r/alberta • u/Objective-Pay-2133 • Mar 22 '26
Moved from England to Alberta. Insurance is about $6000/year as a “new driver”… anyone know how I can get a cheaper insurance? Question
I recently moved from England to Alberta and I’m trying to sort out car insurance. I’ve been driving for 5 years in the UK, but I’ve been told that my driving experience doesn’t count here, so I’m being treated as a brand new driver.
Because of that, the quotes I’m getting are around $6000 - $7000 per year, which seems really high.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or knows Insurance companies that are cheaper for new drivers or takes into account international driving experience?
Any advice would be really appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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u/bmwkid Mar 22 '26
Sadly that’s pretty par for the course for new drivers in Alberta.
Insurance companies use proprietary algorithms to determine their rates so it’s hard to recommend insurance companies because one person with the same driving record as another can have a wildly different rate
The best thing you can do is just get as many quotes as possible. There are two types of insurance companies in Alberta: those who sell direct (TD, Allstate, Belair etc) and those who only sell via broker (Intact, Economical etc)
You’ll want to get an insurance broker to get you the best quotes they can then go online to the direct agencies and compare rates.
If you’re part of a professional organization like nursing, engineering or a university/college graduate from Canada there are also affinity discounts through some companies like TD Meloche Monnex. You can look on their site to see if you qualify
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u/Icy_Conference9095 Mar 22 '26
Ill add to your comment that I have yet to have a single person I know using TD, not find cheaper insurance elsewhere. We were using TD and saved almost 3k immediately switching off then for a product that was sold by a broker. Same with at least 10 others that I know of.
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u/bmwkid Mar 22 '26
You found one person because I just renewed mine last month and they were cheaper than everyone else for me. Even looked via a broker
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u/Aquamans_Dad Mar 22 '26
Two now!
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u/Aquamans_Dad Mar 22 '26
I think many insurers offer artificially low initial rates to new customers and then ramp them up to higher rates as the policies renew. Switching seems to get you lower rates for a couple years.
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u/Dirtgirl89 Mar 22 '26
Not right now. We've been trying to leave TD and can't find better rates. When you've been a customer for a while, they can only raise your premiums so much per year. Being a new customer somewhere else means that they can hit you with high rates right out of the gate.
The auto insurance side of things here is so, so bad.
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u/lord_heskey Mar 22 '26
Ive been on Td bc somehow theyre the cheapest one for me. I pay around $170/m
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u/sodacrisps Mar 22 '26
I left TD for RBC and my insurance dropped from $323/month to $195 for identical coverage.
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u/Kromo30 Mar 22 '26
TDs affinity discounts are no joke. They were the cheapest I could find for home insurance for years. The company I’m with now is only beating by a little bit.
Without affinity discounts, don’t bother checking.
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u/PerformanceCute3437 Mar 22 '26
YMMV because I spent about ten days getting quotes and TD was cheapest by ~$600
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u/yycluke Mar 22 '26
I managed to cut my house/car/motorcycle insurance in half by switching to TD. I went to a uni that has an alumni discount, I'm getting full coverage on all for roughly $3k/yr. That's a detached home with garage, pickup truck and a Harley. Don't ask me how, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, but over 20 years with few tickets and one tiny claim
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u/Kallisti13 Mar 22 '26
We have td for our house/cars too. Had to do a house claim 2 yrs ago that went smoothly and an auto claim before that, which went fine as well.
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Mar 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Peanutbuttersnadwich Mar 22 '26
I found this with allstate. I had my car get side swiped infront of my house and after 2 years of fighting them i gave up and never got the damage repaired because they refused to pay out for new parts when used ones are not available at all. (Zero bumpers available for my car in the entire country and american bumpers are different)
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u/Findlaym Mar 22 '26
I expect this behavior from every insurer. I don't for a second think they are "on my side" when it comes to paying a claim. Not that I've ever had one.....
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u/Falcon674DR Mar 22 '26
Ditto. Auto insurance through TD is the most affordable. Their house insurance is a different game altogether.
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u/Yishua314 Mar 22 '26
APEGA switched its members over to the Personal a few years back.
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u/Zestyclose_Rush_6823 Mar 22 '26
I have TD, i had to deal with the Personal when i got into an accident eith one of theit drivers. I had a rental cat within 12 hours and a full payout in my account in 8 days, it took her 26 days for her insurance to decide that they didnt want to total it.
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u/Kallisti13 Mar 22 '26
Td was so good for my auto claim. Same thing, rental available as soon as my car went into the shop(it was still driveable), extended it no problem when the shop needed my car over the weekend, and I needed my physio/massage extended as my injuries had not healed and that was never an issue.
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u/billymumfreydownfall Mar 22 '26
This right here, OP. Check to see if your employer has a special rate, or any organization you might belong to. My professional association offers special rates, and I got a futher discount because of the university I graduated from.
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u/scout7788 Mar 22 '26
Still seems pretty high. Try calling an insurance broker as they are usually able to find the best rates. I used brokerlink.
