Car insurance in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
We've helped Thunder Bay drivers save hundreds of dollars annually on their car insurance. How? By comparing the auto insurance market for them.
We can show you quotes for a better car insurance policy from multiple insurance companies serving Thunder Bay. It's a free, no-obligation service that takes just 3 minutes to complete. Once you find a cheaper car insurance rate, we'll also connect you with the Thunder Bay car insurance provider that can secure your new rate.
Enter your postal code, answer a few questions, and review your new quotes. It's that easy.
Mandatory auto insurance coverage in Thunder Bay Car insurance is mandatory in Thunder Bay, just as it is throughout Ontario. It's against the law to operate a vehicle without it. Fines can range from $5,000 to as much as $25,000.
The provincial government determines the types of mandatory insurance coverage and how much of it drivers need to buy. These are the coverages that a car insurance policy needs to include:
Third-party liability: Protects you if you're at fault for injuring or causing property damage to another person with your car. According to Ontario law, you need to buy at least $200,000 worth of insurance, but drivers are encouraged to purchase $ 1 million or even $ 2 million worth of coverage.
Accident benefits: Helps pay for your medical care if you were injured in a collision, regardless of whether you were at fault. It includes medical expenses for treatments not covered by Medicare, rehabilitation services, attendant care, and income replacement.
Direct compensation property damage (DCPD): This benefit will pay to repair or replace your car if you were not at fault for causing a collision. There is no deductible (though you can choose to add one in exchange for a lower premium), and your car insurance premiums won't rise in the future.
Uninsured vehicle: Protects you and your vehicle passengers if you are ever involved in an accident with an uninsured car or a hit-and-run driver. Provides compensation for loss of life and injuries, as well as compensation for property damage.
Optional auto insurance coverage in Thunder Bay.
You can enhance your coverage by purchasing more insurance than the legally required minimum. You can also purchase special products called insurance endorsements that lower your coverage in some ways in exchange for a smaller premium.
But first, these are the coverages available for purchase in Thunder Bay that will broaden your scope of protection:
Collision: Pays for your vehicle to be repaired or replaced if you're found at fault for a crash. There's a deductible, and filing a claim against this part of your policy could raise your annual premium.
Comprehensive: Pays to repair or replace your car and its contents if it's damaged by something other than a collision. For example, fire, falling objects, hail, theft, animal damage, or vandalism. Comprehensive claims don't usually affect your premiums.
All perils: This coverage blends collision and is comprehensive.
Specified perils: You can pick and choose which insurable risks covered by comprehensive coverage you want protection from. Perils like vandalism, falling objects, and animal damage are generally not included on the list of threats.
Other types of car insurance coverage.
Endorsements are another form of optional insurance coverage. However, endorsements are different from other optional products because they amend the terms of a standard auto insurance policy. You can use endorsements to increase and reduce coverage in some areas. Here are some of the most popular endorsements in Ontario.
Borrowed and rented vehicles coverage: Extends your car insurance policy for your primary vehicle to rental cars. This coverage is OPCF 27, Liability for Damage to Non-Owned Automobile(s).
Loss of use coverage: Provides reimbursement for alternative transportation if the vehicle covered by your policy is being repaired or replaced. It's added to your base policy as an endorsement, OPCF 20, Coverage for Transportation Replacement.
New vehicle replacement: By adding this endorsement, your insurance company cannot factor in depreciation when calculating a claim settlement. This only applies if an insurable peril damages your car.
Family protection coverage: Protects you and your passengers if you are injured in a collision with an underinsured driver. This endorsement provides compensation that bridges the gap between the actual costs and the other driver's policy limit. It is added to the policy as an endorsement, OPCF 44R, Family Protection Coverage.
Car insurance regulation in Thunder Bay.
Ontario has a partial no-fault insurance system. This means that drivers who are involved in an accident file claims with their insurance provider. They also receive compensation from their provider instead of having to sue a third-party insurer.
Regimes in which drivers sue each other for damages are called tort-based systems. In pure no-fault systems, drivers can't sue for damages. However, Ontario's system allows drivers to sue for things like pain and suffering and loss of income.
Factors that determine your car insurance rates in Thunder Bay.
Many factors influence insurance premiums. Insurance companies consider personal characteristics, choices, and the broader economic landscape when determining what to charge a driver. Here are some of the driver-dependent characteristics insurers consider:
- Your driving experience: Seasoned drivers usually secure low rates (think: a decade or more). However, that's only true if you don't have a history of driving convictions and accidents. In Ontario, driving convictions can impact your insurance premiums for six years or more.
