Priller
Well-known member
I was listening to a British radio station online, and heard an ad for an insurance comparison website, GoCompare. Just out of curiosity, I went and plugged in the address of my company's UK office (just outside beautiful Birmingham, a top vacation destination), and otherwise kept my details and bike (2018 Tuono) identical. I selected leisure and commuting for use, and put in 8,000 miles (12,874 km) for annual distance travelled.
Using an excess of £350 (equivalent of deductible), I was able to get over 10 quotes between £233 and £315 annually (roughly $400 to $550 CAD) for comprehensive coverage. Apparently, the UK has some of the highest rates in Europe, too.
I know it's well-trodden ground that Canadian vehicle insurance is a broken system, but this just seems to reinforce how broken it is. Even if the liability coverage isn't as high as it is here (a common argument to justify our rates), there doesn't seem to be a crisis of folks there going broke because their insurance wouldn't pay out enough.
What am I missing? We have similar medical costs, similar hybrid public health systems, broadly similar wages and costs of living. I'm not comparing to Thailand or Uruguay. I get there are a lot more motorcycles on the road there per capita, but does that really affect the risk for the insurance companies that much? Or does it just ensure a healthily competitive marketplace, something that is very much absent here...
Using an excess of £350 (equivalent of deductible), I was able to get over 10 quotes between £233 and £315 annually (roughly $400 to $550 CAD) for comprehensive coverage. Apparently, the UK has some of the highest rates in Europe, too.
I know it's well-trodden ground that Canadian vehicle insurance is a broken system, but this just seems to reinforce how broken it is. Even if the liability coverage isn't as high as it is here (a common argument to justify our rates), there doesn't seem to be a crisis of folks there going broke because their insurance wouldn't pay out enough.
What am I missing? We have similar medical costs, similar hybrid public health systems, broadly similar wages and costs of living. I'm not comparing to Thailand or Uruguay. I get there are a lot more motorcycles on the road there per capita, but does that really affect the risk for the insurance companies that much? Or does it just ensure a healthily competitive marketplace, something that is very much absent here...