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Dear Curious:
Sometimes you need a program to keep track of the players! Here's a quick cross-country run-down on auto insurance providers.
In Alberta, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, all car insurance is provided by private, non-government insurance companies who compete for your business.
In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, on the other hand, a government-owned insurer provides the basic compulsory insurance, while the government and private insurers compete for optional and "top-up" (additional) coverages. In British Columbia, basic coverage is provided by Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC); in Saskatchewan, by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI); and in Manitoba, by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI). In those provinces, you must buy your basic coverages through agents or brokers who represent the government insurer.
In Quebec, it's a different story. Physical damage -- meaning damage to your vehicle -- and compulsory Third Party Liability coverages are provided by private insurance companies, while basic bodily-injury coverage is provided by the government-owned Societé de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), with additional Accident Benefits coverage available from private insurers. Vive la différence!
Regardless of where you live, you must buy your insurance from a provider who is licensed in your home province. However, there are several options. You can buy from a broker, who sells insurance on behalf of a number of different insurance companies; an agent, who sells only the products of the company by which he or she is employed; through telephone call centres; or on the Internet.
But while rules and regulations may differ in some respects from one province and territory to the next, should you get the hankering to drive from Nunavut to Newfoundland, you can take to the road knowing that your auto insurance will cover you anywhere in Canada.
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