Car Insurance - Who Will Accept My Husband's International Driving History?? (Alberta)

[dominokitty]

My insurance company (TD) has just informed me that they can't accept my husband's 15-year driving history from Austria, and they want to insure him as a brand new driver, basically at the same rate that a 16 year old would have, even though his license is international and transferred directly to Canada without needing to write or take any additional tests. He's been driving on the autobahn in Germany for 15 years, I think he can handle the conditions here in the Prairies, lol. This is going to cost us WAY more in insurance than we are willing to pay and I can't think of a logical reason why a 30 year old man who got his license in a country with FAR stricter driving regulations and has been driving for half of his life should have to be insured as if he is just learning to drive.

Do you guys know of any companies we can switch to that will not treat my husband like a second-class citizen because he just moved here? Thanks so much. We just want someone who will acknowledge that his driving history in Europe is just as valid as my history here.

 

[Buletruck]

Inquire with the Insurance bureau of Canada for an explanation. If that isn't satisfactory, you can elevate it to the Superintendent of Insurance to file a complaint.

http://finance.alberta.ca/publications/insurance/contact.html

 

[zardoz]

My insurance company (TD) has just informed me that they can't accept my husband's 15-year driving history from Austria, and they want to insure him as a brand new driver, basically at the same rate that a 16 year old would have, even though his license is international and transferred directly to Canada without needing to write or take any additional tests. He's been driving on the autobahn in Germany for 15 years, I think he can handle the conditions here in the Prairies, lol. This is going to cost us WAY more in insurance than we are willing to pay and I can't think of a logical reason why a 30 year old man who got his license in a country with FAR stricter driving regulations and has been driving for half of his life should have to be insured as if he is just learning to drive.

Do you guys know of any companies we can switch to that will not treat my husband like a second-class citizen because he just moved here? Thanks so much. We just want someone who will acknowledge that his driving history in Europe is just as valid as my history here.

This appears to be the normal situation with Canadian insurance companies and foreign driving experience. I'd been driving in the UK for nearly 40 years before I took up residence in Ontario. Same problems with obtaining credit for that experience. You just have to shop around, or better still, work via a broker. There is more flexibility to negotiate when using a broker.

 

[steaky]

Why not insure your car in BC? ICBC is the only basic insurance company in the province (no need to shop around) and they recognize foreign driving experience.

 

[varvaruk2007]

My insurance company (TD) has just informed me that they can't accept my husband's 15-year driving history from Austria, and they want to insure him as a brand new driver, basically at the same rate that a 16 year old would have, even though his license is international and transferred directly to Canada without needing to write or take any additional tests. He's been driving on the autobahn in Germany for 15 years, I think he can handle the conditions here in the Prairies, lol. This is going to cost us WAY more in insurance than we are willing to pay and I can't think of a logical reason why a 30 year old man who got his license in a country with FAR stricter driving regulations and has been driving for half of his life should have to be insured as if he is just learning to drive.

Do you guys know of any companies we can switch to that will not treat my husband like a second-class citizen because he just moved here? Thanks so much. We just want someone who will acknowledge that his driving history in Europe is just as valid as my history here.

Hi. Just read this post and decided to register to reply with a good new for you.

I live in Red Deer, Albert and use Johnson Insurance for my vehicle. The count a driving experience from oversees.
I have 8 years in Ukraine and 3 years in Canada and paying around $98 a month for a full coverage with $500 deductible.
In order to get my Ukrainian driving experienc considered I had to provide a clean drivers abstract for all 8 years from my country and dubmit it to the insurance company.

That's the only insurance company that allows that. So go with Jhonson Insurance. All my Ukrainian friends use them too.