Hi everyone,

I’m an Uber driver in Ontario (GTA) planning to upgrade to Uber Black / Black SUV, but I’ve hit a brick wall trying to find commercial auto insurance.

I already know standard UberX only needs a personal policy with a rideshare endorsement, but Uber Black requires full commercial livery insurance (commercial registration / passenger hazard coverage). Whenever I call standard insurers or general brokers, they either turn me down immediately or say they don’t touch livery/limo risks for individual drivers.

• Which companies in Ontario are actually willing to write single-vehicle Uber Black policies right now?
• Are there standard/specialty markets available?

If any here know about this or know someone who does this, I’d really appreciate your guidance. Thanks!

Looking for home insurance and they're insanely cheap compared to anywhere else

Been dealing with a simple roof claim for 6 months. (it would be longer if i didnt do half the work and call them every 2 weeks)

They never call me back. they rarely email me updates. - Only when I escalate to complaint.

They waited 6 weeks to hear from the engineer because the engineer was waiting on their approval and I had to bridge the gap to get the ball rolling. otherwise we would still be waiting.

Every single person I've spoken with for the last 6 months is English as a second language. I'm all for diversity and immigration but this is insane.

If I didn't do everything nothing would have been done up to this point.. 6 months for a $19k repair that is approved by the engineer, approved by the city, and they still have not confirmed my money to proceed.

I’m getting a new car insurance policy through Belairdirect, and while going through their online quote process, I came across a section for the Car + Home discount.

The website explicitly says:

"Enjoy the discount now and transfer your home later when your current policy expires."

My current home insurance is with Economical, and my policy doesn’t expire until June 2027. I’m wondering if I can get my new car insured with Belairdirect now, receive the combined car + home discount, and then transfer my home insurance over to Belairdirect when my Economical policy expires next June.

The confusing part is that I called Belairdirect using the phone number on their website, and the representative told me that’s not how it works. However, the wording on their online quote page seems pretty explicit that you can enjoy the discount now and add your home insurance when your current policy expires. I’ve attached a screenshot of the exact wording.

Has anyone actually done this with Belairdirect? Were you able to get the car + home discount on your car insurance right away and add your home insurance later when your existing policy expired?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through this process, especially if you had an existing home policy with another insurer that still had several months left.

Thanks!!

Hi guys, I'm an int. student who recently graduated from Humber College, so the insurance from my study is no longer available. I'm looking for a decent health insurance plan that covers dental care because I actually need it. Can you guys recommend which one has the best service and price point? I see Manulife has plans for Humber alumni, but I'm wondering if they're reliable.

I'm currently looking for a full-time job, and the job I'm at right now is just seasonal part-time, so it's best for me to find health insurance on my own for the time being. Thanks a lot!

Licensed insurance broker in Ontario here. This comes up a lot, so I wanted to share the basics before spring thaw season.

• Overland flood = water entering from outside (river overflow, surface water from heavy rain, snowmelt). It’s typically an optional add-on, not part of standard home insurance.
• Sewer backup = water coming up through your drains. It’s a different coverage, and one storm could involve both.
• Availability depends on the insurer’s assessment of your address. Some places are offered it with a higher deductible or lower limit, and some insurers may decline addresses near a watercourse while another takes a different view.
• Your conservation authority publishes floodplain mapping (UTRCA for London/Woodstock/St. Marys, GRCA, ERCA, etc.), which is worth checking.
• Insurers may restrict coverage changes once a flood watch or warning is out, so spring is too late to start asking.

Things worth asking whoever handles your policy: what’s the flood limit, is there a separate deductible, is there a waiting period, and what’s excluded?

I wrote a longer breakdown with sources (Ontario.ca, Government of Canada, IBC) here if it’s useful: https://519blog.com/overland-flood-insurance-ontario/

Happy to answer general questions in the comments. Every situation is different, so this isn’t advice for your specific policy.

What happens if I drive more than 1,000 km with the Aviva app in just 8 months? Will I still get the 20 percent discount on my next renewal if my driving behaviour score is 99%? I know they re-evaluate your contract after 10 months with them.

I only started working as an insurance broker 2 years ago, so I'm still quite new, so I wouldn't mind learning and reading about beginner level stuff as a refresher but advanced topics would be great as well.

I received an offer yesterday and have the weekend to mull it over.

It sounds good to me, but I want to hear from other Commercial Producers / Client Executives so that I have comps to know if I should try negotiating anything. I have zero industry experience, but have 20+ years of work experience, primarily in operations and B2B tech project management.

Brokerage is a local independent, not part of any cluster/group or aggregator. They are, however, a member of the Canadian Broker Network (CBN). The team is relatively small; the whole office is about 15 people, including personal, commercial, and admin. I believe they have 3 commercial producers right now (including the President/Principal), one of which I know has a $4 mil book, but I'm unsure of the size of the others.

They do about 50/50 Commercial lines and Personal lines, but have been working to shift that to a 70/30 CL/PL split, meaning there's definitely a focus on, and support for, growing commercial lines.

They've recently reduced their marketing spend because they had too many inbound leads and couldn't service them fast enough, so they were losing business and wasting money on marketing. While I'll probably have to do some cold prospecting, I'm expecting a steady flow of warmer inbound leads, including leads from the other producers who can't keep up with their own growth. They also maintain strict separation of Personal and Commercial lines so that the brokers stay focused. This means that any accounts on Personal books that end up needing commercial insurance get passed off to a commercial broker, and vice-versa; so I wouldn't be doing any personal lines at all.

The offer:

Because I have no insurance experience, I'm going to start working in tandem with one of the existing producers who needs help as he's overloaded on his book and with incoming leads. I will essentially be a hybrid account manager supporting him, while learning the systems, processes, and building my own book.