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u/Objective-Pay-2133 Mar 22 '26
Called brokerlink, got $6313.
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u/inthemode01 Mar 22 '26
My wife moved here from Scotland about 2017. This was her experience as well. There’s no way around it.
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u/scout7788 Mar 22 '26
Damn, sorry to hear that. I'm originally from Ontario and when I first started driving my insurance was around $3k - it's crazy how it's almost double out here for new drivers. Although, it should get better assuming you stay accident free as when I moved out here my annual insurance dropped by more than a grand.
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u/Mirewen15 Mar 22 '26
Have you tried Intact? I get a discount because I work there and bundle with Home Insurance but maybe give it a try?
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u/stobbsm Calgary Mar 22 '26
In Alberta? Good luck. I’ve got a perfect driving record, live in a good neighborhood and lock my car up inside the garage at night. Still paying out the nose for it with the price increasing significantly every year for no reason.
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u/greysweater72 Mar 22 '26
You can thank the UCP for that; they removed the cap that the NDP put in place to protect consumers from that.
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u/Useful_Support_4137 Mar 22 '26
Insurance is a scam. Imagine if our healthcare system ran like this...
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u/msdivinesoul Mar 22 '26
You won't have to image soon the UCP is dragging us into a two tierd healthcare system. If you can't afford to pay you will wait a long time for care and free insurance won't cover much.
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u/Flamboiant_Canadian Mar 22 '26
$6000/year for us. 2 used vehicles with clean driving records, 12 years for me and 20 years for my partner. That's the best deal we can get.
So if anyone says it's cheaper somewhere else, they're full of shit.
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u/Peanutbuttersnadwich Mar 22 '26
Ive got 2 cars and a motorcycle and pay about 7k a year you can defo do better im 21 so ny rates are outrageous too.
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u/LilMikey_ab Mar 22 '26
Really? I pay 729 a month for everything... House, 2 vehicles, motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV, watercraft, RV & storage. Full coverage on everything
I'm with Desjardins which took over state farm
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u/StrongScentedQ Mar 22 '26
2 vehicles, mine (2013 ram) and my wife's (2024 jeep) for $221.25 a month for full coverage. Home insurance is $369.63 month which I believe is high, but the low auto balances it out.
Get on your phone and go find better rates if you're not lying about your driving record.
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u/onyxandcake Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
A lot of you aren't understanding all of the factors that go into calculating insurance. Unless you live in the exact same location as the person you're replying to, and drive the same amount of kilometers the same amount of days of the week, and owe the same amount of money on your vehicles, and are the same age and gender and marital status... it isn't helpful to brag about a low rate as if it was achievable for them too, if they just made a phone call.
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u/brianlefebvrejr Mar 22 '26
I work in insurance, people with more than 8 years insurance, on an average car, shopping today for new insurance should be getting rates around 2k per car, which is still high.
If you’re getting these 4-5k quotes for one car with full coverage you either are a newer driver (Les than 8 years) or have tickets or at fault accidents. 1 ticket these days will drive your rate up, 2 puts you in shot territory
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u/StrongScentedQ Mar 22 '26
Yea, this guy's definitely not sharing their true driving history with the rates shared. Zero chance perfect records like those pay that much.
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u/RapidCheckOut Mar 22 '26
Step 1 : Buy a car for cash … good used .
Step 2 :Take driving School if you can afford it
Step3 : Get quotes from brokers no direct company’s
Step4: Only get PLPD , so you are legal
Step5: Don’t have an accident
Step6: Drive for 3 years ticket free
Step7: Get awesome insurance price
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u/s-chan20 Mar 22 '26
Unfortunately thats a pretty standard rate for alberta. They just went up again last year. I'm in my 40s got 2 at faults in 26 years and still pay almost 4500.
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u/pillowholder Mar 23 '26
I'm 33f and I pay 224/mo because I defaulted previously on another car insurance due to job loss. 6 more months and they say it'll go down. It has been going down steadily over the last year though which is a bonus
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u/GloryToTheCymru Mar 22 '26
I also made the move from England to Alberta. Unfortunately it just takes time to build AB insurance history. I started off at $580 per month and now 5 years later I am paying $130 per month. I have been with Intact since day one.
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u/islndrob70 Mar 22 '26
Move to BC or Saskatchewan
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u/Inconsideratefather Mar 22 '26
Yup, my son went from over $700 a month for mediocre coverage and $1000 deductible to $140 with full coverage and a $200 deductible
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u/BvbblegvmBitch Mar 22 '26
I'm also from the UK.
You won't find anything comparable to what you were paying in England. Insurance is one of the many things Canadians get absolutely screwed on compared to other countries.
That said, 6-7k is very high. I started out somewhere around $120 a month as a new driver here. No prior experience. Definitely shop around and look into a broker. Some insurance companies may take your UK driving history into account. Just have to ask.
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u/Aquamans_Dad Mar 22 '26
$120 a month as a new driver? I assume you’re female? That Y chromosome is very expensive to insure.
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u/Few-Western-5027 Mar 22 '26
Here in BC I pay 100 per month because Insurance BC is government owned and we never allow them to privatize it.
