Whoopsies. Maybe others need a reminder too?

[Peakster]

I just realized that my car insurance ran out... on the 19th of December . I'll renew my insurance tomorrow.

Just a friendly reminder: make sure your car's insurance/registration hasn't run out before you drive long distances on the highway doing 20 miles an hour above the posted limit .

[MetroMPG]

I can beat that: I once let my driver's license expire!

Fortunately, I found out at a car rental counter, not stopped at the side of a highway.

(So they wouldn't rent to me - I ended up taking a bus instead, which was actually more enjoyable - better for enjoying the sights along the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler.)

[MetroMPG]

PS - I hope it doesn't cost you for the expiry. I've always been told that if you ever go without insurance in Ontario, you automatically start at the bottom of the rate ladder (you lose the benefit of your accumulated "claims free" driving years).

[Peakster]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

PS - I hope it doesn't cost you for the expiry. I've always been told that if you ever go without insurance in Ontario, you automatically start at the bottom of the rate ladder (you lose the benefit of your accumulated "claims free" driving years).

Ouch! That seems pretty unfair. What if you said that you had the car parked in the garage for some time and didn't need to insure it?

My dad knows a woman that went an entire year without insurance and totally clueless about it too. But still, it's pretty bad to go driving around without registration or insurance.

[DifferentPointofView]

I think my dad went almost a year on an expired drivers license. He finally looked at it and was like O_O"... I think I need to get it renewed...

[Silveredwings]

Where I am, if you let any premium lapse, ins. companies are 'required' to cancel ALL insurance that you have. I once had an apartment with renter's insurance. After I moved (which they knew), I neglected to formally end the policy, I just let it run out. The next thing I knew, I had a certified letter in the mail informaing me that they had seen fit to cancel the insurance on all my cars. This meant that my registrations were also invalid. Seems a bit harsh. I'm sure they paid off the right officials to get that travesty on the books. F'ing beaurocrats.

[MetroMPG]

Well, whatever their goal, they had me concerned enough that when I moved out of country for part of one year, I made sure to have my name added to a family member's vehicle policy so there would be no gap in my "continuous" insurance.

It didn't affect the price of the policy (my parents'), but I had to wonder if the intent of the rule was to scare people into being perpetually insured... or else pay (literally) the consequences.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Silveredwings

The next thing I knew, I had a certified letter in the mail informaing me that they had seen fit to cancel the insurance on all my cars.

Did your rates go up as a result? Or just your blood pressure?

[Silveredwings]

Rates were unchanged, but I think I popped some eye veins.

[Peakster]

I've heard car insurance stories from Alberta where if a driver has a couple of collision claims, even where it's not their fault, insurance companies will cancel their policy without even informing them, simply because 'it's costing the company money'.

I'm really surprised that even with Saskatchewan's provincially-socialized car insurance and rates, the company still makes money every year.

Another factor in your low rates is the Auto Fund’s philosophy that all drivers should be treated equally unless their driving records show they are a greater risk for causing a collision. That means we don’t use a drivers’ age, gender or where they live to determine a cost for their auto insurance. And because we don’t need to track and consider all those factors, we don’t have to do as much work as other companies to determine the insurance rate you pay.