Need advice for auto insurance in BC
- Thread starter doubledoubleu
- Start date
Try getting a quote from Johnston Mier Insurance.
As others have stated the basic is through ICBC so regardless of which insurance agency you use that portion of your quote will remain the same. For the optional portion Johnston Mier uses a company called Family. on Your search you should get a quote from Johnston Mier / Family. You can also insure your car for any portion of the year. Good luck on your search, and please post your findings and results.
As others have stated the basic is through ICBC so regardless of which insurance agency you use that portion of your quote will remain the same. For the optional portion Johnston Mier uses a company called Family. on Your search you should get a quote from Johnston Mier / Family. You can also insure your car for any portion of the year. Good luck on your search, and please post your findings and results.
I know otherwise
and as per above I use BCAA for optional insurance. For me it's cheaper to max out liability through BCAA vs ICBC
I have insurance in BC and Alberta. ICBC is far cheaper than my Alberta rates. ICBC + private was more than just all coverage with ICBC.
OP, your car shouldn’t cost more than $200 a month. Did the DMV count your US driving history? I don’t think so.
OP, your car shouldn’t cost more than $200 a month. Did the DMV count your US driving history? I don’t think so.
Thanks for the useful info. I will contact them and Family insurance that Stinger 17 mentioned above also. I checked with both a while back, and both said they do not insure cars in BC anymore. Only do umbrella coverage, not optional collision and comprehensive. Maybe I got the wrong info or things now changed again. We will find out tomorrow.I know otherwise
I got a quote from Family 2 years ago and it was twice as much as ICBC, even with also quoting my rain car and getting multi vehicle discount. The agent said they tend not to like cars like Corvettes so there aren't deals to be had.
David Eby our wonderful unelected Premiere "solved" the ICBC dumpster fire while he was the minister in charge of ICBC by capping injury payouts and setting prices and regulation such that optional carriers can't compete.
I pay about $1300 per year with full discount in Vancouver (the most expensive region), pleasure use, $1M PL and PD, and collision with $1000 deductable.
I guess they don't do replacement value coverage out there? It's called OPCF43 here in Ontario.
The down side of government run/supplied insurance is everyone is in the actuarial pool. You're exposed to the issues that really bad drivers cause and their added burden on the good records of others. Private companies tend to weed out the people that cost them the most money and won't insure them. Governments don't have that luxury (they probably do to some extent, but hesitate to exercise it), since they've made themselves the only game in town.
Actually, "bad" drivers pay much more and very "good" drivers pay less. Its a very good system based on your personal driving record (rather than the vehicle record). You may want to do a a few minutes of basic research before making inaccurate statements but here is a start:
Driver factor
Every driver in B.C. has a driver factor. The driver factor is a 3-decimal point number that represents your risk on the road.
I understand that drivers pay for insurance based on driving record. It's like that pretty much everywhere.Actually, "bad" drivers pay much more and very "good" drivers pay less. Its a very good system based on your personal driving record (rather than the vehicle record). You may want to do a a few minutes of basic research before making inaccurate statements but here is a start:
Driver factor
Every driver in B.C. has a driver factor. The driver factor is a 3-decimal point number that represents your risk on the road.www.icbc.com
My point was all the drivers are in the same pool, good and bad, and the system overall pays out more because as bad drivers make mistakes, the $$ pool gets depleted, and then the entire system pays out more for bad drivers, and in most cases must insure them again. The entire systems suffers the financial burden without recourse. Private companies can reduce their liability by simply not insuring repeat bad drivers.
Perhaps I wasn't clear, and thanks for the link, but considering the source, and that they don't want you to know how much more you'll pay in BC than in another jurisdiction with a free market, I'll pass.
BTW, there are a slew of articles out there that place BC rates as the highest on the list, or somewhere a bit lower.
Average Car Insurance Rates Across Canada | Edmonton Auto Insurance | ARC Insurance Brokers Edmonton <<<< BC highest in 2022.
B.C. lowest for auto insurance rates, Alta. among the highest: report <<<<< BC lowest rates in 2023
(boy, did they ever turn it around, eh?)
So, I guess it depends on who you ask. Or who you believe?
That's the same everywhere. Insurers go by actuaries. That puts everyone in the same pool.
It's really just semantics. Good drivers pay for bad ones (or bad drivers drive up prices for everyone) wherever you are.
Understood, as I said, but in a free market, you can shop around, and price compare. Private insurance companies use/maintain their own actuarial pools, which they can "quality control" by selectively refusing insurance to the bad drivers. You're not locked into one company, like ICBC. Since they're, effectively, the only game in town, thay have to insure some of the worst drivers, granted at higher premiums, but everything has to go through them, taking the free market and price competition out of the game. Unless, as some have said, you want to pay even more than what they charge, if that's even possible? We all just want the best deal we can get, and it differs by province, with BC usually occupying the highest rates spot.
Until that CTV report came out....
"Conducted by accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) and commissioned (paid for) by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)".
And, Ernst and Young even went so far as to publish a disclaimer, and say their report was limited, and "Further, the comparisons made in the data summary do not attempt to provide a full representation of the rate options available or what consumers are paying."
Clarification to Canadian Private Passenger Vehicle Insurance Rate Comparisons
Yes, but a lot of it is just marketing. New customers will get a break, but the increases are sharper each year type of thing. Insurance companies keep track of each other and share information. But yes, some companies are less greedy than others.
"At Liberty Mutual, you can save $700 - you only pay for what you need?" type marketing? Doug and the LIMU emu?
I always preferred Martin the gecko, and Maxwell the pig.....
I always preferred Martin the gecko, and Maxwell the pig.....
So to get back to the real world; you mentioned your quote was $1570 a year but with some $5000 deductibles. Can you rerun that quote with $500 deductible Collision and $300 deductible comprehensive?
With $500 deductible Collision I pay $1670 so about $100 more than your quote but a $500 deductible will close the gap.
My BC rate is about 2k cheaper than my mid town Toronto rate used to be across all my cars (with far more coverage and almost no deductable to boot) so definitely depends on your circumstances. My reco is shop around. Try bare minimum ICBC then top it up with one of the private insurance providers. Don't think you're locked into ICBC for the whole package.