What Facility Association Insurance Actually Is
The insurer of last resort in Ontario, explained without the scare stories. What it is, what it is not, and the questions worth putting to a broker.
Blog · Insurance after a DUI
Insurance after a conviction
Everybody researches this and almost nobody gets a straight answer. Here is what we can honestly tell you, and where our usefulness ends.
Car insurance after a DUI in Ontario: where our usefulness ends
We teach the interlock device and rent an interlock-equipped car for road tests. We are not licensed to advise on insurance, we do not sell it, and we have no commercial relationship with anyone who does. Anything you read here is general background, not guidance about your own policy.
The right person to speak to is a licensed insurance broker, ideally one who regularly places high-risk drivers. Ontario’s insurance sector is regulated by FSRA.
What generally changes, in broad terms
An impaired driving conviction is a serious conviction on your driving record, and insurers price it accordingly. Some standard-market insurers decline to quote at all, which is what pushes drivers toward the high-risk or “facility” market. How long it affects your premium, and by how much, varies by insurer and by your wider record.
We deliberately publish no numbers here. Ranges you find online are usually anecdotal, often out of date, and never specific to you.
Two practical points that are actually ours to make
- Insurance and the interlock lease are separate. The device is leased from Smart Start Canada or ALCOLOCK Canada and has nothing to do with your policy. Neither replaces the other.
- A borrowed car is not a workaround. Beyond the insurance question, an “I” condition means you may only drive a vehicle with an approved device fitted — and the owner who knowingly lets you can be charged too.
Before you call a broker, get your record
Request a driver’s licence history or driver’s record from ServiceOntario. It shows the suspension type, the dates, anything outstanding, and the conditions printed against your licence. A broker can do far more with that in front of them than with a description from memory.
Read the long-form version in getting your licence back, in order. If a road test is part of your route back, we cover interlock car rental for a G2 or G road test and the ten-hour interlock training course. Related reading: the cost of a DUI in Ontario and DUI licence suspension in Ontario, or browse every Ontario DUI licence recovery article.
Start here
The guide this category feeds
Every article in this category links back to one long-form guide. If you only read one thing, read that.
Pillar guide
Getting your licence back, in order
The complete, sourced version of everything this category covers, in one place.
Read the guide All guidesSix guides to getting your licence back
The programme, the streams, Back on Track, reinstatement, the road test and the device.
See all six The blogAll eight categories
From the first suspension through to life on the other side of the condition.
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Articles in this category
Insurance and the Ontario Interlock Program: What to Know
What is separate from your policy, what a broker will ask for, and why a driving school should not be the one giving you insurance guidance.
Questions
Common questions in this category
How much will my insurance go up?
We cannot tell you, and we would be wrong to guess. It depends on the insurer, your wider record and the market at the time. A licensed broker who handles high-risk placements is the person to ask.
Do I need special insurance to drive your interlock car?
No. Our vehicle is insured for a DriveTest road test as part of the booking. That covers the test; it says nothing about your own policy.
Availability & pricing
When the driving part comes round
We do not handle suspensions, remedial programmes or device installation. We teach the device and rent an interlock-equipped car for a road test. Send the date when you have one and we will quote it in writing.
- Answered the same day, Monday to Saturday
- A written figure with everything included
- If you don’t need a road test, we’ll tell you that instead
Phone is faster. Someone answers Monday to Saturday, evenings included.