ollie90

Hi all

Iv'e been a bit of lurker on here for a while but now I've got my visa its time to get involved!

I was looking on here recently for info on car insurance and someone posted a website which you could use to find out all your insurance polices you have had.

I understand (thanks to this forum) how the no claim/no accident thing works in BC, but no idea which polices I've had for the past 7 years!

Out of interest; does $2200 seem reasonable for a 05 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab with 7 years no accidents discount?

Any other help or specific info regarding getting reasonable car insurance in BC would also be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Ollie

Aviator

Depends what coverage you have and what liability limits you go for. I pay $1600 for my truck with 43% discount, Road Star Plus, collision, comprehensive, 5m liability, $300 deductible. This is with 20+ years no claims history.

You have no choice but use ICBC for basic. You can use another insurer for add ons, but not something I have done or would do. One claims adjuster to deal with is enough and if having to go to court, two insurers adds to the complexity.

When you go to an auto plan broker, they often take your no accident history and give you the discount, but it is still up to ICBC to accept it. They have been know to come back some months later and decline it and ask for the difference to be paid. Be sure you have your full history, no breaks in the format letter ICBC require. As soon as there is a break in insurance history, even a day or so, this is where they stop.

ICBC will also ask you to name the main driver and base the premium on their history. Do not name one driver as they have a better driving history and then the main driver is someone else. Happens often with kids driving and one spouse who gets a higher discount than another. If ICBC find out, they will subrogate the claim. It has and is being done. Without specifying otherwise, you have 6 days a month to drive to and from work or school within 15km or use the vehicle for business. If you go further and need more than 6 days for work or business, they need to be told, if you don't and they find out, you may not get a claim paid out or if it is an injury claim, it may be subrogated.

ICBC like to sound like they care for the 'customer' but when t comes down to it, they take no prisoners!

ollie90

Yeah from what Iv'e read that sound worse than UK insurers which seems mad! Thanks for the info btw.

I don't think I main question very prominent. I saw a while back, someone posted a link to website which you could use to discover who you have been insured with in the UK. As with many, I change year to year and have completely forgotten past 2/3 years ago.

Does anyone else know of a way to find out - will the DVLA have records?

Ollie

scrubbedexpat091

We pay 1,300 a year roughly for our 2013 Mazda 2 with 3 million liability, 500 deductible I think we have, and no claims or accidents for almost 20 years and 40 something percent discount, probably 43% as I think its the max?

(wife is the primary driver and does 95% of the driving, I hate driving..)


Since ICBC has a monopoly on the basic insurance that is required, not much you can do to lower your cost.

You may save by using another insurance company for the optional coverage, but it may or may not save any money, I looked into it, and it was like 5 month less, so not worth it.

Our insurance went down a bit this year at renewal from what we were paying last year.

My ex wife had a claim to deal with ICBC and after seeing the BS she went through, I'd never deal with them in an accident situation without a lawyer, they make for profit insurance companies look like charities.

withabix

Yes, that's probably about right for fully comp insurance for a vehicle that size with about $2 million third party liability and 7 years (=35%) discount.

You say you have no idea who you have been insured with for the last 7 years.

You WILL have to find that out and get the letter from each insurer IN THE FORMAT REQUIRED BY ICBC or you will find that you have ZERO 'no claims discount' and your insurance will actually be around $3400 per year.

Check your email account and bank statements for clues as to who you were insured with. Search around dates that your insurance renewal was.

ICBC will review your proof letters and will deny them right up until the last day of your policy and increase your premium for the full year - BE WARNED!

The letter format:

http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving-...residents.aspx

The Claim Related Scale Discount form:

http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving-...S-discount.pdf

Aviator

Why?

Bucks_Family

I think you mean this? Claims and Underwriting Exchange
I filled in one of these forms and got some info back
I can't put my hands on what they sent back just now, it was two years ago, but I'm sure that's what you were referring to

I also wrote to these people too http://mib.org.uk/Motor+Insurance+Da...en/default.htm

Jackandvictor

Hi
Be warned also that whatever letters you get must match word for word your name on the policy here. I had the bother of being known by my middle name, whereas here the driver's licence is in my full birth certificate name. When I submitted my no claims history from the UK, they refused it because the names didn't match. They even disregarded my attached marriage certificate which showed that I was who I said I was. Spent another few months writing back to the UK proving again I was who I said I was...at least they went with the information from the marriage certificate!
I was annoyed at having to pay them another $20 for the pleasure of proving I was indeed the same person as on the original letters from the insurance companies.....
Did work out in the end and I went from a 5% discount to my 35% discount.
And as Aviator noted above, they do stop your no claims the minute there is a break. I had my car off the road as it was rear ended and I had 3 weeks break. This is where they back dated my claim to, despite having evidence of another 4 years and proof that was why my car had no insurance for these 3 weeks.

ollie90

Thanks so much Bucks_family! That seems to be it! Did you have success tracking down your previous insurers?

I've only managed to trace past 4 years so far from my own memory...

Bucks_Family

I think their replies just backed up the information I had already managed to glean from trawling through my old email confirmations from previous insurers. I *think* their responses gave dates and names of insurers, but probably not reference numbers or suchlike. Fortunately we're in Alberta rather than BC, and our insurance broker was able to get us some discount based on our UK history without having to get the kind of letters it seems you are required to provide by ICBC.

withabix

Have you been back through your email account and bank statements?

Steveh27wp

Yes .... ICBC....they asked me to provide written proof that I had legally changed my name from Mr.S to Mr. Steve. I find their attitudes to be typically monopolistic ...... "you have to have OUR insurance and we will make you jump through every hoop we haveat our disposal...."

rivingtonpike

Until the revolution, that's just the way it is. If expensive car insurance was the only thing that pissed me off, I could live with that! This is just not Britain. There's no MOT, no TV Licence, no Council Tax, no UKIP etc etc.....It's just different.

Aqua

If your coming to BC...... Simply Bring Cash!! Every thing costs more especially from ICBC