Today I wanted to discuss something obvious to people who have been living in Ontario for some time, but may not be as obvious to newcomers.
The importance of a clean driving record.
Today I made about 4 “high-risk” quotes. Whenever I make a quote for someone who falls into high-risk, I genuinely feel sorry for them. It’s usually someone who made a small mistake which turns out to be a very costly one.
What is a high-risk driver?
A high-risk driver is someone who is viewed as a likely person to be involved in an accident which obviously the insurance company would have to pay for.
To get this high-risk status, you need to have a certain amount of risk points which comes from various combinations of accidents and tickets or insurance cancellations. An example would be someone who has two speeding tickets and one at-fault accident. Normal insurance companies would not accept this client and he or she would be forced into high-risk companies.
Why you do not want to be accepted by high-risk companies.
The funny thing about high-risk companies is that they also do not accept normal drivers. You need to qualify for them.
This is definitely not a club you would like to join. If you live anywhere in the GTA, you can expect your auto insurance to start anywhere from $350 – $1000 a month!
If you only have a few years of driving history, expect that price to be even higher.
The lesson I want to share today with anyone who is new to Canada: Keep your driving record clean.
I made a joke today with my co-worker, having a bad driving record is worse than having a criminal record in Ontario. At least you can get around the city.
Don’t get any tickets. Don’t get into any accidents and make sure you pay your insurance every month. If an insurance company cancels you, it’s a one way ticket to high-risk town.
Stay safe everyone!
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