Except for one practise I thought was frowned upon in developed nations (all I’m saying on that matter!), Alberta is going to be the cheapest province for driving costs.
When I hit the road in ’08, I was registered in Quebec. Yearly costs there:
-registration for Miranda: $650
-insurance for Miranda: $750
-registration for the toad: $250
-insurance for the toad: $1,500
-driver’s license: $50
Total: $3,200
I then moved to Yukon and my yearly costs there were:
-registration for Miranda: about $125
-insurance for Miranda: $750
-registration for the toad: about $70
-insurance for the toad: $1,500
-driver’s license: $5
Total: $2,450
Now, I haven’t crossed all the T’s for Alberta, but I’ve been promised that the insurance estimates are pretty firm:
-registration for Miranda: about $75
-insurance for Miranda: $750
-registration for the toad: about $75
-insurance for the toad: $630 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-driver’s license: $17
Total: $1,547
Notice the one constant, the cost for Miranda’s insurance! The Alberta broker I’m going with thinks the amount is outrageous. I still can’t believe it’s that cheap.
As a reminder, Miranda is insured by Aviva Elite, the only entity in this country to have a product specifically tailored to full-timers. Brokers might scratch their heads when you say you live full-time in an RV, but just send them off to Aviva who will cheerfully come up with a quote that will cover your rig (and then some), your contents, and give you a good amount of liability coverage.
Toad insurance is tough (they don’t like it when you take the car out of the province…), but you can travel freely with your rig. I’m not sure I’d have the strength to push on with the other challenges if I didn’t have these understanding folks at my back. When the worst happens and you have to claim a total loss of home and possessions, or you get sued by someone who trips on your stairs, lies and half-truths just won’t cut it. Aviva allows me to be fully open in disclosing my lifestyle so that I can get the right policy. I am very grateful to them.
(Psst, Aviva, do you need a spokesperson?!)