Calculating your automobile insurance rates in Vancouver can be complicated. You may have come to this page looking for a Vancouver car insurance calculator. However, a basic calculator likely won’t take into account the many considerations that go into determining your rate. Just like any insurance provider, the ICBC uses a number of factors to calculate your insurance premiums. Here are some to consider:
Your licence level: Not having a full licence will cause your premium to be higher. Conversely, having a full licence has a positive effect on your car insurance rates. New drivers looking for car insurance in Vancouver may see higher rates due to this. This is also why students who need car insurance in Vancouver may face challenges securing an affordable rate.
Your mileage: How much you drive every day is another major contributor to what you’ll pay in auto insurance rates. Someone that’s driving 30-45 minutes to and from work each day will pay more in car insurance than someone who only uses their car to run the occasional errand.
Your postal code: Insurance companies determine your rates partially based on the postal code you live in. If your area generally has a higher concentration of claims, you may find yourself paying higher rates than people living in the next postal code over.
Your driving record: Your driving history is another factor that will weigh heavily on how much you pay for car insurance. Someone with an accident or multiple tickets on their record will pay more for insurance than someone with a clean record because they’ll be deemed higher risk. Having little driving experience (approximately less than 10 years), previous claims, and driving convictions will push your car insurance rates up. For this reason, car insurance rates for high-risk drivers in Vancouver may be higher than the average rate.
Your age: Like it or not, the younger you are, the more you’ll pay for car insurance (rates level out by age 30). This is because you’re considered a high-risk driver until you’ve built up a driving history that demonstrates the opposite. There isn’t much you can do about it, but at least you’re not alone. Young people across Canada face the same high auto insurance rates when compared to the more experienced drivers they share the road with. This is another reason why the ICBC may not give new drivers in Vancouver a cheap rate on their car insurance.
However, being young isn’t the only way age can impact your car insurance rates. Adults between the ages of 50 and 70 get some of the lowest car insurance rates in Canada. If you belong to this demographic, you probably have a long history of being insured and you might even have bundled your home insurance policy with the same provider of your auto insurance. After age 70, rates begin to creep up because people in this age group are statistically more likely to need to file a claim and need longer to recover from an injury. Therefore, seniors in Vancouver who hold car insurance policies may have trouble getting cheap rates.
Your policy: How much you pay in auto insurance is impacted by how much auto insurance you buy. There are a number of different policies to choose from in Vancouver, but everyone in Canada is required to have at least a basic level of car insurance.
Your insurance history: In addition to having a poor driving history, your insurance history can also play a role in determining your rates. If you’ve filed multiple claims or have a history of missing payments, you may be given a higher rate. Furthermore, new immigrants who need car insurance in Vancouver may also face challenges because they have no Canadian insurance history at all.
However, this can be mitigated by asking your last insurance company to provide a reference for you when switching to a new provider.
Vancouverites searching for car insurance should also note that as of September 2019, the ICBC moved to a more driver-focused model. This means that your personal driving and insurance history will be more important in calculating your rate than external factors.