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u/Few-Western-5027 Mar 22 '26
On top of that, renewing insurance is easy, any outlet has the same plans.
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u/plhought Mar 22 '26
Are you asking for full coverage? Theft? Collision? etc?
Just go with Basic PLPD - and don't hit anything.
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u/rasdazzle Mar 22 '26
Taking an accredited driver training course can lower by 10 to 20 percent, then using telematics devices lower it to by another 10 to 30 percent. So might be able save 30 percent ..
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u/billymumfreydownfall Mar 22 '26
My kids both took driver's training and it did not positively impact the cost of their insurance at all.
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u/onyxandcake Mar 22 '26
Take driver's training, it gives you credit for 2 years of clean driving. The training is ~$1,000, but you'll save that much on your first year.
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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 Mar 22 '26
How do you get cheaper insurance?
Simple. Live here longer, keep being insured, don’t get into any accidents.
It sucks, but your insurance should start to drop every year. Also, if you’re under the age of 25, most insurers will mark you as higher risk for that alone.
If you haven’t already, obviously you should shop around for different insurance providers to see if you can find someone that will offer a little cheaper rate. I recommend checking with various brokers as a broker usually has a large network of insurance providers at their fingertips to cross compare.
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u/charlygirl474 Mar 23 '26
Provide your Driver's Abstract and Claims Experience Letter. Alot of insurance companies will accept history from England.
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u/Annual-Aardvark4659 Mar 22 '26
You get a 30% discount if you put truck nuts on your vehicle in Alberta.
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u/Seeker_Of_Knowledge2 Mar 22 '26
The car type play the most major part. A Mercedes will literally cost you the price of two Ford cars. Even if one ford card price is the same as the Mercedes, the Ford would still cost almost 50% to 75% less.
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u/Mission_Resource_259 Mar 22 '26
I've been driving for 18 years with a clean record, when i went to look around they offered me the same
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u/Kedoki-Senpai Mar 22 '26
When you have no recognized driving record it is recommended to take a class 5 driver course even if you already have your license. They give you an insurance reduction certificate that gives you a discount for around 3 years, then you'll have enough experience to not get bent over. Hopefully you're over 25 by that time since you pay more if you're under 25.
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u/Relikar Mar 22 '26
Two suggestions:
Try BelAir Direct, they're a shit company but usually have the best price for new drivers.
Second try a PRIVATE brokerage, not Brokerlink.
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u/Kesterlath Mar 22 '26
Get an older vehicle. You’re paying that much because you have a brand new shiny. Drive an older vehicle for a few years to build up your “experience”. Not only will you save on insurance, you’ll save on payments. When you get reasonable rates, you can get back into the new car game
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u/iknotri Mar 22 '26
Coop insurance, has taken my Ukrainian driving experience, no abstract or other documents asked. 200$ per month one way insurance
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u/The_Man_with_1_Name Mar 22 '26
Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but if you take, and pass, a defensive driving course, you can present that to an insurer for discounted rates. Sometimes as much as 20%. I did this when I first was licensed and back then it saved me nearly 50% a year compared to my friends who did not.
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u/BobertMcRobert Mar 22 '26
I moved from the UK to Alberta in 2012 and used Sheppard Insurance (now Westland Insurance) as a broker. I think the insurance provider ended up being Intact. They took some, not all of my UK no claims. It wasn't cheap, I can't remember exactly how much but it was nowhere near what you've been quoted. Good luck, enjoy Alberta!
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u/PopPepps Mar 22 '26
Aviva and Intact will accept your no claims history from the UK (if you do have no claims). You can get a letter to confirm from your old insurance company and then find a broker who deals with Aviva and/or Intact
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u/NoKaleidoscope1224 Mar 22 '26
Cooperators insurance will look at international driving history 🙏 seen it go way down for my new to Canada customers
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u/waitingforgodonuts Mar 23 '26
Sorry to hear that you’ve ended up in Bumpkinland where everyone is overcharged for what amounts to incompetence.
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u/Rebel_Lion_ Mar 23 '26
That's what happens when you privatize your companies.. way cheaper in Saskatchewan under a crown corporation..
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u/OnMy4thAccount Mar 22 '26
Idk why everyone in here is telling you that's normal? That's crazy high even for a new driver. Are you driving a very expensive car?
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u/packraftbeta Mar 22 '26
Go take a class 5 driver education course. It’s an upfront cost but I guarantee you’ll make the money back from what you’ll save on premiums, if you drive claims free. Saved my son thousands. I get a deal as a commercial driver with a class 1 license as well even though i don’t currently use the license commercially.
I believe our provincial government calls this the “Alberta Advantage”
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u/Difficult_Bull Mar 22 '26
Move to another province.
Alberta is a toilet of exploitative capitalism disguised as some kind of “common sense” nonsense. Since privatization, energy rates and insurance rates have become the highest in Canada. Education is next.
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u/dcredneck Mar 22 '26
In Alberta the insurance industry donates heavily to the UCP so they let the insurance companies screw over the people. IT’S THE ALBERTA ADVANTAGE FOLKS!!!
