Group Insurance: how does it work?

[iFly55]

can someone shed light on how group insurance through Employers/Alumni work?

we were looking for insurance through the regular routes, and i was quoted between $9000-11000+/yr, for two vehicles for me and my mom; this is without any at-fault accidents or tickets between the two of us

when i included my mother's School Board group insurance through RBC, we got a $5000 quote that's nearly $6000 in savings

how does that work? why are group insurance so much cheaper?

 

[VifferFun]

Was it $5000 cheaper than the cheapest non-group quote from RBC? The premium different between group and non-group usually isn't that significant.

Group rating usually applies the insurance company's regular rating algorithm to calculate your rate, but then determines a discount based on the favourable claims experience of the group as a whole. If the school board happens to have a large pool of drivers who are rarely at fault in collisions and cause few damages, then this will be rewarded by a good group discount.

 

[Aleks Hara]

Being a part of a group or member of an association could help you get discounted rates with certain companies but as VifferFun pointed out, the savings shouldn't be that huge. In my experience, group/association rates range from 5% to 20% off. To be honest, the quotes of 9k to 11k sound way too extreme. I would advise you to shop the "direct" companies using websites like kanetix.ca and insurancehotline.com - or contact a broker (like myself, or anyone else you know) to check the broker-based insurance companies as well.