Find Cheap Car Insurance in Cambridge

Car insurance in Cambridge

Residents of Cambridge, a town in southwestern Ontario with a population of about 138,000, enjoy a range of urban amenities in nearby Kitchener-Waterloo as well as elements of rural life.

While the region has public transportation, including a bus service and Go Transit station in Kitchener, most people rely on car travel to get around.

Drivers in every part of Canada are required by law to be properly protected with car insurance and those in Cambridge are no exception.

At a minimum, they must have the following coverage: Accident benefits, Direct Compensation Property Damage, Third Party Liability and Uninsured motorist.

Those seeking more protection can customize their car insurance further with optional coverage – often packaged together under the following terms: All perils, comprehensive, collision and specified perils.

For drivers seeking even more protection, endorsements can be added. They can pick-and-choose policy amendments that top up the coverage otherwise available through a basic policy.

Mandatory coverage

Here, we describe the various forms of mandatory coverage in greater detail:

• Accident benefits/bodily injury: This coverage will protect drivers in Cambridge who are injured in a collision, including the cost of medical care, wage replacement, home care and funeral costs.
  
• Direct Compensation Property Damage (DCPD): For an insured driver who’s not at fault in a collision that took place in Ontario, this mandatory coverage will cover the cost of vehicle damage as well as costs stemming from damage to its contents.
  
  DCPD allows the driver, who must have been insured in Ontario, to be paid by their insurance provider in a timely manner rather than wait for the conclusion of a legal negotiation with the insurance provider of another driver in the collision.
  
• Third party liability: If you’re at fault for a collision and someone else is injured or killed, this coverage will cover the cost of a lawsuit that ensues. It also covers repair costs for property and vehicles damaged in a collision as well as medical costs for injuries resulting from a collision.
  
  While drivers are at liberty to choose their coverage limit, we recommend they consider a minimum of $1 million. If an at-fault driver is successfully sued for $1 million but has a TPL coverage limit of only $200,000, they’ll be on the hook for the difference: $800,000.
  
• Uninsured motorist: Covers an insured driver who's injured, killed or has their vehicle damaged in a collision with an uninsured driver.
  

Optional coverage

• All perils: Covers many perils. Broadly, has similarities to Collision and Comprehensive coverage.
  
• Collision: Covers car replacement, or repair costs, if insured’s car is damaged in a collision and they’re at fault. Also covers single vehicle collisions and hit and run accidents.
  
• Comprehensive: Covers damage by debris, earthquake, explosions, hail, theft, vandalism and weather events.
  
• Specified perils: Covers damage from a short list of perils that are specifically named in insured’s policy, such as, attempted theft, damage in transport, earthquake, explosions, fire, lightning, riots or windstorms.
  

Ontario endorsements

Endorsement is insurance industry lingo that refers to a policy amendment that broadens, restricts or alters its terms. They’re added to a policy for greater coverage.

Some popular car insurance endorsements include:

• OPCF 20 – Loss of use: If your vehicle is damaged, needs to be replaced and/or you assume transportation costs in the interim, this endorsement means costs will be covered. This protection comes with All perils, Comprehensive or Specified perils coverage.
  
• OPCF 27 – Damage to non-owned vehicle: Having this endorsement on your policy, also known as ‘ having a 27’, means that that any bodily injury, accident benefits, uninsured automobile and other property damage coverage you have as part of your car insurance policy will extended to a vehicle you don’t own.
  
  It also means that if you’re driving a rental car in Cambridge, you won’t need to purchase the property damage coverage – also known as Loss Damage Waiver, or ‘LDW’.
  
• OPCF 35 – Emergency roadside: Covers the cost of any labour required if your car breaks down as well as the cost of a tow, battery, gas or tire replacement and/or the services of a locksmith.
  
• OPCF 44R – Family protection: This endorsement means that the difference between your coverage and any liability coverage of a third party who’s found at fault during a collision will be covered. Those under 18 who are eligible through a policy with this endorsement will be better compensated in the event of a collision where the other driver is at-fault.
  
• OPCF 43 – Depreciation waiver: This endorsement means that if your vehicle is totaled in a collision, you’ll be paid the full value of the car. It’s worth considering this endorsement if you have a brand-new car.

When you have more car insurance coverage, expect to have a higher premium. To manage costs, we recommend that you customize your policy, thinking carefully about what coverage you need and what coverage you can do without.

Since car insurance premiums are subject to change, following approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, you can also manage your insurance costs by comparison shopping every year when your policy is up for renewal. Different providers offer different rates at different times, and your coverage needs may change year over year.

We offer free, online car insurance quotes from 50+ of the most trusted providers in the country.

Top 7 tips for getting cheap car insurance in Cambridge

To manage your car insurance costs, consider the following seven tactics. In isolation, each can save you money, in aggregate, the savings can increase considerably:

1. Bundle: Having each of your car insurance policies held by a single provider is the single most effective way to bring down your overall insurance costs. For example, you could have your auto and home policies with one company.
   
2. Buy a cheap vehicle: When the cost of repairing or replacing your car is lower, you can expect to have a lower premium.
3. Comparison shop: Comparing available rates every time your car insurance policy is up for renewal can help you save hundreds of dollars each year.
   
4. Customize your policy: We recommend that you examine your coverage each year and make sure that you’re only getting car insurance coverage you need, nothing more. For example, if you added a depreciation waiver to your policy when your vehicle was new to ensure you’d receive back the full value of the car if it was totaled in a collision, you may no longer need it for an older vehicle.
   
5. Increase your deductible: If you’re likely to have the cashflow available to cover a higher deductible in the event of a claim, consider increasing it in order to enjoy lower monthly premiums.
   
6. Install winter tires: When drivers in Cambridge install winter tires, they will receive a discount of 5-15%. The exact amount is at the discretion of the provider.
   
7. Telematics: Drivers who agree to have their driving monitored may enjoy a discount on their rates, particularly if their driving confirms to the insurance provider that they’re at a low risk of making a claim.