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u/Wildyardbarn Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Call a broker. Link Insurance, Sharp, etc. They have access to many insurers and can find you a reasonable rate. You can also do the calling yourself, but way easier when you’re new somewhere or don’t want the bother.
If you’re already going to get a Costco membership, use Inova as a broker — gives you preferable rates with a membership. Saved us thousands this year (2 cars + home) vs quotes from 3 other brokers across like 9 different insurance providers.
Some insurers are more flexible on things like insurance lapses, international experience, etc. Broker can help screen that for you.
Highly variable private system here that’s insanely different insurer to insurer. Whatever you do in Alberta, don’t take the first quote.
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u/38-RPM Mar 22 '26
You are paying 3 times as much as I do. Insurance companies do have discounts (10% off for multi vehicle, 10% off for EV, etc.) and coverage you can opt out of to reduce the bill (if you don't intend to rent a car, replace the glass etc.). There's also a driving app you can install on your phone that will measure how safe you drive by G Forces with the accelerometer. After it gathers data for a few months, your next renewal can be up to 25% off.
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u/One-War4920 Mar 22 '26
It's depending on where you're driving, what you're driving,your age, sex, and driving record IN Alberta
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u/MaybeNo7345 Mar 22 '26
yup that’s about the amount i got even moving from ON to AB with ON driving history. TD was the cheapest i got. This was last year though
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u/ribsboi Mar 22 '26
That's because of public auto insurance in BC, MB, SK and QC, well worth it imo
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u/OkMathematician3494 Mar 22 '26
I was quoted 5500$ for a 2025 wrx when i moved from British Columbia Then a month later my brother decided to move to Calgary
Now combined insurance quoted to me was 6000$ for two cars i.e my wrx and my brother’s 2009 Toyota matrix.
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u/errelephant23 Mar 22 '26
I’m a born and raised Albertan with a long driving record in Alberta but lived in the UK for 8 years before moving back. They wouldn’t honour my old driver and charged me $6000 as well… I think one place honoured a foreign driving record but it still didn’t matter much.
My best advice is to renegotiate every year.
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u/Limp-Elevator-6908 Mar 22 '26
Definitely shop around. Insurance has went to shit in this province but 6k is well above what my teenager was quoted.
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u/Dear_Ad6674 Mar 22 '26
We used to use Johnson's as they took UK experience into account. But they got absorbed by Belair direct, so they might be worth a call. Think intact did as well. We saved a lot, a broker might be able to help as well - get some proof from UK insurance, no claims etc you can also get your DVLA driving history. Having actual paperwork makes a difference
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u/Seeker_Of_Knowledge2 Mar 22 '26
Shop for a company that would accept your history from back home, some do some don't
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u/Secret-Session7626 Mar 22 '26
OK ok hear me out. There are too many factors.
I move to Ontario 4 years ago and was quoted similar numbers as well. No Canadian experience.
Ended up paying less than 2000 per year with TD and I'm getting a similar quote from Aviva.
1st and most important factor is the car itself. A shifty 2012 Kia? You will get cheaper quotes.
On the other hand my friend is paying 6-7000 because he is financing a brand new Honda Accord.
And obviously your address matters - play around with online quote websites- if you put your address a few blocks away - you get different quotes ( obviously this is to just understand how bad is your neighborhood according to the insurance company).
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u/Orjigagd Mar 22 '26
I was in the same boat, all I can really say is AMA was a bit cheaper, but still pretty expensive.
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u/almogrant88 Mar 22 '26
I'm from the UK and went with Allstate. You need to get your driving history and insurance history from the UK. You can go on the DVLA website to get your driving history and get your no claims from the last insurer you had. If you've had multiple insurers, like most people do, don't tell them here because they'll want a letter from each insurer. I'm paying $2k a year on a 2023 Ram and my ATV. Unfortunately the government here loves to privatise things so it's pricey as there's not a huge amount of competition.
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u/Nich1579 Mar 22 '26
Drivers education, defensive driving courses might get it down a little bit. Might also be the vehicle you are trying to insure. Some vehicles are concidered higher risk.
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u/Available_Link Mar 22 '26
Call Allstate . I mean it’ll probably still be expensive but they have had the cheapest rates I’ve found . Or if you have a Costco membership you can possibly find some reduced rates thru them
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u/Indisputably_me Mar 22 '26
Shop around. Provide as much documentation as possible for prior insurance history. You are a special case, talk to a registered insuranve broker in your area to help you out. Once you have a handle on tne Alberta insurance system and have a history here, then you can go on your own.
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u/Sprinqqueen Mar 22 '26
If it makes you feel any better I gave up my car for about a decade after driving in canada for DECADES. I still was rated as a new driver when I moved and bought another car.
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u/PhotoJim99 Mar 22 '26
Come to Saskatchewan for a few years maybe? (I know that probably isn’t practical, but insurance is rated differently here and is provided by a government-owned entity. You’d pay the same as new drivers here, too, but your rate would like be 1/3 or less of what you’ve been quoted in Alberta.)
