Goodbhoy

I have read numerous threads on Ontario car Insurance and I cannot seem to get the recognition for my UK experience or no claims discount from the UK that other people have.

I have tried all the mentioned ones:- Statefarm, TD Insurance, The Personal, etc
They all seem to fob me off and say that I need to have written evidence from each insurance company that I have never claimed.
No claims discount is not enough.
I am not going to get that now I am in Canada and can't even remember the companies for the past 10 years.

How do I approach this? Am I doing something wrong?

I have been in Toronto permanently now (on a TWP) for a month.
Yesterday, I transferred my UK licence for a Toronto one.
They didn't transfer my motorcycle licence but gave me my 'years' of experience.

My company has a discount scheme with 'The Personal' so this would be my preferred choice.

Any help/guidance/ insurance brokers offer advice?

Thanks

not2old

go with that for the first 12 months, then within the last two months of the policy, start shopping quotes. Just make sure that you are accident free/have no claims during that period.

Suggest also you take out 'breakdown' coverage with someone like CAA, they are known to be good with car insurance if you are a CAA member.

Siouxie

I'm surprised that Group Auto & Car Insurance Coverage | TD Insurance Meloche Monnex (TD) wouldn't take your UK experience into consideration, a family friend obtained insurance in Ontario through them 2 years ago without any problem (and lower premiums than other companies). There is also Johnsons, if you haven't tried them already.

If you have a read of the wiki article, it does tell you how to get a lower insurance quote by bringing or obtaining your drivers extract and a letter from your insurer in the UK. Is there no way you can get one? Category:Car Insurance-Canada : British Expat Wiki

Goodbhoy

I have been driving in the UK for 29 years and I think some of the prices quoted ($2600) quite extortionate.

I don't want to just 'take it on the chin'.

Goodbhoy

Thanks for the response.
I haven't tried Johnson's yet, I will try, thanks.

I don't see me getting anything in writing from my ex insurers in the UK (as I am no longer a loyal customer) but I do have my renewal notice showing 10 years no claims discount.

I can try getting the information from DVLA for 5GBP but I am not sure how to go about it and whether I can do it online or whether they will post to Canada.

Siouxie

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...driving-record

Or telephone: DVLA +44 1792 310 075 or +44 8702 400 009.



There's also a good article about what the letter needs to say here (ignore the BC bit!): Car Insurance trip for migrants to British Columbia - it's worth asking your insurers as they may be willing, regardless.

nikki dreaming

Keep trying UK insurers sometimes it's a lot of who you speak to as to how helpful they are

caleo

I managed to get letter from several different insurers in the UK. I changed my insurance almost annually to get cheaper insurance - I think I managed to get letters from most of them. Johnsons accepted them - our first insurance with them for one car was under $2k - way off from the £240 pa I used to pay in the UK - but yes, it is just something we have to accept.
When my hubby moved to UK, his first insurance was over £1000 - so it works both ways.

rivingtonpike

If you ask nicely and explain exactly what you need the letter from your previous insurers to contain, most of them will help. We had numerous insurers over the years and we managed to track down and contact each one to get a letter from them. If you're in Ontario, just get up early and call them direct, then follow up with an email confirming your request. For BC, a full discount is worth 42% and this only goes up in 5% increments, so takes you 8 years to get the full allowance. Unless you have money to burn, I think it's well worth the effort.

Goodbhoy

[QUOTE=Siouxie;11613103]https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

Any ideas what information is required?
I can view this online (even though I exchanges my licence I know the license number) and print out what is necessary.

I get the option of 'Your details' 'vehicles you can drive' 'penalties and disqualifications'.
I have printed all 3 topics but is this the same information that I would get but applying in writing?
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...driving-record
There is no method to pay by debit or credit in writing.

Thanks.
I will try and contact my last Insurance company to see if I can obtain a letter.

catpea33

I'll also echo Johnsons being a good company to use. I had been in Quebec for three years before moving to Ontario (so hardly a new driver to Canada) but Ontario companies were quoting me anything up to $5,000! Johnsons accepted my 10 years UK no claims discount so now I'm paying $1400 a year (which is still way more expensive than Quebec!) I definitely applied for my DVLA info but I don't recall Johnsons ever asking for it - they just wanted my info from SAAQ to prove my Quebec experience.

tez1503

Hi
I'd also recommend Johnsons for car insurance. We went through the same thing about 18 months ago.

We contacted our last UK car insurers who were happy to send a letter of confirmation but be aware that the wording in the letters have to be very specific that you had no accidents (no claims isn't enough).

Johnsons were very helpful and it reduced my costs to well under $2000 per vehicle.

If you need any contact names at Johnsons, I'd be happy to pass on if you PM me.

Goodbhoy

Well I got some insurance from Johnsons.
I provided them with my UK renewal letter showing 9 years no claims discount even though I have many more.

I went on the DVLC website and got a copy of my driving record showing what groups I was covered for and when I passed my test, etc.

Johnsons were happy to accept this.
The quote came in at $1600 which is much cheaper.

Great show by Johnsons.

Scott_Chegg

My wife and I are just buying a car at the moment, a 3 year old mid size SUV from a german manufacturer.

We are living in Ottawa and have both just exchanged our UK licenses for Ontario ones. We have a 3 years no claims letter from our UK insurance company (we had no car for a few years prior to this). Both had clean licenses in the UK.

We wanted fully comp and we called most of the places listed on this forum, TD quoted us nearly $3000.

Johnsons quoted $2000 give or take 5% based on winter tires.

A broker we tried found coverage for $1450.

In the end we went with The Co-operators - Andrew Smith Insurance Inc, who quoted us $1290 which comes down by another $200 if we take out our home insurance with them too. This covers us for 20,000 kilometers (or a bit more) a year.

They didn't want to see our no claims letter and they took into account our full UK driving experience. In fact Katherine said that all insurers should really be looking at our full driving experience as Canada does have that reciprocal agreement with the UK and other countries and your full driving experience should transfer onto your Ontario license.

Hope this helps some others.

SambaDeAmigo

This broker gave me a much better deal than Johnson for both home and auto: Carr & Company, 613 747 4700. They are based in Ottawa.
We were with Johnson for the past 3 years and it was TD before them. Just call them for a quick quote, it can potentially save you loads