student car insurance

[kajan23]

My parents currently are insured by rbc insurance.
I'm 17 years old and going to attend university this fall away from home. So I will not be driving the car for more than 3/4 of the year. Only on summers. How should I go about this when adding myself to my parents car insurance. Is it true that just by asking them about it the premium will go up significantly because I have my g2. We only have one car and I my father is the primary driver. That is all.

thanks in advance for any reply

[VivienM]

Look into insurance companies that give discounts for students who are studying more than 150km or so away from home. I'm not sure if RBC is one of them.

[kajan23]

Would you know the aprox premium for someone in my situation. I've been through drivers ed etc..
And is it true by just inquiring about it they will increase my parents premium since I live with them. I've been hearing that alot.

[sshe11]

Would you know the aprox premium for someone in my situation. I've been through drivers ed etc..
And is it true by just inquiring about it they will increase my parents premium since I live with them. I've been hearing that alot.

well when you goto University you wont be living with them anymore ... so you would pay for the insurance ONLY during summers when you come home and tell the insurance company that you'll be driving ...

[kajan23]

so how does that work? Call them up and tell them that I'll be attending unviersity this september so I won't be driving the car but I will be during the summer like july and august. And I just suspend my coverage while I'm at univeristy and everytime I come back I call them up and let them know pretty much?

[Coke355mL]

Have your parents call their insurance company and inquire if you (being their son) is allowed to borrow their vehicle as you will only be using it on occassion and will be living away from home for university. Some companies allow that and you will be covered under their plan if you got into an accident.

[VivienM]

so how does that work? Call them up and tell them that I'll be attending unviersity this september so I won't be driving the car but I will be during the summer like july and august. And I just suspend my coverage while I'm at univeristy and everytime I come back I call them up and let them know pretty much?

That's a bad idea, because then when you get a car in a few years, you won't have X years of being insured on your record.

Just get your parents to switch to a company that does 65% discounts on students living away from home for the school year if RBC won't. GM's insurance division is who my parents use, and they do it... I think that way, I only cost like $100/6 months or so. (But my parents are in Ottawa, and insurance there is cheap compared to some other places)

(Of course, now I'm not even there for the summer, but... I'm sure the insurance co. doesn't mind being paid to insure me on a car I only see, let alone drive, for a week or two per year)

[kajan23]

All right, I'll give them a shout and ask around.

Thanks for all your help!

[kajan23]

:-0 I gave them a call and they added me as an occasional driver!! At the regular rate right now for 2 months!! thats $127 more until i go to university. They said its the law that they have to add me as an occasional driver since i reside with my parents! AFter i go to unviersity they said its $55 a month and i can't suspend? What should I Do?

[GTAdiscountStudent]

sorry dude. if i had read this post earlier i would've told you not to call.

legally they have to add you as an occasional driver as soon as you get your g2 licence. but you shouldn't have called so early.

what u should do now is shop around with other companies and see if they're cheaper. some home insurance and auto insurance companies let you bundle.

currently, i say just pay the whatever for the rest of the summer, cause there aint much that u can do about it.

as for the rest of the year. i'm not sure that they can legally charge you if you will not be living at home. since you'll be moving away for school, it gets kinda complicated and messy, and too much to type and explain. but do some research and look into the legal aspect of things. good luck

[kajan23]

This sucks. After the summer when I actually move out, can I cancel my policy or do they charge a fee? If so, when I'm removed will the price go back to normal. My father is not happy at the moment. But yeah, I'll need to cover all these costs now.

[VivienM]

This sucks. After the summer when I actually move out, can I cancel my policy or do they charge a fee? If so, when I'm removed will the price go back to normal. My father is not happy at the moment. But yeah, I'll need to cover all these costs now.

Tell your father it's a normal part of having a 17 year old kid. I remember going with MY dad to the insurance company right after passing my G2 test... I think they wanted an extra $500/6 months, so it almost doubled his premium. But such is life.

BUT DO NOT FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE CANCEL THAT INSURANCE COVERAGE.

I was playing with Kanetix today. Two quotes from RBC, which according to a guy I spoke to there last year considers occasional driverness when assessing insurance experience.

With 6-7 years of insurance experience, $3500/year.
With zero years of insurance experience, $5500/year.

(This, BTW, is on a boring domestic car... if it was a Civic or something, it'd be way more)

You must remain continuously insured as soon as you are licenced. Otherwise you will be screwed when you try and get insurance! (I know about 10 years ago the rule was that after 6 months of non-insuredness, if you tried to get insurance, the rate would be doubled for the next 6 years... my parents got bitten by this which may explain why my dad has never objected to the huge amount of insurance $$$ I've cost him over the years)

[kajan23]

I do have another house that I stay on weekends at. If I change my address and told them I moved out... would they get suspicious because I just got added yesterday? Because If I had that address and told them I wanted to be added I would get a much lower rate.

[VivienM]

I do have another house that I stay on weekends at. If I change my address and told them I moved out... would they get suspicious because I just got added yesterday? Because If I had that address and told them I wanted to be added I would get a much lower rate.

I would assume insurance rates are based on where the VEHICLE is parked, not where the drivers live... (of course, the two are usually the same...)

[ssainani]

I do have another house that I stay on weekends at. If I change my address and told them I moved out... would they get suspicious because I just got added yesterday? Because If I had that address and told them I wanted to be added I would get a much lower rate.

you have to ask yourself why you're getting insurance - is it for the peace of mind? or because you want a pink sheet in your glovebox.

if you lie to an insurance company like this it's not only called fraud if they find out -- but a claim can be denied too.

and to start off from your original post -- you did the right thing by adding yourself to the policy. if you live in the house and have access to the car you should be listed -- it's part of growing up sadly (paying for insurance)

[kajan23]

Agreed. But I do have access to another house. I'm going to be there more than I am at this residence over the summer. Is it called fraud if I change my address to the place where I will be residing at? Yes, I agree... paying insurance is part of growing up... wish I lived in new market or something... heard its much cheaper.

[ssainani]

... wish I lived in new market or something... heard its much cheaper.

so is everything else -- example..your home...rent, etc.

you want to live in a nice city...you have to pay to play :)

good luck with your insurance -- in time it'll be to managable figures

[jeeva86]

you can do this..change ur address..and tell them you live here from now on..and once ur address is different from your dads..you don't have to pay for insurance at all since then you'd be borrowing the car..as if you're borrowing your friends car..although they know its ur dads..they can't put you on his policy since u don't reside at the same address..however if you do get into an accident your dad will be the one responsible..his insurance rates will go up..can someone else agree with me on this? obviously choosing this way will not get you that insurance experience..

[shawn99]

yes this is true. I'm currently doing that.

If son lives in ABC address and dad lives in XYZ address, son can borrow the car with dad's permission. If son gets into an accident, dad would be at fault with coverage and permium would go up accordingly.