How are my premiums set? - The vehicle you drive
Within each rate class, the make and model of the vehicle you drive does not affect the basic premium charged.
However, many types of optional insurance
provide direct coverage for loss or damage to your vehicle. Therefore,
what vehicle you are insuring does affect the size of the premium
you pay.
All of these things affect your vehicle's
rating:
- Year of the vehicle
- Wheelbase
- Horsepower
- Make and model
- Body style
- Cost of repairs
- That model's claim record (For example,
is it involved in lots of crashes? Is it a popular target for
thieves? ICBC keeps its own records, and also checks data collected
across Canada.)
See Do
I need more coverage? to find out about
different types of optional coverage.
Different types of vehicles
For some insurance purposes, vehicles are
divided into three categories:
- Rate group vehicles - Most private passenger
and light commercial vehicles
- Declared value vehicles - Motorcycles,
trailers, snowmobiles, golf carts, industrial machines, commercial
vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) [click
for definition] of more than
5,000 kg and others that don't qualify as rate group vehicles
- Motor homes and custom vehicles - including
leisure vans, limousines, replicars, replikits, specialty cars,
ubilts and modified commercial vehicles