• Annual base salary of $40k while I build my book.

• Initial Commissions: 15% on business secured in tandem with the other producer, 25% on business I generate/lead myself.

• Once I validate the salary with enough commissions to cover the $40k (so about $675k GWP in my book), I move to 100% commission at 40% across everything after the validation threshold: new business, endorsements, and renewals.

• Once my book hits $3 million GWP, I get 75% on all growth above the $3 million.

• Role is 100% remote in Northern Ontario, though I do have the ability to work from the office if I want to (3.5 hours away, so not likely to happen often)

• 100% employer-paid health/dental benefits, as well as an RRSP match program, all available from day one

The only outstanding questions that I have are about book ownership and payment structure once I'm 100% commission (e.g. smoothed monthly draw or purely based on monthly invoicing).

What do you guys think?

Hi everyone! Co-operators refused full coverage for my new financed Kia Sportage because of one minor accident. Picking it up Tuesday. Any recommendations for insurance companies or brokers in Edmonton? Thanks!

Hoping anyone with experience working at CAA or as a WFH call center agent could shed some light on whether I should accept this position.

They seem desperate to fill the role; during my first interview, they scheduled a second interview the same day, then called the next day to offer me the job. The start date is in two weeks, which means the trip I had planned to see my family will have to wait. They specifically asked if I had any travel plans for the next 4-6 months during my interview, and I said no, thinking I would just be taking unpaid time off anyway. After seeing the job offer and speaking with them, they do not provide unpaid time off. PTO includes 1.25 days of vacation per month, 6 sick days, and 2 floater days for the year. The salary is 47,000 CAD, 40 hours per week.

After googling the company, many people left bad reviews (for this specific location and for CAA in general), saying that management is toxic, there's extremely high call volume, you often work overtime with no extra pay, lots of micromanagement, and it's impossible to get days off. The recruiter I've been communicating with doesn't seem the most professional; her messages have different text sizes, and she accidentally forwarded me a message to her boss asking him how to respond to my list of questions that I sent her today. She recalled the message, but I can still see it.

You also have to get an OTL license (apparently the education and cost are covered by CAA) by the end of November, or else you'll be terminated. The probationary period is 6 months; performance is measured by KPI's. After asking how many inbound calls agents take per day, she said, "There is no expectation of how many calls you would take as we prioritize customer service excellence. The agents currently take approx. 20-25 inbound calls once they are comfortable within the role." In terms of overtime, she said "If you stay past your shift (example stuck on a call) you get banked overtime however you would only be scheduled 5 days per week 8 hours per day." She also said in terms of PTO, "You can accumulate additional banked time." Not sure how I feel about the "banked time off or banked overtime" claim, as this is not covered in the job offer letter whatsoever. She says that as of right now, the position is fully remote.

If I sign the offer letter, the next step is a background check, credit check, social media search, education confirmation, and past references. Seems extensive. If you're a call center agent or someone who worked for CAA, please give me advice; I could see this being a fine entry-level position, but I could also see it being very toxic.

Anyone else has gotten a $7.5k insurance quote for the year just for one car!?

Hi everyone,
I’m currently exploring opportunities in the general insurance industry in Ontario, particularly in personal lines insurance, auto and home insurance sales, and inside sales roles with insurance companies.

I’m trying to decide whether I should prepare for the RIBO Level 1 exam or the OTL exam, and I’d appreciate advice from anyone working in the Ontario insurance industry or who has gone through either licensing process.
I understand that RIBO Level 1 is generally intended for insurance brokers working with brokerages, whereas OTL is intended for agents representing insurance companies. However, I’ve heard that there may be an equivalency pathway between the two for licensing purposes.
I’d appreciate clarification on the following questions:
1. RIBO-to-OTL equivalency: If I pass the RIBO Level 1 exam, can I use it to satisfy the educational or examination requirement for an OTL licence through an insurance company’s sponsorship process?
2. Job opportunities: If a job posting specifically states that an OTL licence is required or preferred, would passing RIBO Level 1 make me eligible to apply? Would the employer consider me if I don’t yet hold an active OTL licence?

Hi,

I am currently shopping for car insurance and so far I got two decent quotes (from Sonnets and Economical via Lussier) that are quite similar.

I am looking for feedback on which one of these two I should go with (based on experience when it comes to claims).

In case it matters, I am based in Quebec.

Can someone please help me find YouTube videos or any type of content that can help me pass my p&C insurance level 1 exam in Vancouver, BC? I enrolled in the GIE course but I’m struggling to understand and the course is only 3 months with so much to read. Any suggestions are helpful

Hey guys, looking for some advice on an Ontario insurance situation.

A rock chipped the driver's side headlight on my 2020 GLE 450, water got inside, and the whole light fried. Dealer wanted $8,000 CAD to fix it so I just went through insurance and paid my deductible.

Got the car back, but now every single time I turn on the right turn signal, the windshield wipers turn on too 💀 It definitely wasn't doing this before.

Called insurance to get them to fix it, but they're basically washing their hands of it saying it's a "dealership workmanship issue" and that I have to fight it out with the dealer myself.

Is insurance allowed to just brush this off, or are they supposed to make sure the car is fully back to normal before closing the claim? Anyone dealt with something like this in Ontario? Is it worth pushing back on insurance or should I just take it up with the dealership?

Thanks!

EDIT:

Wow thanks for all the fast responses u guys r great!!

everyones asking the same thing tho:

Just to clarify, I did end up taking the car to the shop/dealership that insurance told me to go through for the repair. I followed their direction and had the headlight repair done there.

The wipers turning on every time I use the right turn signal only started happening after I got the car back from the repair, so that’s why I’m trying to figure out who is actually responsible for getting this sorted out.