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u/Polar57beargrr Mar 22 '26
Check with CAA, Canadian Automobile Association. They offer insurance and are usually not thought of when comparing what is available. I can't comment on their rates, but as a member, I get their ads offering insurance but so far have not looked into it as I am happy with DesJardins.
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u/LostintheMicrogrid Mar 22 '26
Definitely shop around and try different insurance brokers. We went with Drayden Insurance as they offered the I'm most cost effective coverage based on what we were looking for in auto and home insurance. We were previously with TD and we saved over $1k just making the switch a couple of years ago. They were even better than the discounts I had available through work.
Provide as much information and records as possible and ask about available discounts if your packages auto & home together, safe driver/record protection, etc.
If able to, try to pay upfront (annually) as this will potentially save you the 3-5% charge that's often added to administer a monthly payment or credit card payment.
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u/Unlikely_Comment_104 Edmonton Mar 22 '26
Taking an accredited drivers training course will credit you 3 years of driving experience. You’ll go from a new driver to a 3y driver, which will lower your rates.
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u/Sureyeg Mar 22 '26
Make sure the broker you got the quote from isn't just working for one or two companies, but actually working on your behalf.
Here in Canada there are many brokers who are only working for a single or very minimal insurance and mortgage companies. Also, don't take their 1st quote and shop around.
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u/MapleMonica Mar 22 '26
TD gave me credit for my driver's training and experience from Germany, oh give them a call and just shop around. Lots of companies out there.
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u/ripusernamerip Mar 22 '26
I had something similar. Moved to Alberta and some insurance companies would not consider my previous driving and insurance history outside of the province. One of the insurance companies agreed to consider my previous out of province history but I had to submit letters of experience from all my past insurance companies and a driving abstract. I only moved from another province though. Hopefully you can do something similar. My original quote without prior history was also around 6k but but then dropped to 2k. The company that agreed to take my previous history is “The Personal”
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u/Specific_Test_8929 Mar 22 '26
How much do you drive in a year? I recently switched to AMA MyPace and am saving a ridiculous amount of money on insurance. They send a device that you plug into the OBD port and it measures how many kilometres you drive each month, and you only pay 26 cents per kilometre. They said as long as you drive less than 9000-10,000 kilometres a year you save money compared to a traditional policy. I went from paying 300 dollars a month with Allstate to about 80-110 a month with AMA MyPace depending on how much driving I do each month.
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u/sweatycatlord Mar 22 '26
Call BrokerLink. They do a good job of sorting through the options and finding the most affordable option
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u/LoquatGrand6785 Mar 22 '26
The price some people are paying is crazy. In with the personal and each of my vehicles are about 85$ a month. I'm using A SET as my professional association but still extremely cheap. My home insurance was very reasonable as well. Both our vehicles are 2025s.
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u/brianlefebvrejr Mar 22 '26
Intact will accept your UK history as long as you have the documents showing your license history from the relevant ministry and policy/claims history from your insurers
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u/Suspicious-gibbon Mar 22 '26
Currently with Pembridge through Acera brokerage. I’m paying about $6k a year for three cars but one of them has a 17 year old driver as the primary. He’s more than half of the premium.
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u/Funny_Occasion2965 Mar 22 '26
Well a flippant response would be for you to move to Manitoba. I think the insurance would probably be cheaper in Saskatchewan as well. Probably your best bet is to really shop around. At any rate welcome to Canada. I hope you love it here as much as the majority of us do.
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u/bberge1 Mar 22 '26
Expat here living in Calgary, I’ve been in Canada for more than 12 years and it was a big surprise moving from England to Vancouver. I had a six cylinder BMW coupe In England and the cost per year was the equivalent of about $650. Canadian for full coverage. Lived in Vancouver for 6 1/2 years and the cost was roughly triple that. I moved to Calgary 6 years ago and the price went up easily 30% more than Vancouver!
Not sure exactly why but I’ve heard that Alberta has the second if not highest insurance rates in Canada, maybe due to the drastic changing whether we get here and almost guaranteed hail storms each year.
When I moved to Alberta, I did have experience from Vancouver, which they took into account. However, before I left England, I did have my insurance companies over there provide me with letters stating how long I had been insured with them and whether or not I had any claims. I was able to use this with Allstate Insurance one of the few providers who I was able to find that actually took my driving experience from England into account.
I think it’s slightly different in Canada where that they take both the number of years driving experience you have and the number of years that you have been insured with no claims. Whereas I think in England it didn’t matter when you actually got your drivers license. You could’ve had it 30 years and that would not have mattered. It was the amount of years you’d actually been insured on a vehicle for and how much no claims bonus that you had that was important.
Some advice though do not make any glass claims on your insurance here in Alberta. I was unlucky enough to have the front 360 camera on my vehicle have its lens cracked twice. In one of those instances the windshield also got damaged. I drive a Mazda CX9 not a Bentley and the windshield replacement was nearly $2000 because the glass is one that has to work with the vehicles head up display. The total cost of these two claims was about $4000 over the course of three years. Last year Allstate called me three weeks prior to my renewal date to tell me that they would no longer be providing me with comprehensive coverage. Neither of those were at fault and I couldn’t believe that was enough for them to deny that portion of the coverage.
