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To get an estimate, the vehicle owner must enter information from their driver’s licence number and a licence plate number on the landing page. The next screen lists their policy, vehicle information and renewal date, and they can go from there to estimate their renewal cost.

The third screen lists their vehicle and insurance information, and the name of the primary driver. This is where they can begin to experiment with adding and removing other regular drivers — such as members of their household or employees — and see how those people will affect their premium.

Most of the basic insurance premium (75 per cent) is based on the principal driver, and of the other listed drivers, the one with the highest level of risk will make up the remaining 25 per cent.

Learner drivers can only be added in person at a broker’s office, and will be covered by a special premium that will range from $130 to $230 per year, depending on where the vehicle owner lives. They will not affect the vehicle owner’s premium or discounts.

Out-of-province drivers will also have to be added at the time of renewal.

“This tool is meant for customers to kind of get a sense of what effect adding drivers might have — it doesn’t cover every possible scenario,” McGilvery said.

To add a driver, the vehicle owner needs to provide that person’s birthdate and driver’s licence number. The tool provides estimates for both basic and optional insurance.

Any information saved in the estimator tool about listed drivers can be seen by a broker and used during renewal.