abner

Perhaps, but are you sure you're comparing like for like in terms of mandatory minimum insurance cover? These vary a great deal, state by state, and province by province. There's no free lunch in the insurance premium business.

Too true, but then again, people pretty much everywhere drive badly and collide a lot.

What it costs one to be insured as a driver in any given jurisdiction depends more on how insurers are regulated than anything else, e.g. minimum mandatory coverage limits, the existence or absence of "no fault" liability within the jurisdiction, and the average pay-out level per serious incident.

dbd33

I would say that the proportion of vehicles insured is also a major consideration. According to the IBC, about a third of vehicles in Ontario are not insured (I myself drove with no insurance for about seven years, while working in the insurance industry) .Spend a morning in traffic court and most everyone has "no insurance" tacked on to their "red traffic light" or "speeding 50kph" fine. Insurers have to cover the costs of the uninsured drivers increasing premiums for the insured ones. Of course, this is chicken and egg, if the premiums weren't regulated to such a high cost, more people would pay them. It seems to me that there are good arguments for a single insurer, as in BC, PQ or MB and for minimal regulation but very little merit in regulated rates, as in ON and AB, or constant governmental interference in rating criteria as in AB and NF.

It's common here, ON, to see vehicles driven on plates from low insurance cost jurisdictions. I drove on CO plates for a couple of years for this reason. There are several cars near here that have been on AB plates for years, something I find ironic in light of the OPs complaint concerning the cost of insurance in Calgary.

All in all, Ontario isn't a very good place for drivers but, at least, the cars are cheap.

abner

And even those who have insurance, once convicted of some even minor traffic infringement, probably won't have it next time. A single ticket can jack up insurance premiums by ludicrous amounts in Ontario, +40% and beyond, depending on severity.

dbd33

Oh I know! My insurance, per vehicle, is currently about $200/month. A few years back, when I had had an unfortunate sequence of police encounters, it reached $800/vehicle.

That said, a scan of a database of this sort of information suggests that to achieve really spectacular premiums (>$2000/month/veh) one should have:

- a minor traffic violation
- out of Province plates
- a RHD vehicle
- a bad location, either because it's remote such as the Yukon or NWT or because it's Brampton

Note that criteria important in the UK such as the type of vehicle really don't apply here, you can insure a nice vehicle for the same price as a SUV/Minivan.

ShinyAndAttractive

I clearly was lucky with my insurance, then.

When I arrived in January, I was able to exchange my licence, buy a car, and arrange insurance over a 2-day period. My insurance, through a broker, is with Aviva and, for a low (84,000 km) 9-year old Chevrolet, it costs me $850. Admittedly, I am over 25, with had a clean driving record for many many years, and was able to provide my broker with a DVLA printout and records of NCB. I have no idea how much my supporting information helped, but I do know that the first three brokers I contacted (do insurance companies ever deal directly with consumers?) couldn't/ wouldn't quote at all.

crofty82

Do you mind sharing who your broker is? I’m about to be let out of quarantine and have been quoted higher than that directly with the insurers.

Siouxie

You will need a broker who is licensed in your Province - without knowing where ShinyAndAttractive is located a name may not be of use
https://www.insuranceinstitute.ca/en...ovincial-Guide

JamesM

I pay $150 per month via a Desjardins Insurance Agent (formerly Statefarm) and I live in the middle of Toronto.

I got it by actually sitting down at the Broker. Yes it's a little old school but much better than anything I found online.

crofty82

Good point!

Gozit

Eeek. Mine is $297/mo. 21 y/o, 2 minor infractions.

My brother who is 3 years younger then me just got quoted $190/mo on a G2 license, with 3 years less driving experience. Yes you could say my "speeding" tickets don't help my case but my insurance has always been that expensive even when I was his age.

lins and Stef McLachlan

We brought all the no claims info with us and initially went with a company called Ive. Something in the region of $3200. We then found out about Johnsons and changed to them saving $1200....= $2000.

since then we have built up no claims here after 10 years and when you bundle your other insurance needs together, it reduces the insurance. So House building insurance, contents and multiple vehicles all get you a discount. Shoo around. But it is more expensive here.....I was paying £300 a year fully comp in UK, so it was a massive shock. Bear in mind that the mentality over this side of the pond mitgates the risk of being sued for injury for millions of $s. The age and type of vehicle doesnt make any difference. Good luck