Winter Tires, the useless insurance saving and how you could be screwed in the process.

long stroke · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Winter Tires, the useless insurance saving and how you could be screwed in the process.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Interesting, good to know.

I would assume with most underwriters, the discount period contractually must fall within a certain time period. Eg; November 1st to the end of April? Like you state.

long stroke · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

cdnpont wrote:
Interesting, good to know.
I would assume with most underwriters, the discount period contractually must fall within a certain time period. Eg; November 1st to the end of April? Like you state.

Mark, i would have thought the very same thing but according to my broker there is no criteria. I was stunned to find that out.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

So a snowfall in May, no snows, a crash you're screwed?

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Somehow I am always suspicious when an insurance company offers discounts. I would not accept any discount unless I read through the fine print and understood completely what I was signing up for.

In NS I have never heard of such a discount from my insurance broker, so it might be a regional thing?

long stroke · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

cdnpont wrote:
So a snowfall in May, no snows, a crash you're screwed?

I guess within reason because snow is never expected in certain times of the year.

ak 67sd · Poncho Master!

Thankfully not an issue in MB. In the case you mention, the savings isn't enough to sweat over, or just buy year round winter rated tires... there's a few out there...

ak

poncho62 · Poncho Master!

I guess you could say the same thing that about what they came up with a few years ago.....The device that they hook to your car computer to tell them you are a safe driver, supposedly getting a 10-15% discount. Gee..I wonder if they could track your every movement with that thing?

As for snow tires, I put them on early and leave them on late...I live in a snow belt.....lol

-- Edited by poncho62 on Friday 22nd of November 2019 05:56:49 AM

long stroke · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

poncho62 wrote:
I guess you could say the same thing that about what they came up with a few years ago.....The device that they hook to your car computer to tell them you are a safe driver, supposedly getting a 10-15% discount. Gee..I wonder if they could track your every movement with that thing?

As for snow tires, I put them on early and leave them on late...I live in a snow belt.....lol

-- Edited by poncho62 on Friday 22nd of November 2019 05:56:49 AM

I would not put that monitoring device on my car if the insurance was 75% off.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

MC, they do offer a snow tire discount in NS. Ill have to ask if it works here as it does in ON, if yes, Ill drop it.

What about Alberta where I think they have a recorded snowfall in all 12 months of the year?

Youd think it would match say the same period as studded tires?

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

DonSSDD wrote:
MC, they do offer a snow tire discount in NS. Ill have to ask if it works here as it does in ON, if yes, Ill drop it.

What about Alberta where I think they have a recorded snowfall in all 12 months of the year?

Youd think it would match say the same period as studded tires?

Not that I'm aware, but I haven't inquired. Last time I renewed my insurance it wasn't mentioned, nor was there any text about it on my policy.

So...???

bferguson · Addicted!

long stroke wrote:
It is that time of year for winter tires in most parts of Canada. Insurance companies in Ontario will offer between 2% and 5% off on your coverage and to that i say.... useless. Now here is the problem that most folks are not even thinking about. Once you have your insurance company mark you down for the winter tire discount, you better make sure they are on when you have a collision. If you do not have them on....... THEY WILL NOT COVER YOU IN ANY WAY. So if we have a freak storm in November and you do not put your winter tires on until December and you then have an accident, well good luck having any coverage. They will tell you this up front when you ask for the winter tire discount. By the same token, if you take your winter tires off in April and we have a freak storm in April and you get into an accident, well you are **** out of luck. What could make all this even more scary is if you sadly kill some one in an accident and you are not covered. If sued you will loose everything and your life is over. Because of all these very serious realities, i tell my insurance company that i have winter tires but i do not want that fact stated on my policy. The tiny insignificant savings on your policy when having winter tires could end up costing you big time. This is something to consider and i am speaking of Ontario, i have no idea what is going on in other provinces. I would recommend that you speak to your broker on this matter and get all the facts. Cheers.

I can't speak for any insurer other than the one I use but mine is very clear in the policy when the snows must be on the vehicle. If there's an incident outside that time frame I'm covered.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I just called my insurance company about another matter as my policy is renewing so I always update things this time of year. I specifically asked about the snow tire discount, time of year tires must be on, limits of coverage etc...all the things being discussed here.

I was told that they scrapped the entire dates and limits of Liability a big reason was last year or the prior year when we had in Toronto a freak late April storm and people were crashing in the ice and snow because they had already removed tires. It was also pointed out that a date limit is impossible to enforce in a country and province like Ontario because you could live in Toronto and travel to Sudbury where winter conditions are so different and date enforcement would be futile. We also discussed types of tires, GMC has All Terrain Tires which likely are as good in snow as a snow tire but not recognized, the new All Weather tires similarly not recognized. Its a Joke.

Better call your insurer to see what story you get.

PS: I just told them to take the discount off all the cars and trucks, the $15 per month saving isn't worth the risk.

-- Edited by 73SC on Friday 22nd of November 2019 11:42:30 AM

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

73SC wrote:
We also discussed types of tires, GMC has All Terrain Tires which likely are as good in snow as a snow tire but not recognized, the new All Weather tires similarly not recognized. Its a Joke.

Those tires may have the deeper/deep treads as opposed to summer tires, but the lack of pliability (like a frozen hockey puck) of their rubber compound in extreme minus temperatures makes them less safe.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Pontiacanada wrote:
73SC wrote:
We also discussed types of tires, GMC has All Terrain Tires which likely are as good in snow as a snow tire but not recognized, the new All Weather tires similarly not recognized. Its a Joke.

Those tires may have the deeper/deep treads as opposed to summer tires, but the lack of pliability (like a frozen hockey puck) of their rubber compound in extreme minus temperatures makes them less safe.

Additionally, they don't have the amount of sipes that modern winter tires have to wick away the water that forms when your tire puts pressure on ice, making them less effective in icy conditions.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

MC wrote:
DonSSDD wrote:
MC, they do offer a snow tire discount in NS. Ill have to ask if it works here as it does in ON, if yes, Ill drop it.

What about Alberta where I think they have a recorded snowfall in all 12 months of the year?

Youd think it would match say the same period as studded tires?
Not that I'm aware, but I haven't inquired. Last time I renewed my insurance it wasn't mentioned, nor was there any text about it on my policy.
So...???

MC, I filled out a questionnaire related to my insurance renewal last month, it asked about this for both my vehicles. I looked in my renewal paperwork, saw no mention of it in the coverage. I'll email my broker, my coverage is with Intact.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Finally got an answer, this discount is not offered in NS, the form I filled out must have been a generic one for all provinces.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

That's interesting. I wonder why it differs so much from province to province.

Seems like a bit of a rabbit hole for them to go down into, anyhow. I mean, what if you get into an accident and your winter tires are worn out? What if you have all seasons on, but the accident wasn't caused by lack of traction? Lots of variables to take into account.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

In any accident, they look at what or who caused it, worn out tires are not usually a cause for an insurance company not to pay a claim, or any other mechanical fault? The variations between provinces are many, like we have motor vehicle inspections, we dont pay tax on insurance, we dont have any emissions testing, no law to require snow tires, and on Nfld, it was ok for passengers to be drinking, as long as the driver was sober.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Interesting, Don. Sounds like you've done your research!