Factors that do impact your car insurance rates in Newfoundland and Labrador:
Your driving history: Insurers like to see a lot of driving experience (typically eight years or so). They reward long-time drivers who are conviction and claims-free with lower rates. This factor also makes it harder for new drivers in St. John’s who need car insurance to find affordable rates.
In addition, if you’ve been deemed a high risk driver and you need car insurance in St. John’s, your driving history may become an obstacle to obtaining a cheaper rate. Click here to learn more about high risk car insurance quotes for St. John’s drivers.
Your postal code: Insurance companies also rely on postal code regions to price auto insurance. Some postal code regions pay more in insurance than others because customers within that region are more likely to file a claim. That includes situations such as theft, vandalism, and collisions.
Your mileage: Insurance companies will ask you how many kilometres you drive each day. The longer your commute, the more time you spend on the road, which increases the probability that you’ll be involved in an accident.
Your car: Insurance companies have figured out a way to judge which car model is more likely to be involved in a collision, regardless of driver behaviour.
St. John’s is unique in that the provincial government. forbids insurers from using some factors to determine auto insurance premiums — factors that are standard criteria in most provinces.
Factors that don’t impact your car insurance rates in St. John’s:
Your age: Unlike other provinces, car insurance for young drivers in St. John’s will not be more expensive than for other drivers. Car insurance prices in St. John’s are not tied to age, unlike the rest of Canada, where rates tend to drop off after age 25 and continue to fall through to age 30.
This is why cheap car insurance for new drivers in St. John’s can be easier to find than in other provinces. (Learn more about shopping for car insurance for students in St. John’s.)
This isn’t the only way your age can impact your car insurance rates. Adults between the ages of 50 and 70 get some of the lowest car insurance rates. If you belong to this demographic, you probably have a long history of being insured and you might even have bundled your home insurance policy with the same provider of your auto insurance. After age 70, though, seniors in many Canadian provinces might see their rates begin to creep up. People in this age group are more statistically more likely to need to file a claim and need longer to recover from an injury. However, due to provincial policies, car insurance rates for seniors in St. John’s will be no more expensive than residents of other ages.
Your gender: In many cities, your gender also plays a role in determining your auto insurance rates. Men are known to pay more than women for a variety of reasons. In St. John’s, however, insurance companies are not allowed to use this factor, so gender will not apply when calculating insurance rates.
Your insurance history: Missed a car insurance payment? Insurance companies give preference to customers who always pay on time and have no gaps in their insurance history. This is why one of the best ways to gradually reduce your car insurance costs in St. John’s is to make your payments on time, every month.
However, it’s also important to note that in St. John’s, a lapse in or absence of an insurance history won’t impact your rates. This applies except in the case of licence suspensions and traffic convictions. For example, cheap car insurance rates for new immigrants in St. John’s may be easier to find than in other Canadian provinces.
Other factors that cannot impact your car insurance rates in St. John’s include; your marital status, the age of your car, accidents in which you were not at fault, being previously refused insurance by another company and being insured with the Facility Association (insurance pool funded by car insurance companies that specializes in covering high-risk drivers, i.e., the insurer of last resort).
