Ontario Car Insurance Gets A Boost

John can hardly contain his excitement. You know who we’re talking about. You know the coming-up-on-his-30th-birthday, about-to-get-married, Halloween-costume-contest-winning, tropical-vacation-taking giant that rules the roost at Synergy Merchant Services?

Yeah, that John! Synergy’s Vice President of Marketing, John Meloche is ever-so excited once again. And this time, it’s because of his (picture Bob Barker’s voice on “The Price Is Right”) BRAND NEW CAR!

That’s right. After years of saving up his funds, John is just days away from driving into the Synergy parking lot in his fresh new ride! And while the entire office awaits the fateful day when they see John in the driver’s seat of his new pride and joy, we’d like to take this time to burst his bubble. Just a bit.

In today’s edition of The Toronto Star, business columnist James Daw reports that the cost of Ontario auto insurance is continuing to rise. As Daw writes, “Twenty two insurers won approval in the final quarter of 2009 to raise their premium rates – one by a whopping average of 15 per cent starting in March.”

Actually it was John who, in fact, originally brought this information to the attention of the other drivers on the Synergy Merchant Services staff. Never before considered an inexpensive cost of living, car insurance for Ontario drivers is set to increase by an average of 8.77 per cent, according to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

Apparently, now may not necessarily be the right time to begin driving again if you haven’t gotten behind the wheel in a while. According to Daw’s article, Traders General Insurance Co. of Canada tops the list of insurance companies issuing the biggest rate increases with an average increase over two years of nearly 30 per cent.

It is at this point that a necessary interjection must be made. As if this wasn’t always the case, drivers should remain as alert and cautious of the road as possible whenever driving. And while safety is always first, increased premiums are nasty side effects of getting tickets for speeding or other traffic infractions.

This is known all too well by one of the Synergy team members who reported damage to his vehicle to his car insurance company just a year ago. Discovering a large hole and crack in his bumper without any knowledge of how it got there, this individual contacted his insurance company to look into having the damage repaired. And although the claim was accepted as a “no fault, no collision” incident, he found that his premiums were raised upon renewal later in the year.

After contacting his insurance company to inquire as to why his rates had increased, he was informed that the company had researched his driving record to discover an out-of-country speeding ticket that was issued three years prior! Livid, our staff member questioned why this “ancient” ticket would not have affected his premiums for the three years prior to the present date. Unsatisfied with the shifty answer, our associate quickly changed insurance companies.

However, for Ontario drivers it appears as if it won’t matter which companies are insuring their vehicles. 2010 will prove to be a more expensive year for drivers all over the province. Safe driving, John!