🚙 Car insurance in BC & moving your car
💵 Car insurance in Victoria, BC
🌏 Also called “Auto insurance”, “Vehicle insurance” or “Motor insurance” in other countries
There is only one provider of car insurance in BC. It’s ICBC, which is a semi-government company. 🇺🇸 If you are American this seems really strange. No, there is no other company to get car insurance through.
Car insurance companies in Victoria
You need to go to an approved business that is licensed to sell car insurance through ICBC. These are called “autoplan brokers”.
Find an autoplan broker through ICBC’s “Find a service” website: icbc.com/locators/Pages/default.aspx?type=2&subtype=0
Common car insurance companies (autoplan brokers) in Victoria are:
What do I need to bring with me when I sign up for car insurance?
The car you are insuring (usually)
The title of your car. Or, if you are American and have an auto loan, bring a letter or email from your lender that states they are allowing you to register the car in BC (Canada).
A screwdriver/wrench to uninstall your current plates - they usually make you do that while you’re there.
A credit card, debit card, cash or your chequebook
Your driver’s license (does not have to be a BC driver’s license)
How much is car insurance per month?
🙆♂️ How ICBC decides what price you pay, per car, per month is confusing.
In 2019, the average cost in BC was $152 per month, per car. Source: www.ibc.ca 2019 report
ICBC takes all these factors into account: where you live, how many kilometres you drive to work every day, the auto theft + crime rates around your home, your age, your driving history (if you have received a speeding ticket, if you get into car crashes, etc..), how old your car is, how valuable your car is and if you have teenage children who drive your car.
All of these are “risk” factors that may lower or increase your monthly payment.
Tabs are included in the monthly price. If you’re American, this is a nice surprise. There’s no annual payment for your tab renewal or registration fee.
We renew our car insurance once a year.
If you get a speeding ticket and don’t pay it, yes, they will make you pay your ticket right there at the ICBC counter before you can renew your insurance. You can’t get out of it.
🚗 Moving with your car
🇨🇦 I’m moving with my car from another province
Make sure you have owned the car for more than 30 days. Otherwise, if you bought it less than 30 days ago, BC will make you pay an import tax - which could be almost $2,000.
Get your driver’s license first in Victoria (here’s how to do that). Then, exchange your plates after. It’s much easier that way.
🌎 I’m moving with my car from another country (importing your car)
Most, but not all, cars from the US can be brought into Canada. Check our government’s official list first to find your car (if your car is more than 15 years old, other rules apply) https://www.tc.gc.ca/motorvehiclesafety/SafeVehicles/Importation/Usa/VAFUS/list2/Section3_0.htm
Use an official auto import agency to get your car from the US to Canada. There are a lot of customs & import rules, it’s horribly complicated, and these agencies are easy to use and will get your car through.
This guide is accurate:
https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/how-to-import-a-car-from-the-u-s-into-canadaYes, you heard right — all cars here have to have their headlights on day and night, automatically. If your car doesn’t have this feature, it’s a fairly easy and cheap fix at most auto shops before you leave.
Wait, there isn’t a bridge to Victoria? How do cars get over?
This is a very common surprise for many newcomers to Victoria. No, there is not a bridge that connects our island to the mainland. We have 3 different ferry systems that bring passengers and drivers/cars to Vancouver Island from Vancouver and from two cities in the US.
We’ve covered how much each ferry costs for drivers & their car in our Transportation page.
I haven’t moved yet. What do I need to transfer my driver’s license?
A few documents, which we’ve covered in the driver’s license section.