At Begin Insurance, we understand high risk auto insurance. If you have tickets, accidents, claims or just have a hard time finding insurance we can help.
High risk auto insurance is a broad term for drivers who have a hard time finding affordable insurance options. Often referred to as sub-standard or non-standard auto insurance; the options are limited for drivers who fall into this category.
If you have any combination of three or more tickets, accidents, claims or cancellations you generally would fall into this category. If you are finding this out for the first time it usually comes in the form of a cancellation letter from your current insurance company. It’s not a pleasant feeling. Also young drivers often can’t find affordable insurance. Although they’re not considered “high risk” they might encounter some of the same issues as a high risk driver.
Auto insurance companies all have underwriting rules they have filed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. If you do not meet these eligibility rules your insurance company has no choice but to cancel your insurance. This leaves you to search for insurance within the high risk market. There is the Facility Association which is the insurance company of last resort (hint: you don’t want to be insured there) and 5 additional insurance companies who can insure you; Coachman, Echelon, PAFCO, Perth and JEVCO. Begin Insurance represents all of these companies so we have cornered the market on high risk insurance. We can basically guarantee the lowest price for non-standard auto insurance.
That depends. Tickets stay on your record for three years before they fall off, so do cancellations for non-payment of your insurance. Accidents stay on your record forever but really most companies only care about them for 6 years. Once most of these items have fallen off your record you are ready to rejoin the regular market where your options go from 6 to over 100 insurance companies who can insure you.
Safe driving over time is a sure fire way to lower your rates. If you want to prove you’re a safe driver, you may even want to install a Usage Based Insurance device in your vehicle which monitors your driving. You could qualify for up to 25% off by doing so.
You also need to shop around or have a broker like Begin Insurance do so for you; that’s what we’re here for. In addition to that, we can determine key dates for when we should look to switch your insurance company.
Demerit points affect your insurance - They do not. The next time a police officer tells you he or she isn’t giving you any points so it won’t affect your insurance, tell them it doesn’t affect it anyway.
I’ll avoid paying high insurance rates by putting the car in my X’s name – This doesn’t help and can only cause more problems for you. Insurance is rated according to the driver, not the owner of the vehicle.
Nobody will insure me. Insurance companies are telling me they can’t help. – We hear this one a lot. Ontario actually has an all-comers rule which states that an insurance company must give you an insurance quote but it is rarely followed. If this happens to you, just know they don’t want your business and don’t know how to help you. Give us a call at Begin Insurance; we want your business and are happy to help.
About the author Sean Graham:
Sean Graham has been an insurance broker in Ontario for the past 18 years. He is considered a pioneer in the digital insurance space and has been featured on CTV’s Canada AM, CBC, City TV, AM 640, Newstalk 1010 and Toronto Star. In 2014 he was named one of Canada’s Top 10 brokers under 40. Sean believes strongly in putting the consumer at the center of everything the business does. He is also an advocate for fostering the next generation of insurance talent through education and mentorship.
Posted Apr 27, 2019