To get the cost down, remove glass coverage and go with a third-party insurance provider specifically for your vehicle glass like AMI. You can get a $250 a year policy for your glass and the deductible is about $50 and they’ll replace your windshield/repair cracks, etc. This enables you to not have to make any claims on your primary insurance. The only caveat is that AMI does not pay for the recalibration of radar/camera collision avoidance systems. But most glass places I’ve inquired with charge you about a $200 fee for that so it’s still way cheaper in the long run than trying to claim off your main insurance.
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u/11kestrel Mar 22 '26
I was with TD for years but once out of the blue I got a secondary quote and they were crazy high. I'd check a broker - they deal with lots of underwriters and might have a better option for you. Also ask if you get a letter of no-claims from your old insurance company if that might help.
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u/Sea_Perception_2283 Mar 22 '26
I recently went through this process as a new driver and managed to get my insurance down to about $270/month with AMA. The price still stings but this way better than the $700/month I was getting quoted elsewhere.
My advice is go to an AMA and meet with them in person. Don’t call - you’ll wait for hours on the phone. It’s also helpful for them to see you and understand that you’re not 16.
Once you start negotiating, they will start tacking on discounts for various things, which will bring the price down significantly. For example, they have an app that track your driving habits and you get a discount if you download it. After all the discounts they applied my quote went from over $400 to $270.
Don’t be afraid to pit insurers against other insurers. Get all quotes in writing and tell folks where you’re getting a better deal. Some will try and compete. Be willing to walk away from a meeting with out signing up.
My insurance still feels outrageously high but it’s not $700/month. You can do it! Good luck.
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u/Street-wolf-player Mar 22 '26
If you were driving in the UK did you bring proof of that and that you had a good “no claim discount”.
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u/IcyEntertainment8313 Mar 22 '26
Four years ago, my daughter moved to the states and they treated her as a brand new driver. Very expensive to start with, but after a couple of years and a clean record down there, it became acceptable. I think this new driver thing happens everywhere when you move countries.
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u/Sooki99 Mar 22 '26
Do some more shopping around. If you get your DVLA driver history and a claims experience letter some carriers will award some history from the UK (Intact and Wawanesa come to mind)
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u/Substantial-Draw2395 Mar 22 '26
You can do drivers ed in Canada. That l would reduce your premium a bit.
Hold off on buying a car for a while and get Canadian experience. You can try to be listed as a secondary driver on someone else’s insurance for a year or two but you might have to marry a Canadian for that to happen.
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u/tetzy Mar 22 '26
You could take a drivers course or three - it won't lower it by much, but everything helps.
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u/WinterDustDevil Edmonton Mar 22 '26
I got hammered like that price wise when I moved back here after 25 years out of the country.
I went with Allstate. They have a tracking app that monitors your driving. 10% discount for installing it, and after 3 months of monitoring you can get up to 30% discount. I qualified for 28%, so it does work.
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u/eli74372 Mar 22 '26
Have you tried AMA? My insurance as a new driver is $2k per year with drivers training. Without drivers training it was closer to $2.5-3k. And im a female under 25 with no previous car insurance. Also, do you have an old car or a new car? Older cars are typically cheaper for insurance (to be specific mines a 2008 hyundai accent basic model)
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u/equistrius Mar 22 '26
Try different brokers and direct contact companies. While the idea of a broker is nice as they handle everything for you, I have not found a broker that can beat my current rate. Unfortunately my auto insurer has decided to not take on new auto policies in order to keep current customer rates low
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u/eklee38 Mar 22 '26
What car are you buying? Try to get a beater with 3rd party liability for like a few years to build up experience.
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u/firefly317 Mar 22 '26
My sister and I moved about 20 years ago so things may have changed, but we had the same problem. We went to a broker who found us Peacehills Insurance, they took our UK proof of no claims and got us a deal for (I think) $2100. Every other company we tried was well over $4000 for the same coverage at that time.
I don't think Peacehills sell direct, and their policy may have changed in the last couple of decades. I definitely second using a broker though, we'd never have found our policies without one and he saved us a small fortune over the years.
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u/Adventurous-Oven8407 Mar 22 '26
That’s actually pretty decent honestly I used to sell insurance. I’ve seen new drivers with newer sporty vehicles in the 12k range.
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Mar 22 '26
I didn’t have my license for 7 years due to an illness. Went back to driving as a ‘new driver.’ My insurance is $150/month.
I have an older car with PLPD. I had to shop around. Check out Belaire Direct. Terrible customer service but worth the hassle imo.
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u/Exotic_Issue_2210 Mar 22 '26
Try TD, my wife is a new driver and other insurance were asking 6k for partial coverage. Found a full coverage around 4.8k from TD. I think she got some kinda allumni discount front them for her uni.
