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New country,, new auto rD insurance rules' N4ewcomers to Canada have many issues tii deal with, not the least of P whicb is auto insurance. If you don't do your researcb and follow the rules , yiiu might find that owning a car costs ic you a lot more than it should. O \Vhile auto insurance ts a big part of < ai car owner's budget, there arc a lot of thtngs \-ou can do as a nexxcomer to ensure that you're getttng the hest rateo possible.Z First, take the time to do some homework. says Anne Manie Thomas, uf InsuranceHothine.com, an unbiased comparative quoting service dtrecting N consumers to the insurance compantes which offer the lovest rates. -Somte counitnes may have similar laws, but it is important to look into what max> be different and mnandatory, and \,,,bat the difference tn costs could be from onc insurer to tbecxi\." Here arc some of the things to con- sýicer xxben looking into auto insorance C o\ agIc for t1R1c 't im o tn Caada I. Get tbe ttgbt documentation lrom y our prex'tocs insurcr. (anadtan insurers base their quotes on your per- formance record. so the more informa- tiotn vou cani prox ide about your driv- tng record and tnsurance bistorv tn yciur home country, tbe better. "Provtding a letter that lists any acci- dent from your previous insurance Company - ancd not lust a copy of a pol- tcy - can make a huge dtlference tn your premtium-x. advtscs Thomas. 2. Budget rtgbt. Before sort bo, a car and gel your insurance. make sure you understand the entire cost o[ oxxn- ership. 'So matir nexx Canadian'. forget to factor in the cost of insurance xx bien box tng a car, but it cani bc one of x our btggest paynments if x ou're not careful.' says Thomas. 3. Shop around. Rates cant varn a lot from insurer to insurer (there arc more than 20 insurers tn Alberta alone). Erc onlîne resources such as lnsurancel-otline.conm xxii provîcle you xx th a fast ancd cas' x\va), to coin- pare rates front competing toSUrance companties anti can gtxve N'out more qutotes than anx one tnsuranee broker (xx'bo typtcallx ony bias cluotes front a handful of insurance cornpanies). 4. Make sure vou bave a valicl dri- ver's litense. Alberta for cxample bas reciprocal agreements xvtth a numiber of countrtcs. Ltcenses front Austria, Belgium, F rance, Germanx. japan, South Korea, Swttzerland ancd th, f K (except Northern lreland), are constd- ered valid, so drtvers don't bave to start at zero and go tbrougbi the enitire grad- ciatecl lic enstng programi. Othcr\Nvtx, cîrix tng tests are in orcr. 5. (let to kilox\- xour enxtironmient. In a province likec Alberta, xx bere \xx ni ters cant bc long, cdrivers ,% ho bave nexer expecrienic cl sno\x' ancl ic e tuas fid cîrixîng a challenge. "Il sou are not usecl tii the weather c onitîions, take a few driving fessons,- say s Thotmas. -It won't change your rate, but it will help you drive with more confidence and reduce the risk of accidents. AndI keep- ing a dean driving record is a sure-fire way to keep your insurance costs clown.-