Car insurance in Ontario with a past DUI?
My son grew up in Ontario and obtained his full G license circa 2007 after going through driver's ed. He's an engineering-robotics graduate (Conestoga) and is now 31. If it's relevant, he's been insured under on his own policy since 2010.
He moved to Alberta to pursue a job opportunity in 2012. All was going well enough, but sometimes people make bad choices, and he got pulled over out in the back country one afternoon after a bit of partying. He blew over, then blew over again on the second test and was charged for DUI. Since the evidence was incontrovertible, he chose to bite the bullet and plead guilty in 2016. The result was a Section 253 conviction, a fine of $1,800 and a license suspension for 1 year. Rather than keep making loan and insurance payments on a car he wasn't allowed to drive, he immediately got rid of it and dropped his insurance. In early 2017 he finally gave up on Alberta altogether and moved back to Ontario where there were family supports.
After checking on what Ontario required to get his license reinstated, he completed the Back On Track program and was then issued an Ontario license in September 2017. But since he no longer had a car and doubted he could afford the insurance anyway, he chose to simply stop driving, managing to get around for the past 3 years thanks to public transit, cabs and family. He has not driven a vehicle or been a listed insured on his own or anyone else's policy since he dropped his coverage in Alberta back in 2016. He no longer drinks.
After 3+ years of this purgatory he wants to return to driving, if for no other reason than to expand his job possibilities (bus service to the industrial areas around here is just about non-existent... you really need a vehicle). As his dad, I'm trying to help where I can, which in this case mostly means playing banker. I have a line on a decent older vehicle for him, but everything I keep reading about the cost of auto insurance for someone with a DUI on their record scares the heck out of me.
My own insurer said they don't underwrite DUIs, so that idea got me nowhere. Googling didn't provide me with much useful information either, except to say if I have to go into the Facility pool to obtain insurance that I should expect to pay many, many thousands in premiums for many, many years. I have to believe there's another hidden market out there for DUIs.
So I'm hoping somebody here either knows the ropes on this, or maybe knows somebody else who does. Thanks in advance for any suggestions
He moved to Alberta to pursue a job opportunity in 2012. All was going well enough, but sometimes people make bad choices, and he got pulled over out in the back country one afternoon after a bit of partying. He blew over, then blew over again on the second test and was charged for DUI. Since the evidence was incontrovertible, he chose to bite the bullet and plead guilty in 2016. The result was a Section 253 conviction, a fine of $1,800 and a license suspension for 1 year. Rather than keep making loan and insurance payments on a car he wasn't allowed to drive, he immediately got rid of it and dropped his insurance. In early 2017 he finally gave up on Alberta altogether and moved back to Ontario where there were family supports.
After checking on what Ontario required to get his license reinstated, he completed the Back On Track program and was then issued an Ontario license in September 2017. But since he no longer had a car and doubted he could afford the insurance anyway, he chose to simply stop driving, managing to get around for the past 3 years thanks to public transit, cabs and family. He has not driven a vehicle or been a listed insured on his own or anyone else's policy since he dropped his coverage in Alberta back in 2016. He no longer drinks.
After 3+ years of this purgatory he wants to return to driving, if for no other reason than to expand his job possibilities (bus service to the industrial areas around here is just about non-existent... you really need a vehicle). As his dad, I'm trying to help where I can, which in this case mostly means playing banker. I have a line on a decent older vehicle for him, but everything I keep reading about the cost of auto insurance for someone with a DUI on their record scares the heck out of me.
My own insurer said they don't underwrite DUIs, so that idea got me nowhere. Googling didn't provide me with much useful information either, except to say if I have to go into the Facility pool to obtain insurance that I should expect to pay many, many thousands in premiums for many, many years. I have to believe there's another hidden market out there for DUIs.
So I'm hoping somebody here either knows the ropes on this, or maybe knows somebody else who does. Thanks in advance for any suggestions