dickie Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Whats the state of car insurance in the USA/Canada? I'll be 18 and will have had a full UK licence for 7 months, would I get insured on a cheap second hand car? I'm going to North America after my exams in June, just wondering how to travel. Oh, and whats the deal with crossing into Canada? Oh, and on that note, anyone know if a UK Citizen would have any problems emigrating to Canada? And can an imigrant serve in the Canadian Forces or police? Ta, Dickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannik Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Long answer short (with regards to Canada): Federal government rules on immigration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiolab Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 you need an international drivers licence first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie42 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 @ dickie, Hi, - car insurance in Canada is hellish $; you may have some odd troubles getting it as we have a graduated license system here that means all new drivers will basically have been driving 2 years "supervised" before they can drive a car alone on the highways? Not sure, though. - s.b. absolutely no problem coming into Canada from USA on a UK passport, trip purpose being "pleasure/vacation," mind US customs side is very slow! - AFAIK, "landed immigrants" and/or Canadian citizens are both eligible to serve in CAF... we are having an election in the next few days, and rumour has it that Canada is sure to go on a new mission to build up its armed forces, so maybe CAF will soon be recruiting visitors as well ... LOL - Canada follows Britain's format re reserves, so we also have quite a few "weekend warrior" opportunities Nice that you'll be coming to our fair country at some point soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannik Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 you need an international drivers licence first ← Not for Canada. A UK license is good for 90 days in most Provinces, and some will allow you to just trade the UK licence for a Provincial one (good for the entire country, just issued by the Province), while some may require a road test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element11 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 @Janie 42 In canada, you get whats called your G1. This is also called the beginners lisence. You hafta have someone in the passengers seat with 4 years experience with their G (full licence), and you cant go on roads over 80 kph After a year, you can go for your G2 (second level) This means you can drive by yourself, but your insurance is higher (about 2000 dollars per year for a male) Then after another year, you can get your G Insurance is very expensive right now. For a friend of mine, he got a car, and to insure it it was almost 2000 a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie42 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 @element11, tks for excellent update! ...so long ago when I got licensed, there was none of this G1-G2 business! And yes, all in all, none of these changes hide the fact that it is SO $$$ for new drivers to get insurance here... even adding one's offspring to parents' policy is so $ you just want them to take the bus 4ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickie Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Right, ta for that! Hopefully I'll get to Canada, its not definate but I'm trying! I'm also looking at emigrating out of the UK in the medium-long term (after Uni at the earliest, if not, after I finish with the RN if I get in), and so far my escapee-shortlist contains Canada, New Zealand and Australia (so, any info on these places would also be appreciated), in case it seemed like an odd question! But yeah, ta again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnsniper Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 @Janie 42 In canada, you get whats called your G1. This is also called the beginners lisence. You hafta have someone in the passengers seat with 4 years experience with their G (full licence), and you cant go on roads over 80 kph After a year, you can go for your G2 (second level) This means you can drive by yourself, but your insurance is higher (about 2000 dollars per year for a male) Then after another year, you can get your G Insurance is very expensive right now. For a friend of mine, he got a car, and to insure it it was almost 2000 a year. ← I've only just recently finished drivers ed and I'm wondering if those restrictions only apply to immigrants because those are not what my restrictions are right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Whats the state of car insurance in the USA/Canada? I'll be 18 and will have had a full UK licence for 7 months, would I get insured on a cheap second hand car? I'm going to North America after my exams in June, just wondering how to travel. Oh, and whats the deal with crossing into Canada? Oh, and on that note, anyone know if a UK Citizen would have any problems emigrating to Canada? And can an imigrant serve in the Canadian Forces or police? Ta, Dickie ← Insurance in America sucks. It depends on what state you're a driver in. As an example... In North Carolina, we have a "Beginner Driver Experience" law. What this means is that your rates are terrible for the first three years you're a licensed driver in NC. Just last week I had officially been licensed for three years and my rates went way down (minus my accident, oops). I'm not sure about age, but my girlfriend's brother got his license a few months ago, and he's 23 and he's still got the insurance bump on him too. I think it depends on whether or not you've been licensed in the USA at all prior to getting your NC license. It also varies on the car you drive (for Comp and Collision), not so much for just liability. If you're driving a brand new Ford Mustang GT, it's going to be bad. If you're driving... oh say and 86 Ford Bronco II ( ) with no comp and collision, it's decent. Look into the laws for the state you're moving to. That will help a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannik Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 I've only just recently finished drivers ed and I'm wondering if those restrictions only apply to immigrants because those are not what my restrictions are right now... ← I believe it's just an Ontario thing, cdnsniper. We all deal with Provincial laws, and often don't take inter-Province stuff at it's value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooK Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 In KY, insurance rates are basically based upon age. Discounts can be had if your in High School and then College for good grades, and perhaps insurance company specific programs. I'm actually under my parents' insurance right now, so with full coverage on my '00 Grand Prix I'm paying just under $1200 a year. I'm 21 now, back when I was younger I was actually paying close to $2000 a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element11 Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 (edited) I've only just recently finished drivers ed and I'm wondering if those restrictions only apply to immigrants because those are not what my restrictions are right now... ← I believe it's just an Ontario thing, cdnsniper. We all deal with Provincial laws, and often don't take inter-Province stuff at it's value. ← Yes. Also, the info i posted above is also ontario regulations. Im not sure if there are different rules in the other provinces. In KY, insurance rates are basically based upon age. Discounts can be had if your in High School and then College for good grades, and perhaps insurance company specific programs. I'm actually under my parents' insurance right now, so with full coverage on my '00 Grand Prix I'm paying just under $1200 a year. I'm 21 now, back when I was younger I was actually paying close to $2000 a year.\ Yes there is a way to save a bit. If you are under your parents insurance as an occasional driver, you would pay just over 1000 dollars a year. Then you just pay back your parents. Thats what i plan to do. Insurance companies are real jerks. They should give new drivers a chance before they nail them with massive insurance rates. You would have to work all year just to get insurance for your own car. Or you could be a rebel and drive without insurance, its up to you though Also, in ontario, your insurance is lower if you have a 70 (i think its 70) average in high school. Yay! Edited January 23, 2006 by element11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnsniper Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Thank you Dannik and Element for the response. The restrictions are apperantly a little more lax her in Manitoba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooK Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Actually, I pay the insurance bill on my car at the insurance office (even though it under my parents). They even put my name on the bill. We're with State Farm. By far the worse I've seen for me insurance wise on my own was Geico. They wanted almost $2700 for 6 months with a $700 down payment! Progressive would give me liability for about $130 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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