Auto Insurance in Kingston

Established in 1673 by Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Kingston has blossomed into a bustling city with a vibrant population, a young core of residents and an incredible amount of architectural heritage. Whether it’s the cobblestone downtown, or the beautiful City Hall, or even Fort Henry, in all its military discipline, Kingston is a city unlike any other. So why would you expect your insurance to be the same?

Living in Kingston comes with many perks, but also a unique set of circumstances that you must be mindful of when purchasing your auto insurance. Having a branch office, Bickerton Insurance, in Kingston, we polled some of our experienced colleagues to find out what are the most important parts of Auto Insurance Kingstonians must keep in mind. Read on to find out more!

A Busy City

With the 401 providing a constant stream of new arrivals, as well as an airport, busy train station and crowded marina, Kingston sees a lot of traffic moving through its borders. With more then 80% of Kingstonians driving to work, the city runs on automobiles. So you need to be protected if your automobile is damaged in a claim.

OPCF 20

OPCF 20 is a special change you can apply to your auto policy, which reimburses you for reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the loss of an insured vehicle. It comes into play when your vehicle is damaged and becomes undrivable. You are going to need a vehicle while your car is getting repaired (which can takes weeks), so you have to spend extra money for a replacement form of transportation (whether it’s a rental, taxis or public transport) in the meantime. OPCF 20 will reimburse you for these costs, and is typically very cheap.

Kingston drives to work, and with OPCF 20, a claim won’t stop you from driving to work too.

OPCF 27

Much like OPCF 20, OPCF 27 is another special change you can add on to your auto policy. With OPCF 27, you get to extend your insurance policy to also cover vehicles you rent. This synergizes well with OPCF 20, and makes it so you don’t have to opt in to rental insurance agreements, saving you money if you are traveling abroad (although some companies exclude certain countries, check with your broker for more details).

The Solid, Limestone City

Despite the relatively high volume of traffic (especially on streets like Princess and Division), Kingston is still a safe city to drive. Far fewer accidents occur in Kingston than other major cities like Ottawa, London, and Toronto. You see this reflected in favorable insurance rates, but you can also take advantage of this trend by purchasing Claims Protection.

Claims Protection Plan

Claims Protection allows you to get into a Car Accident/Make a claim without affecting your driving record (with your current insurance company). This means that you won’t pay extra in future years because you had a claim, which saves you a lot of money since claims can take six years for a claim to fall off your record, and for your policy’s price to drop. This coverage works great in conjunction with Kingston’s low relative risk of accident because you can only purchase claims protection if you have a perfect driving record, which is easier to get in Kingston. And because accidents are infrequent, the chances of you facing a claim where your premiums spike are low to none, making claims protection remarkably efficient for those buying insurance in Kingston.

An Educated City

Education and Kingston go hand in hand, and with the average person in Kingston being in their 40s and such a large student population, you likely have kids who are going through school, or are a student yourself. With that in mind, you need to remember two great ways to save money with academics.

Away at school discount

This can be applied to any policy which has a young driver who is a certain distance (often 100 kms) away from their home address. It dramatically cuts the premium you must pay to keep the student on your policy (you basically only pay for the time the student is at home). Whether you are a parent, or even the student, make sure you have this coverage!

Distinguished Student Discounts

Doing well in school pays, and now it can pay even more with a Distinguished Student Discount. If a student achieves a certain level of academic success, many insurance companies will offer a substantial (5-15%) discount on their auto premium. Check with your broker (or insurance company) to find out if it is available for you.

Kingston is a beautiful city which we are all proud to live in. And now with McDougall Insurance, you can take advantage of our experienced staff who will provide expert coverage tailored for you, right down to your home town. Check out our online quoting tool if you want to become part of our family, and if you aren’t interested you should still review what we discussed with your current broker or company! It can be a great way for you to get the most out of your insurance policy.