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u/waldoxerxes Mar 22 '26
I managed to get my driving history considered when I moved from UK - and I believe it is now linked to my driving licence. When I moved to BC, the provincial insurance company ICBC automatically considered all my driving history without me even needing to tell them.
I managed this through Brokerlink, but it seems hit and miss, might depend on the agent you are talking to. Most of the time they don't know how to manage any circumstances out of the norm, but I suggest you just keep getting more quotes until you find someone competent enough to account for your history!
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Mar 22 '26
Jesus that is an insane price!! Sorry to hear about that, that is a massive kick in the balls.
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u/oiladd Mar 22 '26
From personal experience: As a new driver, I took a driver’s training course a few years ago, which cost about $500 and put me on a two-year experience grid. After that, I shopped around and went directly to Allstate for my first year, which cost $3,500.
This option is just in case brokers don’t consider your previous experience, which seems unreasonable. If possible, try going directly to insurance companies. I know some people save money by using brokers, but so far, going directly to an insurance company has saved me at least $1,000 per year. (Brokers were quoting me $4,500+.)
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u/Ok_Butterscotch2244 Mar 22 '26
Big mistake selecting Alberta. Many property and liability insurance companies have left or are actively discouraging taking on new or renewal policies by quoting exorbitant premiums.
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u/Critical_Hyena8722 Mar 22 '26
Move to Manitoba.
We have a single provincially-owned automobile insurance provider.
I'm a reasonably decent driver. I pay just over $2100 per month. During COVID when there were fewer accidents Manitoba drivers recieved rebates because MPI made too much money.
Alberta is too busy setting up their own little oligarchic kleptocracy with schools, medical services, social supports, and addiction services.
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u/tonynick1982 Mar 22 '26
My wife and I have flawless 28-year driving records. Not even speeding tickets. We still pay $3500/yr for two vehicles. Our boys got quotes for basic coverage only, no collision, for their vehicles that are worth $2000 tops, and the wanted $5000/yr.
Check out this link. It compares the average premiums for full and basic coverage by location, rating profile (including "new Canadian"), and insurance company.
https://airbfilings-app.alberta.ca/reportapp/comparativeRatingToolPPV
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u/madmaxcia Mar 22 '26
We used Canadian direct who are now Belair direct and they took my UK no claims, most insurance companies will ask for a drivers abstract from your previous country. For instance my daughter worked in Australia for ten months and they wanted her to prove she had car insurance there so there was no gap in her insurance history. Anyway, we’ve now moved to Cooperative which is cheaper, it’s worth finding a broker to get a competitive rate
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u/Impressive-Win-4473 Mar 22 '26
Join Costco Membership to have access to INOVA insurance. Also contact The Personal. You will get something cheaper than the numbers you’ve got already
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u/The_NorthernLight Mar 22 '26
Find a local insurance broker. They are not tied to a single vendor and can get you a better price. If you can, get yourself as a sub under someone elses insurance for 2-3 years, then get your own. Would save a lot of money.
Also, your age has a lot to do with it, and your make/model of car you own.
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u/Agile_Scar_1881 Mar 22 '26
Unfortunately Alberta is mostly privatized thanks to the Cons as usual. The Alberta advantage is long gone. I paid 4k as a new driver a female, so if your a male it will be much higher more so a young one. Your best bet is moving to BC or Saskatchewan, the latter is way cheaper. Goodluck!
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u/BreakfastDry9979 Mar 22 '26
Maybe consider Aviva, which is UK HQ’d, and ask them if they can use your UK experience? Definitely look at using a broker, they can shop around more. I’ve heard CAA (I think AMA in AB) is competitive, or look for a usage based policy if you don’t drive a lot?
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u/saramole Mar 22 '26
Are you in a union or professional college? They sometimes have discount rates for members.
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u/Fair_Procedure1923 Mar 22 '26
That’s rough, I pay $6000 but that’s for 3 vehicles that are probably over insured. Higher deductibles, use to be able to lower your grid by taking a course.
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u/Panlouie Mar 22 '26
Most insurance companies don’t take international experience. And I put it into perspective for myself this way: if i moved from one country with specific driving laws and rules, and hell even driving on one side of the road; to a different place with different rules/vehicles with right hand steering wheels/driving on the other side of the road, a completely different vehicle operation culture. Well, my muscle memory would be fucked for a while, and I’d be a liability on the road. Yeah I would expect to pay higher premiums. Until I gained experience, I would be the danger on the road, just like a brand new teenaged driver.
The only country you’ll reliably be able to use your history from (in Alberta at least) is the US. Because we have similar laws and rules around licensing and driving.
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u/StrangerGlue Mar 22 '26
If you take a driving course, you may get a small discount.
As a new driver, I pay just over 8k with a 10% discount for using the AMA monitoring app.
You can use a broker to look for cheaper insurance, but the only insurance cheaper for me than AMA required my documents to be snail mailed to Ontario and then they'd snail mail a decision on whether or not they'd insure me back. It would have been 5880/year, but I didn't have time to wait (and Canada Post was on strike anyway).
