Car, Insurance and OSAP

[polarb]

I did a search and couldn't quite find the answer to my question. This question is probably easiest to answer by students in an OOP school. (Ie. if you are from Ontario and you go to school in Alberta...which will be my case)

 

So I know that if I wanted to have a car first year and not have the car value affect my OSAP, I need to put that car under my parent's name and have the insurance list me as an occasional driver.

 

But, I'm stuck on what to do for my case, where I want to buy the car in Alberta (no PST) but can't put the insurance under my mom's name because she doesn't/won't be living in the province (or can I?).

I've always been under my parent's insurance for driving but the insurance company says that every province has their own insurance policy so I have to get my own insurance over there.

 

If I still want a car, should I:

 

a) buy the car in Ontario, pay the PST, put it under my parents names and add myself to their insurance. Then drive to Alberta.

 

buy the car in Alberta --> how do I go about with the insurance or doesn't everything have to be under my name?

 

Thanks for any help! It's an uncommon situation so anyone with knowledge on car insurance or on the subject would be much appreciated!

[The Ace of Spades]

If you do option A, and if you happen to get into a crash, the insurance company is not liable to compensate you if they look into your situation. You're not an 'occasional driver', you're the principle operator. This same situation happened to a friend of mine in BC, and the insurance company did not pay for damages.

[TheEggman]

OSAP only cares if the ownership of the car is in your name, not insurance.

 

So, you could buy the car in Alberta and have it in your parents name, then get primary driver insurance in your name and OSAP won't take any money off. There is no OSAP form for car insurance, just if you own one.

 

The insurance company usually will not let a family have more cars than primary drivers i.e. if you buy a car in your parent's name the insurance company won't let you have 2 primary drivers and 1 occasional for 3 cars, they know that you will be a primary on the third car.

 

I have a car that is under my dad's name but I have primary driver insurance in my name, and OSAP estimated the full amount.

[polarb]

Ok great! Thanks for the info.

[naspec]

This is good to know, thanks for the information!

 

One question though, I wonder what's to prevent all students from having their cars registered in their parents' (or other close relative) names while they're receiving OSAP? Aside from moral uprightness, if that's an issue for some people. IIRC there's no tax on transferring vehicles between immediate family members, so it could easily be done. If that were the case, why does OSAP even bother to ask about our vehicles? Wouldn't that put at a disadvantage those people who, due to whatever circumstance in their lives, don't have anybody suitable to transfer their vehicle to?

[astudentis]

Let me get something straight:

1) one may register the car under parents name

2) and make yourself the primary driver w the insurance?

 

do the insurance companies let you do that?

[Cnussey]

What I'm confused over is, why does it matter to OSAP? Are they regarding the car as an asset (money you should be using for tuition) or as debt (money you don't have to spend on tuition b/c you have to buy/maintain the car)?

 

I always figured a car was like a mortgage or a dependent on your loan applications: money you cannot use towards tuition and, therefore, works in favour of receiving a full loan.

[Cnussey]

Let me get something straight:

1) one may register the car under parents name

2) and make yourself the primary driver w the insurance?

 

do the insurance companies let you do that?

 

Well, our car is registered and paid for under my husband's name only, but I'm a primary driver with the insurance (absolutely impossible to claim otherwise...of course I'm gonna be driving it!).

[BigM]

Let me get something straight:

1) one may register the car under parents name

2) and make yourself the primary driver w the insurance?

 

do the insurance companies let you do that?

 

Yes, most insurence companies would allow you to do this. There may be acceptions if you have a bad driving record though.

[BigM]

What I'm confused over is, why does it matter to OSAP? Are they regarding the car as an asset (money you should be using for tuition) or as debt (money you don't have to spend on tuition b/c you have to buy/maintain the car)?

 

I always figured a car was like a mortgage or a dependent on your loan applications: money you cannot use towards tuition and, therefore, works in favour of receiving a full loan.

 

The idea is that OSAP only provides you with money once you have exhausted all other sources. You can actually have a car with a value less than $5,000 ($10,000 if you are a medical student and get proper documentation) and it won't be counted as an asset. If you have anything worth over $5,000 then OSAP feels that you should be selling the car and using the money to fund your education.

[runningdoc]

The idea is that OSAP only provides you with money once you have exhausted all other sources. You can actually have a car with a value less than $5,000 ($10,000 if you are a medical student and get proper documentation) and it won't be counted as an asset. If you have anything worth over $5,000 then OSAP feels that you should be selling the car and using the money to fund your education.

 

Which is hilarious because you could own a $5,000,000 mansion, and as long as it is your primary residence that wouldn't impede your OSAP estimate.

[startrekker]

The idea is that OSAP only provides you with money once you have exhausted all other sources. You can actually have a car with a value less than $5,000 ($10,000 if you are a medical student and get proper documentation) and it won't be counted as an asset. If you have anything worth over $5,000 then OSAP feels that you should be selling the car and using the money to fund your education.

 

What is 'proper documentation' and how do I get some

[kittykat]

I'm a BC resident and went to school in Ontario. I bought my car in BC and drove it to Ontario. For the purpose of insurance I had BC insurance on it the entire time which is legal if you are a student and are only staying in the province of the school for the duration of a 8 month school year. Something to look into with your own insurance. Additionally, I had student loans and put that I owned a car and still got the full amount for school. I know a lot of people think you can't put down you have a car because they thought they would get less money and that definitely wasn't the case with me. I have heard that if you have a brand new car that this could be a possibility but I'm not sure on how accurate that is. Like a previous poster said I wouldn't lie because if you get into a car accident you are screwed!

[polarb]

I think because you are a BC resident, the BC student loans might be more lenient with cars.

 

But for OSAP, if you put any car value above $5,000, you get nothing.

 

You only get a $10,000 allowance when you start clerkship because that's when a vehicle is deemed necessary.

[Mei_Mei_girl]

OSAP + car + medical school = major pain in the butt

 

I lived last year without a car and going to med school because it was so darn hard to orchestrate getting OSAP at the same time. This year I have a car, but its a huge pain in terms of getting OSAP> >>> I wish they would recognize that WE NEED VEHICLES for some programs and not punish us in terms of receiving financial support

[deeman101]

I have a car under my mom's name but I'm the primary driver. Which is kinda necessary since she doesn't have a license. OSAP estimates me the full amount.

[polarb]

Yea because it's not in your name. If you own the car, which some of us have to, then you get nothing.

 

Figures in Alberta, they don't care at all if you have a car. Stupid Ontario.