Insurance-Canada.ca
Consumers Council of Canada
recognizes Insurance-Canada.ca as an independent, unbiased source of insurance information.
... Consumers Professionals Insurance-Canada.ca

HOME

SITE MAP

ConsumerInfo - Getting Online Quotes

Getting Online Insurance Quotes & Estimates

Insurance-Canada.ca is pleased to point you to sites which offer on-line quotes, although we ourselves do not quote or sell insurance. These online quote sites are accessible through the navigation panel on the left under 'Get Online Quotes'.

Before getting a specific quote we suggest you read the following:

Considerations of Quotes: Things to Think About

The cost of insurance is only one characteristic you should consider.
Online sites in the USA report that online buyers often do not choose the least expensive insurance, suggesting that shoppers research other factors as well. For additional information and research sources, visit Insurance-Canada.ca's ConsumerInfo section.

Regardless of the type of insurance, the estimate or quote of the insurance premium you receive may be lower or higher than the premium you will actually pay after your insurance application is processed, when, for example, additional factors are identified as a result of a medical for life insurance. Insurance estimates which are least likely to change would be those for small less complex insurance like travel health and from sites which allow you to purchase on-line. Caveats of Quotes will help you understand what you are and are not getting with the estimates. If you are new to insurance, check our "Insurance: what's it all about?"

Provide the real facts - otherwise you may not be insured when you thought you were.

We strongly recommend that you seek quality insurance advice, and have all your questions answered, before you buy.

Choose from this list the type of insurance you are interested in and follow the link to sources of quotes. Some sources provide estimates immediately back to you online. Others offer you an on-line application form which they will process the next business day and provide you with a response in a day or two, often by e-mail. We list both and try to indicate clearly whether the quote will be immediate or not. As well, most any broker or agent will give you a quote, if not on the telephone, then across the desk in his office.

Who to contact for advice?

Visit our Directories of Insurance Providers to find brokers, agents or companies to contact for additional advice or information

Insurance: what's it all about? - more reference information

Insurance: who needs it – and when?
Spreading the risk – how insurance works
What's your line – of insurance?
How insurance is sold
Speaking of insurance – Learning the lingo
Who's who – and what do they do?
Pricing your policy
Take a tip – before buying your insurance
Who ya gonna call – when you have a complaint?
Protection for policyholders

Caveats of Quotes: Things to Understand

Insurance in Canada in most cases is very competitive. It is also regulated to try to make sure that the company making a promise to you concerning some future event will be able to deliver on that promise, and that it is a realistic promise.

Some insurance products like travel and term life are quite standard across the country and where you live has little impact on the price you will pay.  For these types of quotes we list the Canada-wide sources, then provincial ones for those licensed in only one area.

Home insurance tends to have a consistent product across the country, but the perils and therefore the price depends somewhat on where you live, near a fire station, on a flood plain in an earthquake zone etc. There are few of these quoting sites available yet.

Auto Insurance is arguably the most defined and regulated of insurance products. Many of the following points will however apply to some extent to most other insurance products.


Each Canadian province regulates auto insurance intensively. There are different rules, such as the mandatory insurance, by province. Some like Ontario have unique approaches and coverages provided by insurance companies. Others like British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba require one to buy at least basic auto insurance from a government-owned insurer.  Quebec is a combination with bodily injury insured by a government insurer, and non-person damage insured by insurance companies.
In order to get a precise quote of what your auto insurance premium will be, you must almost always answer a large number of questions. Many firms offering "quotes" on the Internet thus trade off the time for many questions with accuracy - a few questions can give you an "estimate" of your insurance costs quickly, but you may end up with a different price when you have later answered all the required questions.
A broker for example may represent six auto insurers but your particular characteristics (vehicle you drive, for example a classic antique auto or high performance sports car) may not be insured by all six, so you may see fewer premium estimates or quotes.
Different insurers offer different discounts and some of these such as a discount based on multiple policies (auto and homeowners for example) often cannot be determined and calculated in an Internet engine which calculates premiums, unless you are connected to the Web site of the company where your other policy has written and even then they may not have the ability to capture the fact.
The computer application which calculates your premium estimate or quote varies from site to site, and the currency of the rates may also vary. Each may also ask some different questions. Thus you may end up with different premium estimates for the same company from different sites.
Much of the information will be verified by most of the insurance companies. Most will verify your driving record with the provincial authorities and the industry shares prior claims information.
Trying different sites, and looking for different sources of information can help you understand how to reduce your insurance premiums. These sources can also help you understand the questions you wish to ask an advisor before you buy, whether the advisor is a broker or agent, face to face or over the telpehone.
Some sites will allow you to purchase insurance on-line. This will normally require them to gather enough information to give you an accurate price. Not everything (driving record) will necessarily be verified on-line and they have the right to change your premium should such checks show discrepancies.
The lists we provide do not offer any recommendation of one site relative to another, although we plan to point you to sources of information which may influence your decision about an insurer, such as their financial strength, claims service quality etc.
[ Top | Back | Home ]