Ash in Toronto

Hi, I've just moved to Toronto and I'm having a nightmare trying to get car insurance, I have 9 years of no claims in the UK . I spoke to a company called Johnsons and explained this but they want a letter of experience from my insurance company from the UK . I showed them my certificate of no claims and my driving licence but they advised this is not enough and want a letter from each of my insurance companies over the last 9 years with dates of cover and any claims I might have had. I explained that the certificate I have shows that I have had no claims in the last 9 years. They don't seem to understand this..

I exchanged my driving licence in 6 days ago. I have been driving in the UK for 12 years but they won't recognise this. For some reason they only look at the time of length I have had an Ontario licence for which is a little silly I thought.

Does anyone have any information about how or where I can go to get car insurance who will recognise UK no claims and a UK driving licence in Ontario.

Ash in Toronto

dbd33

I think you should contact each of your insurers in the UK over the last 9 years and ask them each for a letter showing the dates of cover and any claims. You should probably also obtain an extract of your driving record from the DVLC.

That or pay the premium asked.

Ash in Toronto

Hi Mate,

Thanks for the quick response, I think i'm going to end up paying the premium as I cant remember nor do I have any records of all the insurance companies i've been with over the years.

Seems a bit of a shame as I spoke to a person who moved to Calgary and they said that the province of Alberta recognize UK insurance no claims and also accepts how long we been driving in the UK.

Thanks for your help.

Ash

christmasoompa

Except that (as Johnsons are no doubt aware, as they do a lot of expats insurance) just having a no claims cert doesn't actually mean you've not made a claim! I've got 11 years no claims, but my no claims are protected, so even if I have an accident my certificate would still say '11 years no claims'.

This is for BC, but it will help with understanding what kind of wording you need for the letters - http://www.icbc.com/autoplan-insuran...S-discount.pdf

HTH.

Tirytory

Shop around, we got a group insurance through my husbands job which recognised both our no claims with just confirmation from insurance company and drivers record from DVLA. Our insurance isn't a huge amount higher than the UK, and I've gone from a little Ford Fiesta (no comments please- it suited me) to a 4wd. Snow tyres made a difference too... Perhaps we were just lucky though with the group insurance..

dbd33

In general the type of vehicle makes very little difference to car insurance premiums in Ontario. It's not an important rating factor in the way that it is in the UK.

Tirytory

Ah ok...we're only paying $1500 dollars a yr for two cars though, which is not a huge amount more than we were paying back home.

dbd33

That's a remarkable bargain. Perhaps because there are few other vehicles to collide with up there?

Tirytory

Oh ho ho... Snow tyres brought it down, it was originally $3000 but she agreed to accept no claims etc so halved it for us. Might be the "group insurance" through husbands work.

JamesM

Car Insurance is expensive.

I pay $170 for month with a relatively cheap car (Honda Civic). I think postcode and km covered is a big factor. My insurance went down a bit when I stopped using the car to go too and from work (Leisure use).

That being said the purpose of my posting was that you should go and see a StateFarm broker when you arrive. I have always found them to be the cheapest and have my home rental insurance bundled in. I found them to be 10 to 15% cheaper than the nearest competitor.

JamesM

It's not that silly. You can have all the no claims in the world from the UK but does that mean you are smart enough to go and buy winter tires or able to handle a car in truly severe weather conditions?

I generally think driving is of a higher standard in the UK but the two circumstances are a little different.

My first winter driving here was a real learning curve. Wiper Washer fluid, brush, tires.....no claims was no preparation.

SchnookoLoly

Check TD Insurance. When my husband and I were looking, most companies were quoting in the $3000 range for a new Hyundai Elantra for both of us... TD came back with $2400, discounted to $1900 because of my university alumni discount. So $1900 was remarkably cheaper... and from a quick google around, my husband found that often they are the best deal. My husband has been insured for 10 years in the UK with no claims (though most of that as an occasional driver), and same with me in Canada - I had normal driving history while still living here, though then 5.5 years with no car insurance, though my dad did leave me as a named occasional driver on his for when I came back home to visit.

colchar

It isn't silly. Driving here is different form driving in the UK - different laws, different cars, driving on opposite side of the road, different road conditions, different weather conditions, etc.

colchar

This is completely untrue. The type of vehicle (make, model, etc.) most definitely does make a difference in the premiums one pays.

dbd33

It does but nothing like the difference it does in the UK. It's reasonable for someone in the UK to choose, for example, not to have the turbocharged version of a car specifically because choosing that one will increase the premium greatly. Some cars have base premiums, regardless of driver or location, three times higher than others. Here, for example (and I'm looking at a rate manual) a Golf GTI costs 5% more to insure than a routine Golf. That's not enough, IMO, to make a difference to a purchase decision. A 5.0 litre Mustang costs 7% more in base premium than the V6 version, again not a sufficient difference IMO to worry about.

A far more significant controllable factor is location, it's better to move to country and buy the SVT car than it is to stay in the city and get the chugging hybrid version.