Licensing time - question about expired license and insurance companies

[espro]

So insurance companies ask when you got your license, some of them word it "first" received. In my case I originally got my M1 & M2 in 2003, but I let it expire in 2008, then got my M1 & M2 again in 2010. Am I able to tell insurance companies I got my license in 2003? Looking for input from the members here who work in insurance or anyone with personal experience, not subjective anecdotal answers

 

[VifferFun]

My subjective anecdotal response:

The insurance company uses the date when you first obtained insurance to try and determine the number of years that you have been licensed at quote. When they actually go to write your policy, they will pull your Driver's Abstract from the MTO which will contain more detail, at which point your quote will be corrected to indicate two years of experience instead of eight.

Who are you insuring with? If you are going with Jevco, this is a non-issue since you will get the same rate whether you have 1 year of experience or 8 years of experience. If you are going with State Farm and you have had your car license for a while, this will probably be a non-issue as well (since they consider your car experience instead of motorcycle experience).

 

[espro]

they will pull your Driver's Abstract from the MTO which will contain more detail, at which point your quote will be corrected to indicate two years of experience instead of eight.

So my abstract won't show my first licensing in 2003, or it will, along with the gap, and they'll use the later license date?

Who are you insuring with?

Currently insuring with Meloche Monnex and I've been using my most recent licensing date. It just dawned on me that there could be the chance to use my earlier date since I'm looking at getting a different bike, so I thought I'd ask here.

 

[Shane McCarthy]

So my abstract won't show my first licensing in 2003, or it will, along with the gap, and they'll use the later license date?

Your abstract will only show your first licensed dates, any license suspensions due to tickets or convictions, and any tickets in the last 3 years. Your abstract will not show gaps in coverage should they be just due to your license expiring.

 

[VifferFun]

Your abstract will only show your first licensed dates, any license suspensions due to tickets or convictions, and any tickets in the last 3 years. Your abstract will not show gaps in coverage should they be just due to your license expiring.

If someone gets their license in 1995, lets it expire in 1996, and then re-obtains their license in 2010, the MTO abstract will only state that they received their license in 1995? That seems kind of dumb. Does the MTO abstract show the date that you received each class of license as well (i.e. M1, M2, M)?

Thanks!

 

[espro]

Your abstract will only show your first licensed dates, any license suspensions due to tickets or convictions, and any tickets in the last 3 years. Your abstract will not show gaps in coverage should they be just due to your license expiring.

So you're saying my abstract will show me as being licensed in 2003, which means I could state I got my license in 2003? I'm curious if there's a way for me to obtain my own abstract to verify this

Found this MTO site related to records: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/record.shtml

It looks like there's a few different kinds, Statement of Driving Record apparently contains "earliest licensed date available", where the Driver Licence History contains things like "renewals, class changes (including G1, G2, M1, M2 and M2 with condition L dates)" but is apparently only available to the driver, law enforcement and select government agencies - so not insurance companies. Can anyone confirm if insurance companies use the Statement of Driving Record?

 

[espro]

I just ponied up the $12 to get my Driver's Abstract online from Service Ontario (which clearly states it is used for many purposes including being requested by insurance companies), I can confirm it says 2003. This is awesome news

 

[VifferFun]

I just ponied up the $12 to get my Driver's Abstract online from Service Ontario (which clearly states it is used for many purposes including being requested by insurance companies), I can confirm it says 2003. This is awesome news

Very interesting, and a little surprising. Depending on how TD calculates your Driving Record, this may or may not make a difference.

 

[Shane McCarthy]

Earliest license date is the only date shown.
As for license classes like M1, M2, M. Those are not shown on the report run by insurance companies. I know you can purchase a report for yourself from MTO which shows each class.

 

[VifferFun]

Earliest license date is the only date shown.
As for license classes like M1, M2, M. Those are not shown on the report run by insurance companies. I know you can purchase a report for yourself from MTO which shows each class.

So I guess there is nothing stopping a person from getting their M1 at 16yo (just a written test), letting it expire, and then obtaining their M1/M2 later in life at an "experienced" rate.

In the case of the OP, I'm guessing that TD will care more about the number of years that he has been insured on a motorcycle rather than the number of years that he has been licensed. Most insurance companies (with the exception of Jevco) calculate your Driving Record in this manner. In the case of the OP, since he hasn't had a motorcycle license, he certainly hasn't insured a motorcycle and would hence have a Driving Record of 0 (meaning 0 years of claims-free insured motorcycle experience).

 

[VifferFun]

In the "Riders License and History" section of the TD Meloche Monnex Website, they ask:

"How many full years have you carried motorcycle insurance in the last six years?"

 

[espro]

In the "Riders License and History" section of the TD Meloche Monnex Website, they ask:

"How many full years have you carried motorcycle insurance in the last six years?"

From the quotes I've tried with TDMM, that question doesn't affect the cost in any way, but licensing time does (and for the record I am licensed and insured presently )

 

[VifferFun]

From the quotes I've tried with TDMM, that question doesn't affect the cost in any way, but licensing time does (and for the record I am licensed and insured presently )

Alright . . . perhaps they only use years licensed (which is dumb IMO, but I don't work for them )