There’s no denying that Canadian car insurance can be a complex topic to wrap your head around, especially if you’ve recently purchased your first car insurance policy.
There are numerous tasks that have to be taken care of; one of these things is renewing your policy before it expires.
However, many Canadians lead busy lives, making it difficult to get everything done. This leads to the question — can you renew car insurance online in Canada?
Continue reading to learn everything that you need to know about renewing your car insurance policy in Canada.
Can policyholders renew car insurance online in Canada?
If you’ve been wondering how to renew expired car insurance online in Canada, there’s a very simple answer — you don’t need to!
In most cases, your personal car insurance policy will renew itself automatically if you have proven to be a safe and responsible driver. When your policy nears its expiry date, you don’t need to renew auto insurance online — your carrier will take care of most of the leg work for you!
How to renew your car insurance policy in four simple steps
If you’re not sure how to renew a car insurance policy, you can find out how below:
Wait for your notice letter — Generally, car insurance providers send policyholders a letter approximately 30 to 60 days before their policy is about to expire.
Review your car insurance policy — Be sure to go over your updated policy and look for any significant changes. If you happen to have any pressing questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to your insurance provider or advisor. In almost all cases, there won’t be any changes. The only time you will see a change in coverage is if you have a disappearing deductible (it will decrease), or if you’ve had a few claims in the past year, coverage may be removed.
Renew your policy — If you don’t want or need to make any changes to your car insurance policy, your provider will renew the contract.
Payment — If possible, we always suggest paying for car insurance annually (as opposed to monthly). Paying your premiums annually gives you access to discounts and helps you avoid missing or forgetting to make monthly payments in the future. If you do monthly payments, be sure to double check the renewed policy’s monthly amounts. The insurance company may have done a rate increase or decrease, removed financing fees, etc, and this may cause the monthly amount to change by a few dollars.
What information should you consider updating when you renew your car insurance policy?
Be sure to let your car insurance provider or advisor know if any of the following details have changed since you last updated your policy:
- Let your car insurance provider know about any tickets you’ve received (accidents, convictions, etc.)
- Be sure to update your personal mailing address and contact information (phone number, email, etc.)
- Your car insurance provider will need to know about any new drivers that have access to your vehicle
- You need to update your policy if you’ve modified your vehicle
- Let your car insurance provider know if your overall vehicle usage has changed (Are you working from home now? Has your commute to work distance changed? Are you driving more per year than what is stated on your policy documents?)
Ask about potential car insurance discounts
Is your car insurance policy renewal date quickly approaching? If so, you may want to do some research on the various car insurance discounts that you may be eligible for!
It’s nearly impossible to find a car insurance company that doesn’t offer some sort of discount for policyholders.
For instance, since 2016, Ontario car insurance providers have been required to offer a discount to divers that use winter tires during the set dates. This was done to encourage drivers to stay safe and to install winter tires during the snowy months. If you have winter tires that are less than 3 years old, installed November 1 thru March 31st, let your insurance advisor know to take advantage of this discount!
However, this is just one common example of the car insurance discounts you can potentially take advantage of; drivers should also ask their car insurance carrier or advisor about the following types of discounts:
- Multi-vehicle discount
- Experienced driver discount
- Claims-free discount
- Bundling discount
Whatsmore, many car insurance providers in Canada offer loyalty discounts to policyholders that choose to stay with the same company for several years! So, if you’re happy with your current insurance provider, you may want to ask them about the loyalty discounts that they offer.
Can you swap car insurance carriers before your renewal date?
Yes, policyholders have the freedom to switch car insurance providers any time they wish; that being said, it isn’t always a cost-effective plan.
When you switch providers before your renewal date, you need to follow through with the policy cancellation agreement and potentially pay hefty administrative fees.
But, if the potential savings outweigh the related expenses, then we suggest saying “goodbye” to your old carrier and “hello” to your new car insurance provider!
Can you compare car insurance quotes online?
Yes! Reputable insurance brokerages, like our team at Surex, can help you find and compare various insurance quotes online! Comparing car insurance quotes online with Surex is quick and easy — our experienced insurance advisors (our preferred title for brokers) can provide you with some of the most competitive and affordable quotes in the industry!
If you’re not keen about shopping for insurance online, that’s ok! Many insurance brokerages (including Surex) offer their services over the phone as well! This means that you can use whichever method you’re most comfortable with.
Save as much as 25% on car insurance in Canada when you team up with a Surex insurance advisor
We do this by working side-by-side with over ten of Canada’s most reputable insurance providers, like our friends at Aviva. By working with some of the best car insurance providers in Canada, our team of advisors is able to help you find and compare quotes until you’ve found the perfect product for you.
Reach out to one of our helpful advisors today to learn more about renewing your car insurance policy! If you have more than one policy with multiple providers, feel free to ask about the various benefits of bundling multiple policies with the same provider. Most car insurance providers offer extremely generous savings, sometimes as high as 25%!
Want to learn more about car insurance in Canada?
If you’d like to learn more about the various facets of car insurance in Canada, you can check out the blog at your earliest convenience.
Our blog is packed with invaluable articles that are meant to help policyholders familiarize themselves with car, home, condo, etc., insurance in Canada.
