London_Based

Hi all

I am moving to British Columbia from the UK next month as a permanent resident. I need to get a BC drivers licence organised quickly as I need to drive frequently in my new job there.

I have read on the UK Gov FCO website that "if you are moving to live in British Columbia (and other provinces), you will be able to exchange a UK licence issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for one issued by these provinces. Drivers must have proof of at least 24 months of licensed driving experience."

Does anyone what the province will accept as proof of 24 months of licensed driving experience. It is more than ten years since i owned my last car here in the UK and no longer have any historic car insurance documentation or old log books etc.

Also, does anyone know if i can actually drive in BC on my UK drivers licence until the BC one arrives and is so how long i can use it for? Or should i get and use an International Drivers licence.

Thank you in advance.

London_Based

JonboyE

You can use your UK license for up to 90 days. As far as I can recall they just look at the date your full driver's license was issued.

London_Based

Thank you very much. Sadly I do not have the no claims proof for all the years i was driving either so am assuming my car insurance will be sky high.

Aviator

Without discount our car would be $3500 a year. My bike would be $5600 a year, if I did not get full discount it would be unaffordable. Be prepared to pay to drive!

Buy a small, used, low value car and build up discount over a few years.

omega4040

If you are able to contact your previous insurers and get no claims details from them, you should make as much effort to do so as you can. Otherwise you are going to get absolutely hosed. I lived in AB for 3 years before moving here last year and thought the insurance was expensive there, until I got my quote from ICBC... it's nuts.

Snowy560

I'm afraid car insurance is sky high in BC full stop even if you do manage to get a discount based on no claims (from the UK). You have to insure with the one insurer: ICBC. I remember the shock I got when the realization dawned: you don't go on the internet and shop around for a "good deal": it's ICBC or ... ICBC.

You kind of accept it after a while.

S

R I C H

ICBC provide the basic insurance - you have a free market for the equivalent of comprehensive cover, which can save some money.

Restricting drivers (10yrs minimum experience), how far you commute, business/pleasure use, and your location within the province can all make quite a difference to premiums.

London_Based

Thanks for information everyone. I will be living in Downtown Vancouver and working in Surrey plus using my car to visit clients around the Lower Mainland on a few times a week basis.
It seems like getting a no claims letter from a past insurer is a must. I will just have to rack my brains on who it was that insured me last all those years ago!

Aviator

We just went with a non ICBC for top up liability, comp and collision. We only saved $50 a year, but got more included for the money.

Engineer_abroad

Just to clarify the letters of no claims will only be required to obtain car insurance discount not for obtaining your BC drivers license.

Your proof of driving experience is your dates of entitlement on the rear of the UK drivers license i.e. how long you have held your entitlement to drive what class of vehicle from.

Note that some people on PR have reported trouble obtaining their BC drivers license until their PR card came through, which I believe can be a little while at the moment so you may have to drive on your UK license for 90 days.

Also be aware that the proof of no claims must be in the exact format ICBC state on their website which includes a number of things not commonly found on standard UK insurance proof of no claims.

rivingtonpike

I think I'm right in saying that ICBC will only take into consideration when offering insurance discounts, insurance held back as far as the last insured period. So this means insurance and no claims you might have been entitled to 10 years ago will have no bearing on a discount on your insurance premiums with ICBC. I'm not 100% sure on this but may well be worth your while contacting ICBC to check before going to all the trouble of obtaining letters from previous insurers that won't impact the premiums you have to pay.

Engineer_abroad

I have heard the same thing I.e. If there is a break in insurance they will not count anything before the break.

Aviator

That is correct. It has to be current, or very recent (ie just before moving) insurance coverage to apply. Any break is as far back as ICBC go.

withabix

As others have said, only unbroken periods of insurance from when you move here back to the break date count and only 8 (or possibly 10) years from the date you change your licence are counted.

Unfortunately you're looking at full un-discounted insurance premiums.

As for the private insurance element over and above ICBC minimum, two Canadian colleagues at work have both recently commented that ICBC is currently working out cheaper than the private insurers. YMMV.

withabix

Have you not had a car at all or have you had a company car?

Letters provided by employers were accepted by ICBC for both my wife (for 4 years) and myself (for 1 year), for periods that we had company cars in the UK.

These letters did not STRICTLY comply with ICBC requirements, as they were from the Fleet Departments of the companies (and in one case the company's own internal insurance broker).

I'm guessing ICBC have come across this non-compliant situation quite often, hence their acceptance of letters which don't meet their strict requirements.