marie

My husband and I will be driving to Quebec from the U.S. for a 1 week visit using our own car. An acquaintance indicated to me that the non-resident insurance liability card is a necessity, but my insurance agent said it is not needed as long as we carry our owner's registration and proof of insurance. I just want to be reassured that it won't be a problem to go without the insurance liability card.

Molly

Marie, <BR>I've been told , by two different insurance companies, that US citizens do indeed need a proof-of-insurance card when traveling to Canada. For me, obtaining the card has been a simple matter of contacting my insurance agent, who then mailed me the card which I kept in the glove compartment.

Artemis

I've never heard of such a requirement.<BR><BR>This information is from a Quebec tourism site, http://www.tourisme.gouv.qc.ca/anglais/inf_utiles_a/deplaceqc_a.html<BR><BR>-----<BR><BR>Driver's licences and automobile insurance<BR><BR>Most foreign licences are valid in Qu&eacute;bec. Non-resident drivers and passengers of automobiles licensed in Qu&eacute;bec are entitled to the same compensation from the Soci&eacute;t&eacute; de l'assurance automobile du Qu&eacute;bec as Qu&eacute;bec residents if they are injured in an accident in the province. Other non-resident accident victims, including pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of cars not licensed in Qu&eacute;bec, can be compensated in inverse proportion to their responsibility for the accident.<BR><BR>Owners of vehicles driven in Qu&eacute;bec must have at least $50,000 in liability coverage. For additional information, contact the Soci&eacute;t&eacute; de l'assurance automobile du Qu&eacute;bec. [see site for link]

ron

Canadians have to carry a “Canada inter-province motor vehicle liability insurance card” (Pink Card) as proof of adequate liability insurance, so it does not seem unreasonable for non-resident drivers to have to meet the same requirement. If you don’t feel like getting one for some reason, I suppose carrying the actual policy would be adequate “proof of insurance” . And maybe, as Artemis points out, Quebec is different.

yes

Any reputable insurance company (yours, of course--I don't mean just call any one!)in the US should be able to send this out to you (at no charge) right<BR>away. I have done this many many times with several different insurance companies and they never hesitated-- I don't know why yours would. Just tell them you need a "Canada card" --it's just a little light yellow piece of paper that looks like a car registration form. Since it is technically a requirement (and I recheck each time I drive to Quebec) why wouldn't you want to have it instead of having to scrounge for it in the unlikely case you have an accident?.<BR>There should be no additional charge for this--it is not separate insurance coverage, just proof that your regular coverage includes Canada.<BR>Note that I have never been asked for the proof at the border driving into Canada ( I don't think insurance coverage is a concern of theirs) but I suspect in the case of an accident, not having one would severely slow down your ability to get on with your trip

gail

2 years ago when we went to Nova Scotia, we called our insurance agent who faxed us something to show we were covered. No charge, and they seemed to know immediately what we were talking about. No one ever asked us for it and insurance guy told us we would only need it in event of accident.

Marie

Thank you all for your prompt feedback. I just called my insurance agent back, and apparently, the person who informed us a few weeks ago that the card wasn't needed was a new employee who was obviously not too knowledgable on the subject. Our agent is preparing the card for us now, and I feel greatly relieved, so thanks again.