OK so my wife and I just moved from California where our insurance rate per month was $96 (6MT coupe). I am getting quotes from All State Canada and a few others in the $340-$400 range on an 03.5 AT sedan and can't figure out what the deal is. I realize we haven't had insurance in Canada but a 400% markup seems nutty. We are in our thirties, no tickets, claims, or accidents ever. Continuously licensed etc...

Any tips? Companies we might try? (In the US they have Progressive, Geico, and so on....what are popular ones here?)

 

Check out www.insurancehotline.com .

 

That's funny, I was just there and managed to get slightly better prices. I think the issue is that we have our G licenses, but just got them (turned in our American ones). I don't know whether to answer that we have had the G's for as long as we had our American licenses or for only 2 weeks. We've both been licensed in the US for over 15 years. I
m going to call some of the lower quotes I got on that site tomorrow and let them know our situation.

I don't know if it's the same here but in the US they offer discounts for garaged parking, audible alarms, vin etching, low milage, no commuting, etc...

Anyway thanks for the tip - I think I am making progress. Any other tips are appreciated.

 

I would be tempted to talk to an insurance broker in person and tell them the situation. You should be able to do much better than that. I think you need to introduce the human element.

 

Yes that's the better idea: to go in and see them in person, outline the situation and offer a reference to previous insurers.
Having no readily accessible record, you may have been put in the highest risk category.
G/L
C.

 

Two others you can try are:

www.melochemonnex.com (quote online and talk to them on the phone)
www.pcinsurance.ca

A broker is probably a good way to approach this. They should be able to help you out!! Good Luck.

 

Your first mistake was to go to ALLSTATE. They are one of the most expensive carriers in Canada.

I would do this:

1. get an "Letter of Experience" from your insurance carrier in the US
2. get your driving record print out
3. see an insurance broker in person - they have access to various insurance carriers that offer products to people like yourself.

One of the best companies I've dealt with here is RBC Insurance. Great company, excellent rates and very professional. Their site is www.rbcinsurance.com

Another company is Wawanesa Insurance Co.

Another option is to call your insurance co. in the US and ask them if they have an affiliate or sister company. Most insurance companies do and extend their clients coverage.

In the worst case scenario your premium should be rated as a similar risk as the one in the USA. Keep in mind they consider where you live, type of car, purpose (business or pleasure) and your driving record.

 

RBC Insurance is an expensive as well... but not expensive as Allstate. I've been Allstate for 3 years and have a terrible experience with them. I was with RBC for a year and my rate went down few off. I did few search and I found PC Insurance cheaper than RBC Insurance. I switched to PC Insurance and I am paying $1950 /year (1 speeding tix) as oppose RBC charging me 2300 /yr

 

Thats again everyone - there is some good info here. I think what we've decided we're going to do is this:

1) Get our G licenses. We are still using our California licenses. It's just a matter of turning the Cal ones in and paying $75. We're going to go Friday.

2) Get a copy of our driving record.

3) We did ask our US insurer about a sister company, thing is it was All State US, which is why we called All State Canada first. They are out of the picture for sure, I called them again today and got nothing but grief.

4) We're going to go to a broker and see what they can do for us. I tried that online insurance site but our case seems a little too specific for it to work well. I did managed to flub some answers and get quotes, the lowest was RBC.

Thanks again for all the tips. I am a little more confident about it now. I was totally dreading paying $300 a month for insurance on our sedan. To give a little background we're in Toronto (downtown) driving an 03.5 sedan with enclosed alarmed parking and less than 10k KM per year with no commute. In California we were in SF (downtown) with ~25k miles per year and a 40 mile per day commute, so it was a little shocking hearing $322 a month when we were paying $96 in CA.

 

$322 a month is about what i'm paying on my '03 coupe. i'm 23, but have had my license for 7 years with no accidents or tickets. i guess i'm going to have to find a new insurance company when mine comes up for renewal.

i did speak to my broker about the high prices and he said the g35 was in class 33, along with mercedes and bmw. i don't know the class system they used, but he said a sunfire or something similar would be in class 10 or so. i figure he was telling me that the high rate is what i get for buying the G

oh well, the G is worth it i guess

jeremy

 

Ya, I was told it was a 31. I expected to pay more here (everything seems to cost more here) but not 3x as much on a car that should be less to insure (sedan vs coupe). You're fatal flaw is that you're 23, so it can only get better from here assuming you maintain a good driving record.

 

Picus112,
Wow... moved from Cali to Toronto? I always wanted move to California... i heard it is very nice place to live... why did you move to Toronto? Job?

 

yeah, it should be going down this year when i add my house insurance to the policy. i get a whopping 5% off for having both policies through the same company.

i plan on maintaining my record, knock on wood. i figure i don't have to go fast for people to know its a fast car, so why bother.

jeremy

 

when u are living in toronto, you have to expect to pay for expensive insurance

i pay 3000 a year for my acura and that is the cheapest i can find, other quotes 4200 a year or more

try dominon insurance, they are cheap, but of coz you pay what you get, service is kinda below avg too.

or you can try online at TD auto insurance, i got quoted 2400 on my Acura 3.2TL, but they quote me 4600 on the G coupe, what a big difference...

 

Wow, those rates are pretty high. I pay about $145 a month or about 1,740 a year for my insurance on my 03 Sedan. I'm with Meloche Monnex and I'll be 28 this summer.