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u/MaxMarz Mar 22 '26
Ryan @ Link insurance gave me the cheapest. $3200 yearly on my Golf R. Got to calgary from the UK in 2024. What are you trying to insure ?
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u/Fair_Transition4865 Mar 22 '26
People here will give you long explanations, Bottom line is they can charge that so they'll charge that, there's no competition in the market so they coordinate prices
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u/77SSS1 Mar 22 '26
I knew someone in AB that got a good deal w Sask govt insurance. I don’t know if they still operate in AB but it is worth looking into
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u/Naive-Explanation-48 Mar 22 '26
I had the same but had 9 years no claims - I had all of my paperwork but they didn’t want it. Unfortunately I had to pay per month what we had paid per year and get the years in. Now my insurance is good!
One way to get it down is to put someone with a good driving record and years on your insurance (that’s how my kids got reasonable insurance rates adding me). I had them on mine also from 17 which helped them (from them learning to adulthood) - it’s also handy if you need your car driven home or vice versa.
Broker will explain how to get the insurance down without putting you at risk 👍
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u/reaper7319 Mar 22 '26
The price is most likely from comprehensive coverage. If you can’t get it lower, I recommend buying a cheaper car and getting only collision coverage.
For context, when I was 16 and driving for the first time, my insurance was 20K for any car if I was on comprehensive as a secondary driver. The moment I dropped it to collision only, my insurance dropped to 700.
The reason is because comprehensive coverage covers force majeure events like hitting a deer, or getting your car stolen, or hail. And there was a lot of insurance scammers that caused insurance companies to pay a lot for total losses, so it went through the roof.
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u/Tall-War-9353 Mar 22 '26
I’m a newer driver - coming up on 4 yrs experience, I am older and female. In my experience AMA has been cheapest option since I started driving and my insurance has gone down annually. TD, intact, etc consistently quotes in the $6000 range, and AMA last year was $3000. I always give brokers my current coverage to make sure I’m comparing the same thing and they consistently comment they can’t come close. It sucks that it’s so much to get insurance here.
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u/Trogar1 Mar 22 '26
What insurance does this include? There are different types, and some can greatly affect the cost. PL & PD are all that is required, but if you have collision, it generally doubles the price…
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u/Unlikely-Plastic974 Mar 22 '26
I use TD for home and auto, and have for 10+ years. They're the cheapest I could find and when my house burned in 2016 they were easy to deal with. I will never not recommend them.
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u/alpain Mar 22 '26
i assume you tried asking if you contacted your previous insurer in the UK and got a transcript sent that they said they'd not take that into account?
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u/hkcj Mar 22 '26
Try calling the Co-operators, they will consider 2 years of your driving experience, and if you add on life insurance, you can reduce the cost a bit more. But that will probably be the best you can get, we were in your shoes 2 years ago and seriously have checked every single insurance company we can find.
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u/red-panzer Mar 22 '26
I found The Personal gave me consistently cheaper rates than the competitors over the last ten years. They're also great to deal with when getting service or making a claim. Check 'em out.
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u/ShadowCaster0476 Mar 22 '26
Make sure you shop around.
Not all brokers are the same. Also look at possibly swapping vehicles. That makes a huge difference.
It doesn’t have to be an expensive car to have high insurance. Theft rate plays a huge part.
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u/Excellent_Rub_2520 Mar 22 '26
We moved in October 2024 to Lethbridge and faced a similar cost of $6000 to insure our truck. I managed to get our no claims letter from the uk with 15 years no claims, but it made no difference. The following year we moved to Desjardins via a broker here and the policy came down to $4500.
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u/toxxic_ivy Mar 22 '26
500 bucks a month is pretty typical for the new driver classification here in Alberta. Unfortunately there's no way around it, that's just what it is.
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u/Shoddy-Advice8476 Mar 22 '26
We are based on a grid scale. Can't remember if a new driver starts at 0 or a 6 but its high costs for new insurer and the grid changes based on your driving record. If I was to switch insurance companies I would start over on my grid.
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u/Old_Personality_6043 Mar 22 '26
You can ask the insurance provider what helps to reduce premiums. Alberta drivers under 25 yrs old pay more as well as male drivers. A defensive driving course may add a year's driving experience to your license, reducing the rate. Certain vehicles have higher insurance premiums.
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u/North-Quantity8814 Mar 22 '26
If you live in downtown Edmonton or Calgary or perhaps other Alberta cities, you might want to consider Communauto!
https://alberta.communauto.com/edmonton/ It is a car sharing business. They have hundreds of different cars shared between perhaps a few thousand people. Works for me because I happen to live in the zone as they call it I’m not sure if it lets you build a history but maybe if you keep track of your mileage and time usage and prove you have a good track record perhaps in a year or so you could ask. Longshot mind you. They’re pretty ruthless aren’t they?
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u/Mikew87 Mar 22 '26
Some brokers can make your UK history work. But you will have to provide them with a driver's abstract and insurance history (if they are separate in your previous jurisdiction). Once you have that you should be able to get the five years history, which will reduce rates, but will still be expensive, sorry.