When 26-year-old Hameed Yousufzai got here to Canada from Afghanistan two years in the past, he shortly realized he wanted a automotive to get across the metropolis of St. Catharines, Ont., the place he settled.
When he first purchased a automotive, he paid about $450 a month for automotive insurance coverage.
Yousufzai had been driving for seven years, however says no insurance coverage firm he checked with would take that historical past into consideration.
“This isn’t really honest for us,” stated Yousufzai, who wants a automotive to get to his job at close by Niagara-on-the-Lake as a result of public transit is not dependable.
“I’m fairly accustomed to driving, with no accidents or with no tickets in my complete life.”
Yousufzai is amongst many new immigrants who say they’re paying increased automotive insurance coverage prices as a result of their earlier driving expertise is not factored into their month-to-month charges.
He needs insurance coverage firms to alter their insurance policies, particularly as a result of the price of dwelling is already so excessive.
Yousufzai says he has to work to cowl his bills in Canada and help his complete household in Afghanistan, whereas additionally paying the excessive value of automotive insurance coverage.
Downgrading insurance coverage to save cash
The excessive value of auto insurance coverage for immigrants is not simply a difficulty in Ontario.
In Calgary, new immigrants are additionally struggling to pay excessive charges. On the Centre for Newcomers, which had about 50,000 folks use their companies final 12 months, the difficulty nearly at all times comes up, in line with CEO Anila Umar.
“That is an injustice,” she stated. “You mainly should determine, ‘Am I going to pay for this automotive in an effort to get to work to make the cash? Or am I going to pay for meals?’ ”
Umar says Calgary isn’t properly related sufficient by public transit for folks to depend on it to get to work. She notes it could take a number of hours to get from one finish of town to the opposite.
“We actually do want automobiles in an effort to survive right here in Calgary,” she stated.
Yousufzai says he tried a wide range of strategies to deliver the $450 a month premium down, together with shopping for a a lot older automotive. When that did not work, he determined to downgrade his protection to what’s often called “one-way” insurance coverage — which value him near $200 a month. Within the case of a collision, one-way insurance coverage means the corporate would solely cowl damages for the opposite automotive, not his personal.
“It is a large danger that I tackle my shoulders,” he stated.
He not too long ago bought a more recent automotive as a result of restore prices have been including up. He is now paying $300 a month for full protection.
Assessing danger
Auto insurance coverage charges have develop into a scorching political challenge in Ontario over time. Official statistics from the provincial regulator cited by the auditor common present premiums have risen increased than inflation since 2022.
The earlier Liberal authorities of Kathleen Wynne promised in 2013 to scale back auto insurance coverage charges by 15 per cent inside two years, however that did not occur. In truth, rates had increased slightly by 2015.
For a lot of insurance coverage firms, there isn’t any solution to calculate how seemingly somebody is to get right into a collision in the event that they have not pushed in Canada, in line with insurance coverage dealer Daniel Ivans, who works with aggregator web site Charges.ca.
He stated insurance coverage firms haven’t got a means of assessing danger as a result of totally different nations could have totally different guidelines, laws and report conserving. In addition they have totally different climates, which suggests totally different driving situations.
“How a lot can the basics [of driving] assist any person of their first Canadian winter on a February driving down an icy street?” he stated.
Based on the Insurance coverage Bureau of Canada (IBC), recognition of driving expertise from outdoors of Canada can differ between firms.
“Driving guidelines and laws in Canada can range fairly significantly from different nations,” stated Brett Weltman, the IBC’s supervisor of media relations.
Many provinces have what’s often called a reciprocal licence settlement, the place folks from locations just like the U.Ok. or Japan can straight alternate their licence for one from the province the place they now stay. Although not all firms issue that in when calculating insurance coverage charges, some could give partial credit score if somebody is ready to present a driving report.
For instance, Ontario firm Onlia Insurance coverage says it considers out-of-country licenced years and credits three “claim-free years” as a baseline if somebody is new to Ontario and has no prior automotive insurance coverage historical past in Canada.
Worldwide licensing not credited
Whereas provinces like Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta function underneath a personal insurance coverage system, others like British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have public insurance coverage.
All insurers within the numerous provinces have totally different formulation when calculating somebody’s fee.
For instance, in Saskatchewan, primary auto insurance coverage charges underneath the general public Saskatchewan Auto Fund are primarily based on the car, not the motive force. For folks arriving from outdoors of the nation, the insurer will solely take into account a reduction if the newcomer offers documentation of their driving expertise, together with claims and visitors violations. Nonetheless, that is not a assure.
“Most worldwide licensing and historical past aren’t credited by way of getting decrease or discounted insurance coverage premiums,” stated Ivans.
For Marcel van den Berg, a pharmacist who moved from Germany to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, three years in the past, the distinction in how a lot newcomers should pay is seemingly at odds with Canada’s pro-immigration coverage.
Van den Berg, who simply acquired his insurance coverage renewed final week, says he was “flabbergasted” that he could not get a decrease fee than $700 a month for 2 automobiles, regardless of having a clear driving report for the final 30 years in Europe.
He says he feels that whereas many newcomers contribute to the neighborhood and society, they’re nonetheless typically handled as second-class residents.
“People who find themselves immigrants are handled not in the identical means as Canadians.”
Entry to automobiles ‘crucial’
Emily Kovacs, government director of the Niagara People Arts Multicultural Centre in St. Catharines, needs insurance coverage firms to create extra inclusive insurance policies and consider driving historical past when figuring out premiums.
She says that, typically, with the ability to pay automotive insurance coverage turns into the figuring out issue of whether or not persons are in a position to thrive or in the event that they stay in poverty.
“Entry to a automotive and transportation is crucial,” she stated. “It’s the equal to entry to housing.”
