What Is a Letter of Experience?
A letter of experience is a letter from a previous insurer about your claims and/or driving history. It can include details about any time you were a policyholder or a named driver on someone else’s policy with a single insurance company. Letters of experience don’t confirm good driving history or guarantee a discount; they’re simply a record of your insurance history with a specific insurer.
Before writing this guide, our team reviewed IBC’s current DASH Consumer Driver Report instructions, Ontario’s longer-term driver-record service and FSRA’s insurance complaint process.
Read More: Explore Car Insurance for Drivers New to Canada
How Do I Get a Letter of Experience?
Different insurers have different requirements for accepting a letter of experience, especially if you’ve driven outside Canada. Contact the insurer you’re trying to provide it to and find out what kind of driving or insurance history they accept. Then, reach out to previous insurers and ask for letters of experience or DASH reports that match the receiving insurer’s criteria.
When you contact your previous insurer, have the following information ready:
- The policyholder’s full name
- The policyholder’s full address
- Any named drivers’ full names
- Your current address
- The policy number
- The timeframe the receiving insurer is asking for
Here’s an email template you can customize and send to your previous insurer:
Letter of Experience Request Email Template
Subject: Request for letter of experience for policy [policy number]
Hi [contact person or insurer’s claims or customer service department],
Please provide a letter of experience for [full name and any named drivers] covering [start date] to [end date]. Please include the policy number, insured vehicle or property, coverage dates, cancellation or lapse information, and claims recorded during that period. The receiving insurer also requires [signature, recent issue date, translation or other confirmed requirement].
Please send the letter to [delivery details] and let me know how the receiving insurer can verify it. Thank you.
Drivers new to Canada may be able to obtain a letter of experience and driver abstract in their home country before leaving.
Read More: Learn How Returning Drivers Can Rebuild Insurance History
Letter of Experience vs. DASH vs. Government Driving Record
| Record | What it shows | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Letter of experience | Coverage and claims history with one former insurer. It can also document named-driver experience. | Request one from each prior insurer whose history you need. |
| DASH Consumer Driver Report | Canadian auto policies, claims and related information submitted by participating property-and-casualty insurers. | IBC provides one consumer copy at no charge each year. |
| Government driving record | Licence status and, depending on the record ordered, convictions, suspensions or reinstatements. | Order the relevant record from the provincial licensing authority. |
What About My Insurance and Driving History Outside Canada?
Before leaving the former country, request letters from each insurer and obtain the relevant government driving record. Ask the Canadian insurer whether it needs a recent original, an authorized signature, certified translation, licence authentication, claim amounts in a particular currency or specific coverage descriptions.
If you’ve been insured or driven outside Canada, it can be helpful to provide the following to an insurer, but not all insurers accept the same documentation:
- Letters of experience or DASH Consumer Driver Reports for any time you were insured with a company in Canada.
- Letters from insurers from your home country about your insurance history. Ask whether you need an affidavit. Some insurers accept letters from insurance brokers instead of insurance companies, so ask about this too.
- A translation of the letters by a certified or sworn translator, if applicable. Don’t pay to have letters of experience translated until you’re sure that’s what your insurer wants.
- A copy of your foreign driver’s licence, if applicable. Ask whether your insurer also requires a copy of the back of the licence. Some insurers want authentication from a foreign licensing authority confirming your licence is valid and issued by the correct authority. Don’t pay to have licences authenticated until you’re sure your insurer wants it.
- Letters from foreign driving or licensing authorities confirming driving history, including suspensions, demerit points, convictions and reinstatements. Don’t pay to have letters authenticated until you’re sure your insurer wants them.
- Claim amounts in a particular currency. Ask about currency conversion.
- A recent letter of experience, driver abstract or other record of driving history.
What If There Are Errors on My DASH Consumer Driver Report?
If you think there’s an error, send proof of the inaccurate information to IBC. IBC normally processes disputes about DASH Consumer Driver Reports in about 20 business days.
If you’re disputing something with an Ontario insurer, ask for a final position letter from the company’s complaint officer.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario says you can ask the General Insurance OmbudService to look at some general insurance company complaints.