Driving and Insurance in Ontario

[dannyx]

As a UK licence holder I believe I can just swap my UK Driving Licence for an Ontarion Licence. That I am told is relitively simple. The only thing I am not sure about is how to prove I have driven for the past 2 years.

Regarding car insurance. Both my wife and I have been driving for over 15 years and have been claim free for at least 10. Things are slightly complicated as we drove in the UK until about 4 years ago and then moved to the UAE where we both drive regularly. Before we left the UK we had certificates of No Claims Discount issued by our insurers at the time. I have arranged for similar letters to be issued by our current insurers, AXA, in the UAE.

Does anyone know if it is possible to convince an insurer in Canada that you have been driving for 15 or so years and have at least 10 years No Claims? Do they take into account your driving record outside the US and Canada even with letters, etc. from reputable insurance companies?

The reason for asking is that I have just run a dummy insurance quote and it comes out at over $3,000 each, $6,000 total, for my wife and I based on 2 cars.

Thanks in advance.

[EVHB]

I think you can indeed swap your drivers license. They call that a reciprocal drivers license:
DriveTest - Reciprocal Exchange

You can proove your driving history:
1) by the date on your UK drivers license
2) and ask your current insurance for a statement that you have a car insurance since [the day you got the insurance). And that you have had no claims fot the last 5 or 10 or... years. Ask these statement in the UK and in the UAE.

We didn't find an insurance company that took our >20 years of 'perfect driving' for real. You need -of course- Canadian experience... But some give you kind of a minimal discount, so that helps.
Some didn't even want to make us a quote!
And we got the advise to take a car insurance for only 6 months, because after the 6 months of good driving (without collision or speeding tickets) all the insurance companies will give you a bigger discount, so than you need to go shopping for insurance again. That will save you monney.
I got the best quote at State Farm, here in Oakville.
For a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, all wheel drive 6V 3.4l, we pay about $ 1,800/6 months. That's pretty expensive...
Be aware of what they offer you, because you have the basic (mandatory) insurance and than they can add extra's on top of it. So don't compare the price of a basic insurance with the price of another company that is offering you a more extensive one.

Where are you going to live?
If you live in the GTA, you pay more insurance. If you live in a more rural area, you pay less insurance.
And if you are 50 years old, they will give you a discount too. ;-)

[dannyx]

Originally Posted by EVHB

I think you can indeed swap your drivers license. They call that a reciprocal drivers license:
DriveTest - Reciprocal Exchange

You can proove your driving history:
1) by the date on your UK drivers license
2) and ask your current insurance for a statement that you have a car insurance since [the day you got the insurance). And that you have had no claims fot the last 5 or 10 or... years. Ask these statement in the UK and in the UAE.

We didn't find an insurance company that took our >20 years of 'perfect driving' for real. You need -of course- Canadian experience... But some give you kind of a minimal discount, so that helps.
Some didn't even want to make us a quote!
And we got the advise to take a car insurance for only 6 months, because after the 6 months of good driving (without collision or speeding tickets) all the insurance companies will give you a bigger discount, so than you need to go shopping for insurance again. That will save you monney.
I got the best quote at State Farm, here in Oakville.
For a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, all wheel drive 6V 3.4l, we pay about $ 1,800/6 months. That's pretty expensive...
Be aware of what they offer you, because you have the basic (mandatory) insurance and than they can add extra's on top of it. So don't compare the price of a basic insurance with the price of another company that is offering you a more extensive one.

Where are you going to live?
If you live in the GTA, you pay more insurance. If you live in a more rural area, you pay less insurance.
And if you are 50 years old, they will give you a discount too. ;-)

Thanks for the reply. I am looking at living around the Niagara area initially, that looks quite rural. I do find it a bit hard to swallow that you need to start your driving record from scratch.

Good advice about the 6 month policy, I hadn't thought of that.

[jeff66]

Been there and done that.... Yes easy to get Ontario drivers license, just go along to the department and swop it.

Insurance, as they say here "suck it up" We tried every way to get our insurance down. We had letters of full no claims from our UK insurers. It just don't cut it.. We are paying $6000 a year for two Jeeps, Although our 21 year old son is on the policy....

Oh, there was one company that would take out UK non claims into account, $9000 per year.

I have spent days on the phone, if I can help, just ask.


jeff

[dannyx]

Originally Posted by jeff66

Been there and done that.... Yes easy to get Ontario drivers license, just go along to the department and swop it.

Insurance, as they say here "suck it up" We tried every way to get our insurance down. We had letters of full no claims from our UK insurers. It just don't cut it.. We are paying $6000 a year for two Jeeps, Although our 21 year old son is on the policy....

Oh, there was one company that would take out UK non claims into account, $9000 per year.

I have spent days on the phone, if I can help, just ask.


jeff

Thanks Jeff,

I assume that is your first insurance in Canada? When did you take it out? Which insurer have you found best?

$6,000 is about the ammount I am getting quoted for my wife and I. It doesnt seem to matter too much about the type of car either which I find strange. I tried with a Lincon Navigator and a Merc E320 and it came up at $6,300, then with a Dodge Nitro and a Dodge Charger, it went down to $6,200ish.
A previous reply suggested getting a 6 month policy and then a full year, apparently you do make a saving that way. Is this something you looked into?

Thanks.

[jeff66]

Hi Danny,

It is no more expensive to pay monthly with my insurer, Sop that is what I do. When I took out Home insurance with the same company, I got 16% off my car insurance.

If you like I can send details of my insurer to you. I still look for cheaper quotes, but so far not been able to beat who I am with.

Jeff

[EVHB]

Yes, that was indeed a good thing to do, take the home insurance! I forgot to mention that one!
And since we are renting a furnished house, I don't need a lot of home insurance, so they gave me one of $ 25,000, and this costs less than the discount I got on the car insurance! LOL!

Originally Posted by jeff66

Been there and done that.... Yes easy to get Ontario drivers license, just go along to the department and swop it.

Insurance, as they say here "suck it up" We tried every way to get our insurance down. We had letters of full no claims from our UK insurers. It just don't cut it.. We are paying $6000 a year for two Jeeps, Although our 21 year old son is on the policy....

Oh, there was one company that would take out UK non claims into account, $9000 per year.

I have spent days on the phone, if I can help, just ask.


jeff

Having your 21 year old on the policy is likely the most significant portion of the cost of your insurance. They get penalised heavily because statistically they are the most likely to have an accident, and when they do, the claim is usually significant in terms of $$ paid out by the insurer

[jeff66]

Originally Posted by nola

Having your 21 year old on the policy is likely the most significant portion of the cost of your insurance. They get penalised heavily because statistically they are the most likely to have an accident, and when they do, the claim is usually significant in terms of $$ paid out by the insurer

\His car costs us about $100 a month more than ours.