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The Ultimate Guide to Getting Cheap Car Insurance Quotes in Quebec

Curtis Killen

As president of KBD, Curtis aims to simplify insurance for his clients. He’s helped lead KBD to become one of Canada’s fastest 400 growing companies according to the Globe & Mail.

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WARNING: BAD ADVICE ALERT

To get cheap car insurance quotes, make sure you pay on time and be a good driver.

Folks, advice like this ⬆️  simply isn’t going to cut it today.

If you come across it, close that tab immediately!

We’re here to give you real, hard-hitting tips you can use in real life.

Today, we’re talking about how to get a car insurance quote in Quebec, and specifically, how to get the best price.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

One spiel you should get used to hearing — and ignoring — is the one where insurance brokers tell you not to get car insurance quotes without speaking to a professional.

Don’t get a quote online, they say.

If you don’t speak with an insurance pro, you can’t trust that you’re getting good information.

They’ll pressure you.

Don’t listen to ’em!

Getting car insurance quotes online is fine.

In fact, it’s better than fine.

We think it’s a great idea.

As an example, Sonnet Insurance has been providing insurance 100% online since 2016. (And they have some pretty high profile hockey players in their commercials, so they must be good.)

Here at KBD, we offer a slightly different experience.

Clearly, we’re all for online methods. It’s what the people want.

But we like our hybrid model, where we offer online auto insurance quotes for about 80% of the process, and then we get a broker involved to help you get to the finish line. 

Here’s how it works:

  1. Answer questions on our website and get a quote in less than 3 minutes
  2. Compare auto coverage from different insurance companies
  3. Talk with one of our insurance brokers to ask questions and finalize your policy

As you can see, we provide the best of both worlds. (At least we think so.)

We also offer a 100% over-the-phone experience.

Whatever you do, don’t believe that you can’t do this all online.

You can.

How to get a quote on car insurance

Online 💻 or by phone ☎️.

Again, some people prefer to speak with a professional, but for those that don’t, you can certainly get it done from behind your computer or device.

Car insurance companies today offer two types of quotes:

Quick car insurance quotes: The name says it all.

If you don’t feel like spending too much time on this, you don’t have to.

In less than two minutes, you can have your quote.

The downside?

That quote may not paint the whole picture.

When you opt for the quick method, the insurance company will make some assumptions to fill in the blanks where they don’t have data on you.

For example, they might assume you want your home and car insurance bundled.

They might assume the car is for personal use when it’s for business use.

Those assumptions might result in a quote that doesn’t accurately reflect what you want.

Detailed car insurance quotes: This way takes a little longer — up to 20 minutes — but you’ll inevitably get a more accurate quote.

The more you give the more you get.

Figure the process will take three or four minutes per vehicle and one or two minutes per driver you want to insure.

By giving them more information, they can give you a quote that’s close to perfect.

Learn more about car insurance cost in Quebec.

Why is my car insurance quote so high?

Because your car is red.

No, not really.

But some people do actually think that!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s not true.

Car color does not affect your insurance price.

Here are some actual reasons your quote could be high:

  • You’ve had your license suspended
  • You make a lot of claims
  • You didn’t register for telematics
  • You live in a congested area of the city
  • You have bad credit

On that last point: When you get an insurance quote, the provider will no doubt ask you this big question:

Can we check your credit?

We call this the Credit Question. (Creative, right?)

It’s kind of a big deal.

A lot of people say “no” to this because they think it’ll affect their credit.

It won’t.

Here’s the thing: There’s what’s called a hard credit check and a soft credit check.

And there’s a difference.

A hard check is when “a financial institution, such as a lender or credit card issuer, checks your credit when making a lending decision.”

(Thanks to Credit Karma for the definition.)

The bank typically does one before giving you a mortgage or a loan.

A hard check may lower your credit score.

A soft credit check, on the other hand, is usually part of a background check.

It is not connected to an application for new credit. This is what the insurance company will do.

And this will not affect your credit score.

Knowing that it won’t affect your credit score, you should say yes to allow them to check you.

If you actually have good credit but say no, the insurance company will assume you have terrible credit.

Why else would you say no?

Of course, if you do have bad credit, your insurance quote will be higher.

The worse your credit, the more of an insurance risk you are.

Bonus: If you’ve lived at the same address for more than five years, you can expect a 5% price discount.

How to get an accurate auto insurance quote online

The best way to get an accurate quote is to provide accurate information.

Duh!

It may seem overly simple, but it’s true.

To avoid surprises, use your real name, birthday, and address.

Have your driver’s license and VIN number on hand.

VIN is an acronym for vehicle identification number, also referred to as the serial number.

It’s that long sequence of letters and numbers; it will also add up to 17 characters.

Here’s how to find your vehicle serial number if you can’t find it on your policies.

A common mistake people make is to give the wrong model and year of their car simply because they don’t know it and are guessing.

Well if you give the wrong information, you’ll get the wrong information back.

Another good idea: Have a copy of your current insurance policy with you.

If you like the policy you already have, then you can just copy its details for your new one.

Pro tip: Replacement cost insurance can significantly raise your price.

It can also protect you against depreciation by compensating you for the value of your car on the day the loss.

Learn more about replacement cost insurance here.

How to compare car insurance quotes in Quebec

Free car insurance quotes are everywhere.

There are three options:

  1. Use a comparison site

    Aggregator platforms like LowestRates or ClicAssure compare quotes from multiple Quebec car insurance companies.
    (Most, but not ALL. Keep reading.)

  2. Call an insurance broker

    A broker has access to several companies and can provide quotes for you over the phone.

  3. Shop the market yourself

    This is the most effective way, in our opinion. If you have two or three hours, make a list of insurance companies and either call them or visit their website. At the end, you’ll have a solid collection of quotes from multiple channels.

Here are the insurance companies most popular among Quebecers:

Desjardins: They are a direct insurance provider.

As an insurance giant, they have enough clout that they don’t provide quotes through any comparison sites.

If you want to deal with them, you have to go directly to them.

(And that’s why you won’t find them on the likes of ClicAssure.)

Intact: They use a broker model.

If you call them, you will be funneled toward a broker like KBD.

You will never speak to someone at Intact directly.

Belair: Another direct insurance company.

They are owned by Intact Financial Corporation (IFC).

So while they operate as separate entities, Intact and Belair share resources like claims adjusters and underwriting data.

And that’s that.

Now you can knowledgeably find cheaper car insurance quotes with advice that’s better than pay on time and be a good driver.

This was better, right?