Auto Insurance in Ontario

Auto Insurance in Ontario is a pain for the Immigrants. Why do I say that? You tend you to pay large amounts of money just to fulfill the provincial requirements in getting your vehicle street legal.

“Street legal here means ensuring your vehicle is eligible for licensing and registration.”

Without a valid vehicle insurance you are not provided with your vehicle license plate, validity sticker and your vehicle ownership certificate.

Auto insurance in Ontario is a major monthly fixed expense other than your regular groceries and house rent and bills. Buying your car in Canada is one easy step but then you have to take care of all the expenses that entail.

Why Auto Insurance?

Vehicle Insurance is required in Canada under Federal Law. You cannot get your license plate, sticker and ownership unless your vehicle is insured with a legal Auto Insurance provider.

“Beware of scammers and fake insurance providers that lurk around in the shadows. People fall for these scams just to save some money on monthly premiums.”

Premiums in Ontario:

Insurance Premiums in Ontario are steep and expensive. These premiums are decided by the Insurance providers individually factoring in these criterions:

1. Home Address (Factoring in the Postal Code and City)
2. Driver’s License Category (M2, M, G or G2)
3. License Age (Years of Driving with a Valid License)
4. Driving Record (Clean Record, Fines etc.)
5. Vehicle (Make, Model, Year and Condition)
6. Claims for the same Make and Model in the Home Address City
7. Market Value of your Vehicle

Effects on Premiums:

These factors play a major role in deciding your individual insurance premiums. You tend to pay for people’s mistakes. Even if your own driving record is clean, and if you haven’t had claims for many years, you are still paying higher premiums. This is because people around you are driving like nuts and not abiding by the law and following regulations. Just because you decide to buy the same car that many people in your neighborhood drive and there are many claims on the same make and model. You still end up paying higher premiums. The irony of it all!!!

How much should you expect to pay?

You will have to pay what the insurance company quotes you. There is no avoiding it at all. But guess what, you can save yourself from very high premiums if you shop around. On average you are looking at an insurance premium ranging between CAD180 – CAD600 per month depending on the factors mentioned above.

My Auto Insurance:

The day my family landed in Canada back in 2016, life was simple and insurance premiums were not as high. We went with our own bank to insure our vehicles, Royal Bank of Canada. Three years down the lane, in 2019, Aviva Insurance, under-writers for RBC Insurance sent a letter to our home saying that the insurance premiums are getting doubled. Technically it meant, please find yourselves some other insurance provider.  Well guess what, it nudged us out of our comfort bubble.

“We had clean driving records, no accidents, no claims, 15 years of driving experience on record – Didn’t matter much, still high Insurance Premiums sent by RBC Insurance (Aviva) after 3 Years of being a loyal customer with Home and Auto Insurance done through them.”

Well guess what, we had to get those Yellow Pages out. Oh, the times have changed. I actually took out my phone and opened Google. A whole list of service providers came up. I sent out a Request for Quotation to almost 8 Insurance providers. It doesn’t just take an e-mail and you are all good. You have to spend time on calls, why? They need so many details and information to provide you with an accurate premium amount.

After spending about 1 week talking to Agents of different companies, we finally found out a few great insurance providers. Just for an example, following are our premiums:

• Auto Insurance – CAD 242 monthly
• Motorcycle Insurance – CAD 128 monthly

Recommended Insurance Providers:

Insurance premiums are expensive and leave you with less to spend on your desires. Therefore finding the best source is pocket friendly and you don’t feel as bad. Well, I did tell you that buying a car is a Luxury in Canada.

I spent time on finding cheap Vehicle Insurance providers. There were insurance providers that were quoting me very high prices based on my factors and there were some who provided me with reasonable rates and discounts. Here is a list of my favourite insurance service providers:

• Allstate Canada (Auto and Home Insurance)
• Desjardins (Motorcycle Insurance)

You can check with me for my contacts if you are in Ontario. Just leave a comment below and I will mail you the details.

Discounts on Auto Insurance in Ontario:

Different insurance providers have come up with discounts to attract customers and here are a few ways you can get Auto Insurance Discounts:

1. Installing Winter Tires on your Vehicle during winters.
2. Coupling Auto Insurance with Renter Insurance (Home Insurance).
3. Multiple Vehicles Discount for same Address.
4. Mobile App to track driving habits (Acceleration, Braking, and Speed).
5. Parking Vehicle in a Shaded/Covered parking spot/garage.
6. Mileage usage with-in a year. The less you drive, the less you pay in premiums.

Every insurance provider specifies exactly how much discount you might be eligible to receive depending on your personal details/factors. The app is a great addition to discounts as you might be get eligible for a 20-35% in discounts depending on your driving habits. Keep that foot light on the pedals!!!

Ciao:

Well, Auto insurance in Ontario is definitely a pain. It is expensive, cruel and hurtful. You pay hefty amounts in insurance premiums on a monthly basis. You might be paying CAD500 in groceries and a similar amount in Insurance premiums. That’s how it compares. It is all about finding the right vehicle for yourself with the right premiums from the right company. Shop around for insurance before you settle in for buying a car and it will allow you a breather on your monthly fixed expense.

A major chunk of your monthly income goes in to your fixed expenses and the rest goes to your desires, wants and savings. I will talk about monthly expenses in a future blog. Do keep an eye out for it! Not out of the sockets please.

Well, do go ahead and leave a comment below on who do you think is the best insurance provider in Ontario. It might help me reduce my insurance premiums and might help others looking out for useful information.

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