You’re a high risk driver if you have too many tickets and/or accidents for the regular market. There are three tiers to the home and auto insurance market in Canada: the regular marketplace; the high risk marketplace, which consists of five companies; and then there’s the last resort which is the Facility Association. If you are squeaky clean, with a 20 year record, you get the best rates in the market. If you have little less of a great record, it’s a little more expensive. If you get one ticket, it’s a little more expensive. With 2 tickets, you can stay in there, but just barely. 3 tickets and more, or a couple accidents within a few year period, you’ll get moved into the high risk market until your record improves, and then you’re allowed back into the regular market. Think of it like the penalty box: you broke the rules, and now you’ve been put in the box, which means you have to pay a higher rate, and possibly have lesser coverage. However, if you behave yourself after a certain period of time, you’ll get let back into the game, and if you continue to behave, you get to keep playing, and playing the regular game. If you misbehave again, you’ll go back in the penalty box. Now unlike some of those sports, you can continue to get more penalties when you’re in the box, you never get let out. So it’s up to you—control your record, drive well, don’t get tickets, don’t have accidents, and you’ll be let out to access the low risk rates again.