway when you type in your driving license number and NI into the dvla site? It’s valid for 21 days or something and shows any disqualifications or whatever?
Just curious as I googled what you said as my husband and I are wanting to buy a van asap so want a decent deal on insurance- but like most people from the Uk- I switched insurers every year because it was cheaper so just have my last insurers “certificate of no claims” so I was looking for a way to save some $- but like I say- when I googled DVLA driving record- it just came up with the section where I input my driving license number & NI and it gives me the page telling me what i’m eligible to drive and any convictions- is this what you mean? Or is it something more in-depth if it charges a fee?

Thanks for info!

ShirleyEB

That's assuming things are universal across the UK- I did mention we came from Northern Ireland! We couldn't access an online system. We had to contact DVLA via phone with our driving license no & date of birth to get a Certificate of Entitlement. If you're coming from NI here's the relevant info:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles...ce-information

As I haven't used both processes I cannot confirm if they're the same, however I imagine they very well could be.

Neither could we get it for free but the £7.50 wasn't a deal breaker either-
but if you've the perk of a free convenient online service that's great.

suzeandmatt

Ah okay. Yeah that’s fair- when you think of the DVLA you just think of it working the same across the board- or I do. Good to know the record helped though. :-)
And yeah- £7.50 is hardly a deal breaker! Haha I was thinking- “oh- £7.50 to save possibly hundreds of dollars- more than worth it!!” Haha I will bare it in mind! Thanks! :-)

dbd33

The insurance company will want to see an official document, the £7.50 approach provides that, I'm not sure that browsing a record online does.

ShirleyEB

Well I think that it's because we N Irish like to talk. So I got 7.50's worth of chat out of the lady on the phone, probably talking about the weather and telling her about our new adventure lol!

dbd33

I lived with a Newfie for a good number of years and went down home quite often. Now I'm married to someone who has a "Bout Ye" sticker on her truck. Having lived with both accents I wonder how you're getting on, do people understand you and you them? How is it after a drink?

ShirleyEB

I was also thinking that but couldn't recall exactly; we'd literally just moved over & was in the throes of starting new job and 100 other things. We had an actual pdf certificate which was shared with insurance company. We also just forwarded the email from DVLA with attachment, kind of to enhance it's validity!

ShirleyEB

It's been a while since I heard 'bout ye'. It's interesting, because every Newfoundlander knows that we are most definitely NOT from here. We have never ever been mistaken for a local! They think we are on holidays and are surprised that we live here. They then tell us we should go to the irish pub (yawn). Drunk or sober there's no mistaking us lol. Otherwise, most say they love us and go on about the irish connection... They get some of our sayings and humour, and there are similarities. Some think I talk really fast! (although to be fair they may have a point-I did two years of speech therapy as I talked too fast). A case of kettle and pot I think. We understand each other for the most part, except for colloquialism and European/North American words. Although I am trying hard to stop saying 'it was great craic', or 'what's the craic'?

And then... occasionally... someone will think we are Scottish!

Atlantic Xpat

If you do facebook, it's worth checking out "Cape Shore Memes" for a take on Newfie culture. Newfie word of the day can sometimes be pretty entertaining...

ShirleyEB

hi Atlantic expat, some of my work colleagues post these on facebook, so i do see them from time to time. Your msg remind me that we need to get that coffee rescheduled
!

Jackandvictor

Hi
We are also on Vancouver Island- we came 5 years ago. I got my drivers record from DVLA for £5 at that point. It didn't seem to be taken into account by ICBC. Apparently BC is the most expensive insurance in the country. That's what happens when there is a monopoly.
I took my first insurance out for a 4 year old Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK). It was $1800. We also had a brand new Toyota Sienna under my husband as the main driver. Worth 3x as much but only cost around $1200. Go figure! I deliberately bought a manual as they are less desirable as few can drive the "stick shift" so thought it would be cheaper.
ICBC were also a bit of a jobsworth group as they took my name on my license (which was originally copied from my passport). This had my full name on it which is not the name as I had always been known by. I have always been called by my middle name so I had to write to all the insurance companies from my past 12 years to ask them to send me a letter with my full name. Some came back with just the name I had or else an initial. This did not suffice. It took 6 months and a fee to prove that all the stuff I gave before was correct-even a copy of a marriage and birth certificate wasn't enough. If you have similar issues you need to get this sorted with the exact dates of your cover and a statement saying there were no accidents during this time.
Insurance is going up again this year-I think by around 8%.
It's very expensive! You gotta suck it up...

Aviator

Vehicle rates are based stats of cost of repair to a vehicle, likelihood of injury in that vehicle, theft rates and driver profiles. The value has little to do with the rates.

Drivers record from DVLA is of no value if you bring a UK driver license with you. For insurance, as you have now found out, letters must be in the posted format required by ICBC which is online.

Drivers licenses in BC have to have your full legal name and DOB, not what you want to be known as. All documentation provided must match that, seems to make sense.

I agree insurance is very expensive, especially for new drivers, which is still subsidized by experienced driver premiums and especially for MC. With all of our vehicles, our insurance is a lot and it all comes up around the same time!

Jackandvictor

Thanks Aviator for your reply! My name that I have always been known as is my middle name. The UK insurance only ever had that so it was a bit of a PITA to have to ask them to support the official route here!
I had the same years driving as my husband which was 22 years so we are not new drivers by a long shot! Just a shock to the system after having insurance around the £250 mark fully comprehensive in Scotland. You just get on with it!

Verdant

Wow, that does sound like a bit of an ordeal! Fair play - I guess when that's what you have to do you just grin, groan and bear it. Thanks for the info regarding the cost of insurance - it really helps to have some sort of estimate for the likely costs of living once we land. I've been worrying quite a lot about the affordability of living on the island. There's only two of us and our gross income will be around 150k for the first year (it should increase the following year).

Do you know of any good car dealerships that sell secondhand cars (small types) either in Nanaimo or Victoria area? We currently drive a very fuel efficient Hyundai. As we probably won't leave the island for the first few years we would be looking for something similar. Cheers!