- Your insurance history: Filing claims can lead to higher insurance premiums. Drivers who are claims-free, or have accident forgiveness insurance, get the most competitive insurance rates (the effect compounds if you have multiple convictions).
- Your age and gender: In Ontario, insurance companies can rate people based on their age and gender. Generally, males in their teens and twenties pay the highest insurance premiums. The disparity in rates between genders considerably narrows by age 30. Insurance companies offer female rates to non-binary drivers.
- Your address and where you park your car: Insurance companies use geographic territories to determine rates. They rely on forward sortation areas (FSA), the first three characters of your postal code. Some FSAs have higher rates of claims being made (this can be due to thefts, collisions, etc.). Your rates will be lower if you park your car in a private covered garage rather than on the street.
- How much you drive: Having a long commute will increase your rate. The more time you spend on the road, the more likely you'll be involved in a situation that ends with you filing a claim. You're considered a low-mileage driver if you drive 10,000 kilometres or less a year.
- Your vehicle: Insurance companies look at the rate and cost of claims activity by the make and model of the car. Your premium will reflect if your car is more expensive to repair or replace.
- The amount of coverage you buy: If you add optional forms of coverage to your policy, you will pay more than if you didn't. However, being underinsured can wind up being even costlier. Check with an insurance professional to determine the appropriate coverage for your situation.
As mentioned above, there are a bunch of other factors that are not tied to your characteristics or your choices. Although the latter is important, larger forces also drive the price of insurance up and down.
- Rates of auto theft: When car thefts go up, so do claims, which increases the cost of doing business for insurers.
- Insurance fraud: Fraudulent claims (commonly for accident benefits) drive up premiums for all drivers.
- Manufacturing trends: Car makers are increasingly adding cameras and sensors to cars, making them more expensive to repair.
- Shortages: A shortage of car parts, especially semiconductors, an integral component of the multiple computers found within cars today, is driving up insurance costs.
- Inflation: When central banks raise interest rates, insurance companies raise premiums for all customers. They need to make enough money to cover the cost of doing business today and in the future.
Car insurance rates for Thunder Bay seniors.
While folks in this age range aren't seniors, drivers between the ages of 50 and 65 pay the lowest car insurance rates, on average.
This age group has long driving and insurance histories and often has multiple insurance policies (like home and auto insurance) with the same insurer.
Seniors in their 70s and older may see their insurance rates increase as this demographic makes claims more frequent (driving gets harder as you age).
Comparing rates with different companies may yield savings if you are a senior who has had their insurance premiums increase with age.
Car insurance rates for students in Thunder Bay.
Young drivers in their teens and early twenties generally pay the most for insurance. Inexperienced drivers are more likely to need to file a claim, especially young males.
The good news is that if you get car insurance at age 16, your rates will be reduced by your mid-twenties (provided you're free of claims and driving convictions). By your thirties, your rates will be much more affordable.
To take control of your car insurance premiums, the most important thing you can do is to remain accident and conviction free. Taking a driver's education course and showing proof to your provider will also help. Ask your provider if the school you're considering qualifies and what proof you will need to provide.
Some insurance providers also offer discounts to good students. Ask your provider if they offer such a discount and how to qualify for it.
Car insurance for new immigrants in Thunder Bay.
If you've recently immigrated to Thunder Bay from another country and want to drive, you will need an Ontario driver's license and car insurance.
The Ontario government recognizes licenses from certain countries as equivalent to an Ontario license. They are Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States.
The deadline to trade in a license from another country for an Ontario one is 60 days from your date of arrival in Ontario.
If you moved to Ontario from a country besides those listed above, you would need to follow the steps of Ontario's three-stage graduated licensing system to obtain your driver's license. However, depending on your years of driving experience, you may not need to start at the very beginning of the process.
You can also request your previous car insurance provider to give a reference to your new Ontario insurance company. Sharing information about your favourable insurance and driving history can help lower your rate.
Car insurance for high-risk drivers in Thunder Bay.
High-risk drivers pay the highest insurance premiums of any demographic.
Multiple convictions for driving offences, being caught without insurance, failing to pay your insurance premiums, and having your insurance cancelled are all red flags for insurers. If any of these apply to you, your insurance company will likely rate you as a high-risk driver. It shouldn't be a surprise – your premiums probably reflect this fact.
Ontario has an all-comers rule that limits insurance companies' ability to deny driver coverage (unless they've been banned from driving). However, most mainstream providers will offer insurance coverage at a premium.
Your best bet will be getting insurance from a company specializing in high-risk car insurance. LowestRates.ca compares the best high-risk car insurance providers in Ontario to obtain the coverage you need at the best rate.
