Car Insurance

Car insurance, or auto insurance, is a legal necessity in all provinces and territories in Canada for all drivers. Car insurance insures a person’s driving. The core thing that is insured when taking out auto insurance is the liability for any injury caused by the driver to a third party. It is a basic requirement in every province and territory that all drivers have some form of auto insurance in place. Almost all auto insurance providers will also insure against theft or damage to the driver’s car. This type of insurance is known as fully comprehensive insurance.

How to get cheap car insurance

Cheap car insurance is available to a surprising amount of people. There are a number of ways of getting a discount on car insurance. The first way to get the cheapest car insurance is to ensure that the company knows what your circumstances are as this can be cheaper than general auto insurance. For example car insurance for women tends to be cheaper than car insurance for men, so if the woman in the house is the main driver, then this should be made clear. A further way to get affordable auto insurance premiums is to get an increased excess (deductible) which means that when car insurance claims are made then the driver pays a larger proportion of the damage. This should be limited to what the driver can easily afford but will drastically cut most policies.

Group auto insurance

A growing sector of the auto insurance market is “group insurance” which is when a group such as a professional association can access preferential terms due to the lower cost of marketing and the risk characteristics of the group. This concept is more common with life insurance and health insurance but is a relatively new concept in auto insurance outside Quebec.

Always compare car insurance

Car insurance comparison is a powerful way of getting discount car insurance. This is when car insurance companies offer their insurance on central comparison sites. This means that the details can be entered in one place and quickly get details of a large range of policies. Due to the generally costs, online car insurance tends to be cheaper. Cheap auto insurance is within reach when aggressively comparing auto insurance rates.

Auto insurance companies

Auto insurance together with home and business insurance is often called “general insurance” as opposed to “life and health insurance”. It has traditionally been provided predominantly by profit making companies, whereas life insurance has been more often provided by mutual insurers. Recently the lines have blurred with a number of mutual insurers cross selling car insurance to their customer base.

Regional variations

In British Columbia all drivers have to insure through the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, which is a crown corporation owned by the provincial government. The compulsory universal insurance is basic and a driver can choose to purchase a more expensive policy from the Corporation or a private provider. This is a matter of some controversy. In Quebec there is a far greater emphasis on group insurance and mutual insurers such as SSQ and The Personal are more important parts of the market.

Other types of driving insurance

As well as cars it is possible to get motor home insurance and motorcycle insurance. These tend to be provided by more specialist providers such as The Dominion. Insuring company car fleets is a big part of the business insurance market.