insurance options?

[MOX]

I'm at that point with my build where i need to start to think about insurance and plates so i called my insurance company and asked:

"i have bought a vehicle i would like to use offroad, to get to fishing spots and hunting, it will not be used on the road, only on private land and crown....i was told i should have liability insurance, how do i go about getting that?"

they said "maybe if you switch it to an ATV at the ministry they "might" insure it"

their answer was so sketchy/iffy that...

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[Kunker]

Either go to the MTO (like Marek and others have done) and get the green plate for an off highway vehicle, and have it insured as an ATV effectively, or stick with the blue plates and keep it road legal. Either way, my understanding (and there are a few threads on this here) is that it has to be licensed one way or the other for an insurance company to touch it.

If you do go the green plate route, know that it can never be moved back to the road (unless you throw another VIN or something on it I guess).

 

[mucovich]

all that is correct - I will say going to ATV and offroad insurance was easier than I thought it would be. Just a few hoops to jump through like getting an appraisal for the insurance company - they will need a full appraisal though if you go through this route - a dollar figure won't suffice - they require a full appraisal with write up and that costs about $200 (keep in mind this is only my experience). My MTO experience was easy - brought in my blue plate - did a quick write-up of what I had done to the vehicle to make it "offroad only" and they just switched it over as a "dune buggy" with an ATV plate.

 

[Kunker]

If you need an appraisal in Ottawa, talk to Phil Jensen (Phil_formerly_OJC_1TonTJ on here) as he did mine, and it was a lot less than $200. He's also pretty familiar with off road vehicles as he used to have a pretty badass 1 ton TJ.

 

[Richard]

I just want to re-enforce (for anyone reading) that you DO need liability insurance to drive on crown land. It's something like a $500 fine if you get caught without it, and some have.

Going the ATV route will likely be the easiest and cheapest route as most insurance companies don't want to touch a modified on-road vehicle, or you end up paying more with those that do.

 

[MOX]

GOt the green plate yesterday!

what I have found:
-no insurance without a plate of some type, can't get blue plate without safety, can't get sticker without etest= if you go this route it could be driven on the road but insurance will more expensive because of that.
-you need basic liability insurance to operate on crown land, not only can you get a $500 ticket but also it will show up on your record as driving without insurance and effect your policy.
-same goes for private property you do not own
-atv insurance is cheaper then basic liability on a blue plate!
-atv plate is good for life, no annual sticker
-took me an hour at the MTO-they had worked there 25 years and never seen this request before....3 phone calls to head office to make sure brown ownership had correct info & I had to write and sign an afidavid stating year,
make, model, would only be used for off road use, vehicle met "off road criteria" lights, brakes etc .... name, address, prov, country... that I currently owned the vehicle and it was registered in my name and that a matching VIN would be visible on the vehicle.
$10 for new ownership
$20 FOR ATV PLATE
$15 FOR ONE TIME REGISTRATION

next step appraisal/insurance

 

[Kunker]

Bumping this back - for those of you with buggies and insurance, who is your broker/company? I know Adrian mentioned that he has "facility insurance" at the meeting, and in talking to my insurance rep about it, they still require an MTO safety before they will insure it.

 

[Djtc]

Ill add another question if you dont mind.. Who do you guys with street legal rogs insure your trucks with?im lookingto buya 91 tdi swapped toyota pickup with a small lift but nobody want to touch it other than facility.

 

[Richard]

Try Palladium Insurance, they're a broker and insure my Jeep with The Dominion. The owner Tim Snelling owns and off-roads a Land Rover and he convinced the people at The Dominion that we're not high risk. The only catch is they'll want your home insurance too. Insuring my Jeep wasn't any more expensive but the house was, but still better than no or fraudulent insurance, or Facility insurance which I was on for 9 months.

 

[Djtc]

Try Palladium Insurance, they're a broker and insure my Jeep with The Dominion. The owner Tim Snelling owns and off-roads a Land Rover and he convinced the people at The Dominion that we're not high risk. The only catch is they'll want your home insurance too. Insuring my Jeep wasn't any more expensive but the house was, but still better than no or fraudulent insurance, or Facility insurance which I was on for 9 months.

Im not a home owner so that rules it out. Ive been hearing about Angie at all dtate in brockville from the jeep forums.apparently she has been insuring lifted rigs

 

[trixter192]

I know that the underwriter that deals with Co-Operators in North Bay will acknowledge and omit any mods done to their rigs. So the factory stuff is covered, liability is covered, but mods are not. One of the North Bay members works for them and was telling me about it. It might be the same underwriter that deals in Ottawa, might be worth checking out.

 

[Kunker]

I cannot move my home coverage - Jenn runs a home daycare, and no company will touch us with a ten foot pole as a result (I've called Palladium in the past). So it would need to be a buggy/Jeep only policy.

Note that I'm specifically interested in off-road plated vehicles, thankfully I've had no issues with my current provider with the mods to the Jeep. However, if I do decide to go buggy, or even cut the CJ up more, I really do need options.

 

[O.D.]

I have palladium for the TJ but my other 2 cars and home are with other insurance companies. I just have the TJ with them. With that said, i know i am paying more than i should be (As i was originally covered through Bradley's and 2 month into ownership of the Jeep they then cancelled my coverage because of the modifications and at that time it was less than what i pay with Palladium) but i think they know the service they offer is hard to come by and as a result charge a premium.

I would have moved over my other policies but it was wayyyyy tooo pricey to justify.

 

[Djtc]

who do you guys deal with for palladium?

 

[O.D.]

Tim Snelling (Owner) or Chris Barrette.

 

[bradleyfitz]

Note that I'm specifically interested in off-road plated vehicles, thankfully I've had no issues with my current provider with the mods to the Jeep. However, if I do decide to go buggy, or even cut the CJ up more, I really do need options.

The challenge here is the last time I talked to CB at Palladium, he was telling me if you do facility on a off-road plated vehicle, they don't make any money... which is why they want the rest of your business. They need to make the effort worth while. You can't get facility or an insurance through your existing policy?

 

[Kunker]

The challenge here is the last time I talked to CB at Palladium, he was telling me if you do facility on a off-road plated vehicle, they don't make any money... which is why they want the rest of your business. They need to make the effort worth while. You can't get facility or an insurance through your existing policy?

The insurance agent with my existing policy has talked about getting facility insurance, but is convinced that they need an MTO safety due to this clause:

No coverages are permissible until the following are provided to the Servicing Carrier:
1. A certificate of road worthiness or mechanical fitness acceptable to the Servicing Carrier
2. An appraisal at the Applicant’s expense to enable the proper rating group to be determined

These must accompany the application to the Servicing Carrier.

Although I've tried to make it clear that mechanical fitness != MTO safety, she isn't listening and does not appear to want to pass along my concerns to the "servicing carrier". I need to stop by and talk to someone in person some day to see if I can iron this out.

 

[Richard]

My employer recently arranged a group rate with Allstate so I decided to give them a call, and I managed to convince them to insure my Jeep. Between our 3 vehicles and home we're saving 25% compared to Dominion/Palladium though some of that is from the group rate.

At first they were concerned about power related mods, but since mine are mild and not speed related as they don't even compensate for the extra weight, they let it pass. I fully disclosed my mods and sent them a picture which they will keep on file.

So if you're looking for another option call their office in Kanata 613-592-8283 and ask for Tricia.

Richard

 

[Djtc]

I got my tdi swapped toyota pickup through all state as well however they said 3" of lift would be the max they would insure..

 

[Richard]

I all depends who you talk to. When I first talked to them their only concern was power. My list of mods included 5.5" lift springs and they didn't say a word about it.