Do you know what happens behind the scenes when you call into an insurance company for a car insurance quote?
The broker or agent that takes your call writes down all of your information, mainly:
• Type of vehicle
• Age of driver
• Class of license
• How many tickets he/she has
• How many at-fault accidents he/she has
• How many comprehensive claims he/she has
Then, he submits this info to the REVIEW TEAM, which consists of underwriters and managers. This review team determines if you’re good enough to be insured and, if so, at what price.
if you’re not “good enough”, they classify you as “high risk” and tell you to keep looking.
That’s how they determine what people are considered to be high risk drivers in Ontario.
Just kidding!!!
That’s not how it works, although that’s what many people believe.
How does it work?
Each insurance company that operates in Ontario files their underwriting rules with FSCO, which specify what drivers would be ineligible to be insured with them. So, the rules are different with each specific company. However, the following are generalizations of what will put you in the “high risk” category with most insurance companies:
Really though, insurance classifications are all about definitions. Each insurance company that operates in Ontario files their underwriting rules which define what drivers they will insure. These rules are filed with the Financial Services Commision of Ontario (FSCO). Anybody that falls outside of those rules are ineligible to be insured with them. You either qualify or you don’t. Some people refer to the people that don’t qualify as “high risk” drivers. There are specialized companies that insure the so-called high risk drivers. I deal with all of them, so feel free to call me for a quote.
• 3 minor tickets in 3 years
• 1 major ticket in 3 years
• 2 at-fault accidents in 5 years
• 2 insurance policy non-payment cancellations in 3 years
Of course, every situation is different. Feel free to ask me any other questions that you may have.
