LICENCING AND INSURING YOUR CAR/TRUCK/MOTORCYCLE 

Every year I get calls from drivers who find themselves with insurance problems.  As I write this, I know of three people who have been devastated financially because they did not have the insurance coverage they thought they had.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few people who think it doesn't matter if you licence and insure your vehicle in another province.  "I know I live in BC, but insurance in Alberta (or Saskatchewan, Manitoba, etc) is cheaper, so I've insured my truck in Alberta using my brother's address in Calgary", they say.

This is a BIG MISTAKE - for several reasons.  

First, ICBC insurance rates are neither the highest nor the lowest in Canada.  They are roughly in the middle.  Not only that, but the coverage you get is superior.  In fact, some aspects of the insurance coverage available from ICBC cannot be matched anywhere in North America at any price!  ICBC is far from perfect (is anything perfect?), but the general motor vehicle insurance scheme we have in this province is simply one of the very best and most cost-effective in North America.  It has been studied and used as a model in a number of US states.

But aside from the fact that ICBC insurance is good value, the law requires that you licence and insure your vehicle in the province where you actually live.  Don't even think of licencing and insuring it in another province.  (Same thing with your driver's licence; if you live in BC, you must have a BC driver's licence).

There is no safe way of escaping this simple rule: if you are a resident of BC, your driver's licence, licence plate and insurance better all say "British Columbia"; otherwise, you are not insured at all.  

No kidding, you are not even insured in that other province.  If you are a BC resident but used your brother's address in Alberta to licence yourself, your vehicle and buy insurance there, you will not be insured even in Alberta (let alone anywhere else) if the Alberta insurance company finds out where you really live.

Another thing.  Your vehicle should be registered and insured in the name of the person who really owns it.  That might be you, your wife or your company - whoever the real owner is.  If the real owner is someone other than you, but if you are the principal operator of the vehicle (that is, you normally drive it), then you must tell your insurance agent at the time you buy your insurance, and make sure that you are properly recorded as the principal operator.

Yes, insurance premiums are based in part on the driving record of the principal operator.  But if you try to save money by licencing and insuring the vehicle in the name of someone who has lower insurance premiums, and you don't indicate that you are the principal operator when you buy insurance, then you are likely to find yourself without any insurance coverage in the event of an accident.  Parents take note: if your child is the principal operator of a particular vehicle in your family, make sure that your child has been declared as the principal operator on that vehicle's insurance.

There is a little wrinkle here you should know about.  When you first register a vehicle you drive in another name (eg, the name of your company) and tell your insurance agent that you are the principal operator, that will show on your first year's insurance documents but for some reason it does not show on your documents in subsequent years.  When you ask about this omission, your insurance agent will tell you that your status as principal operator is "on file" even though it does not appear on your documents.  My advice?  Don't rely on that assurance.  When you renew your licence and buy insurance in subsequent years, give your insurance agent a letter (keep a copy) confirming that for the forthcoming insurance period you will continue to be the principal operator of the vehicle.

I would even take things a step further.  When you are properly on file as the principal operator, there is nothing wrong with typing on your insurance documents a sentence indicating that you are the principal operator.  Set our your full name and address, just as it appears on your BC driver's licence, and set out your driver's licence number as well.  Put a space for the registered owner's signature and a space for your signature.  Both of you should sign. 

If you follow this advice, then not only are you likely to avoid any principal operator difficulty with your insurance company, but you are also likely to minimize any problem if you are pulled over in California and asked to explain why you are driving a vehicle that is not registered in your name! 

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PREVIOUS BULLETINS !