Auto Insurance Brokers: directory of firms

In British Columbia, ICBC states that Basic Autoplan insurance is the mandatory coverage you need for a vehicle in the province. Basic includes Enhanced Accident Benefits, which provide medical care, income replacement and recovery support to drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians injured in a crash, even if they are found responsible for it, together with Basic Vehicle Damage coverage, Third Party Liability, Underinsured Motorist Protection and Inverse Liability Protection. Transactions run through Autoplan brokers, and coverage beyond Basic is arranged on top of it rather than instead of it.

In Saskatchewan, the basic minimum coverage is required by law and is purchased at the same time as licence plates and vehicle registration, which is done at a motor licence issuer. Extended auto insurance is provided on a separate policy, and SGI's own guidance is that it may be purchased from the insurance company, broker or agent of your choice: it can cover a vehicle for replacement cost, pay for a rental while a vehicle is repaired, reduce the deductible and top up injury coverage. In Manitoba, Manitoba Public Insurance requires a valid vehicle registration and Autopac insurance to operate a vehicle on the roadway; Basic Autopac provides personal injury insurance, all-perils insurance and third-party liability insurance, with optional extension coverage available, and it is sold through a province-wide network of independent Autopac agents.

Quebec is a blended plan. The public automobile insurance plan administered by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec covers bodily injury: all Quebecers are covered for injuries sustained in a traffic accident, anywhere in the world, regardless of whether they are responsible. Property damage to the vehicle and civil liability are covered by private insurers, as the Groupement des assureurs automobiles describes in setting out the province's blended framework. Everywhere else in Canada, both sides of the risk sit with private insurers and are arranged through licensed brokers or agents.

Auto insurance is general insurance business, so the licence you are checking is a general insurance licence issued by your province's regulator. In Ontario that is the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario, which regulates general insurance brokers and publishes a broker search and a brokerage search; it tells consumers plainly to verify a licence to avoid unqualified or potentially fraudulent operators. In Alberta the Alberta Insurance Council licenses agents, brokers and independent adjusters and runs a public lookup. In British Columbia the Insurance Council of British Columbia's Insurance Licensee Directory shows licence class and status and the firms a licensee is authorised to represent, and in Quebec the Autorité des marchés financiers keeps the registers of authorised firms and individuals.

Public-plan provinces add a second layer. In British Columbia, Autoplan transactions run through brokers appointed by ICBC; in Manitoba, Autopac is sold by independent agents contracted with Manitoba Public Insurance; and in Saskatchewan, registration and the basic plate insurance that comes with it are handled by motor licence issuers. Those appointments sit on top of the provincial licence, not in place of it, so both are worth confirming.

Auto files change more often than any other personal line. A new driver in the household, a vehicle bought or sold, a move across town or across a provincial border, a change in how far you drive to work, a vehicle put into storage for the winter: each of those is something to report when it happens rather than at renewal. In public-plan provinces the same applies, since registration, plates and coverage are administered together and an out-of-date detail can affect both.

Keep the paperwork accessible. The declarations page, the proof of insurance carried in the vehicle, the plate and registration documents and any claims correspondence should be somewhere you can find them quickly, including a copy that is not in the glovebox of the car you might not be able to reach after a collision.