Shopping For Temporary Car Insurance In Canada
Car insurance is required to legally drive a car, and it protects a driver from the risks associated with driving. However, car insurance plans frequently require a driver to sign up for a long term commitment with it being difficult for drivers to find an insurance plan on a short term basis.
Temporary Insurance: What Is It?
Drivers can solve the problem of getting temporary coverage by purchasing a temporary insurance plan. Generally, a temporary insurance plan is for less than a few months with some plans covering a driver for a couple of weeks. A typical temporary insurance plan will cover the driver from between one day to a month.
Temporary car insurance policies have a number of advantages. They are generally cheaper than other car insurance plans that may require a driver to sign up for a committed term of payments. However, most temporary insurance plans will be more expensive on a day to day basis than a long term plan. Most temporary plans simply require the car owner to place a phone call. The temporary car insurance can then be added to a car almost immediately.
Why Might You Need Temporary Car Coverage?
There is a variety of reasons why you may need temporary insurance. The most common reason is that you are the owner of a car that you only drive during certain parts of a year. This may be a car used for road trips, moving furniture, hauling a trailer, or a classic car that you rarely drive. This allows you to save money on insuring these cars while allowing them to be covered during the time they are in use.
It is common to get temporary insurance for people who do not drive the car that often. This may be a student who is home from school and needs to drive the car, house guests or house sitters that need a way to get around, and for people who suddenly find a need to drive.
Temporary insurance can be used to maintain coverage between when you first buy a car and are waiting to decide on a permanent car insurance plan. This allows you to secure the best policy possible. Temporary insurance is useful if you are too busy to pick out the best permanent car insurance policy. Similarly, temporary insurance can be used to maintain coverage when switching policies.
Also, temporary insurance is useful when selling a car. It allows you to avoid having to pay insurance on a car that is already sold while still maintaining coverage during the sales process. This means that a driver doesn’t have to rush to sell a car that has had its permanent insurance plan canceled.
Temporary Car Insurance In Ontario
Ontario has some of the tightest car insurance regulations, the highest prices, and the highest minimum requirement of liability coverage. This makes Ontario one of the most difficult places in Canada to get car insurance. It also has some of the fewest temporary insurance providers.
Ontario requires a driver to carry minimum liability coverage of at least two hundred thousand dollars. This amount can be far less than the amount of damages caused in an accident, and it can easily leave a driver open to having to cover the remaining cost of an accident. This means that when shopping for temporary insurance it is important to consider purchasing an insurance policy that will offer enough liability protection. This is in addition to coverage that will cover damages to yourself and your own car.
Ontario allows a driver to secure a registration permit for the first ten days. However, temporary insurance is still required during this ten day window. The driver will then have to find a permanent form of car insurance as there are very few companies that offer short term policies. The temporary insurance market is very thin in Ontario with very few companies offering even six month plans. So far, in 2019, you can get a 6 month plan at
desjardinsagents.com (formerly State Farm Canada). We will update this section once we get new information on carriers that offer shorter term insurance policies than 6 months.
Temporary Car Insurance in Alberta
Alberta makes the process of securing temporary insurance very difficult. They allow driver to secure in-transit permits that allow them to use the plates from another car for a two week period. Alberta does require insurance during these two weeks.
Alberta does not have any insurance companies that offer policies for less than a six month term. This means that drivers may have to settle for this length of time even if that is not ideal for them.
In addition, the process of canceling a policy can be expensive. The insurer can charge fees for early cancellation.
Temporary Car Insurance In Quebec
Quebec offers some of the cheapest car insurance rates in all of Canada. The government can provide a temporary permit that can last for between half a day to a month. This permit allows the driver to use the car, but a driver will need to get coverage in order to be protected during this time. Quebec has some of the lowest requirements for liability coverage at fifty thousand dollars. This means that most drivers will want to purchase a policy with additional coverage.
Quebec does not have any car insurance providers that offer coverage for less than six months. This means that a driver should look into the cost of canceling a policy early.
How To Get Temporary or Short Term Car Insurance
The first step in purchasing temporary insurance is to make a list of companies that offer this type of insurance.
You will then have to decide on how long of coverage you will need, what level of liability coverage, and if you want additional coverage such as collision or total insurance coverage.
Temporary insurance may present you with the decision to purchase a relatively longer policy for a lower rate, or a short term policy that may not cover the full amount of time that you need insurance for. It is good to compare the rates between policies with different lengths of coverage.
The final process of securing temporary insurance is fairly easy. Most policies can be secured over the phone. This is especially true when securing coverage for a temporary driver on an existing policy. Other companies allow insurers to purchase policies over the internet.
It is important to review the policy for things such as cancellation or renewal fees.
