Sonnet Shift: Drive safe and get cheaper car insurance

Safe drivers can save up to 35%. Score cheaper car insurance with good driving habits.
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Safe drivers can unlock BIG savings on car insurance

Sonnet Shift puts you in control of your car insurance premium and rewards you for making smart choices behind the wheel.

Unlike traditional car insurance, Sonnet Shift comes with an app and takes your driving behaviour into account when determining your rates. Shift is designed to give good drivers great rates – with all the same benefits and coverages as traditional insurance. It’s time to let your driving skills speak for your premium!

How does Sonnet Shift reward safe drivers?

Shift is a behaviour-based car insurance solution with rates that change with your driving habits. It uses an app to record, analyze, and determine your Driving Score – and lowers your car insurance with safe driving. Here’s what the app does:

Captures your Driving Score

Your Driving Score is calculated from every trip you’ve taken in the last 90 days. It’s updated in real time, ranging from 0 to a perfect score of 100.

Displays your Driving Result

Your Driving Result is a discount or surcharge applied to your vehicle premium based on your Driving Score. You could earn a better discount every 3 months, on your quarterly premium adjustment.

Provides personalized driving tips

Get personalized insights into your driving habits right in the Sonnet Insurance app. The tips we offer can help you become a safer driver and you could earn a discount – but, riskier drivers could see a surcharge.

How is my Sonnet Shift Driving Score calculated?

The Sonnet Insurance app collects details about certain driving behaviours whenever you’re behind the wheel. Don’t worry – trips and Driving Scores are private for each driver, even when more than one driver is enrolled.

Here’s what the app looks at to determine your Driving Score. It’s listed in order of impact, so you know what to focus on to potentially get a better discount:
1. Smooth Driving

A steady pace is not only fuel efficient – it’s also safer. Pay attention to traffic conditions to avoid accelerating too quickly or braking suddenly. Smooth driving and gentle braking results in a better score.
2. Mobile Use

Distracted driving makes you slower at reacting to hazards and more likely to be involved in a crash. Distracted driving is considered anything that pulls your attention away from the road, this includes using your device hands-free.
3. Speed

How fast you drive impacts how quickly you can react to hazards on the road. Maintain a consistent, safe speed so you have plenty of time to stop if you need to and avoid getting into unnecessary accidents.
4. Fatigue

Long trips take a toll on your attentiveness and reaction time. Shorter trips and regular breaks will improve your score, while regularly driving long distances without breaks will reduce your score.
5. Time of Day

When you drive plays a role in how safe your trip is. When you can, stick to daytime driving and avoid rush hour when roads are busier.
6. Road Risk

We’ll evaluate the roads you took during your trip. Some routes are safer than others. Try to take well-lit roads with fewer intersections and less traffic.
Safe driver + Sonnet Shift = Savings! Save up to 35% on car insurance.
Get cheaper car insurance with even more discounts!

Enrollment discount

New to Shift? Receive a one-time limited Shift Enrollment Discount that automatically saves you 10% on your first Shift Adjustment.*

Mileage discount

At renewal with the Shift program, you could be rewarded for driving less through our Mileage Discount. Fewer miles on the road means you’re less likely to get into an accident (plus, it’s more eco-friendly)!

Bundle home and auto

Bundling your home and auto insurance could mean up to 20% savings for you.

What do I need to do to get Sonnet Shift?

  1. Quote → Choose Shift
    Get an auto or bundled insurance quote by answering some basic questions. Then, choose Shift as your car insurance of choice.
  2. Download the app and activate
    After purchase, we’ll give you instructions on how to download the Sonnet Insurance app. After downloading, follow the simple steps in the app to activate and start driving with Shift!
  3. Inform additional drivers
    All drivers on your policy who are enrolled in Sonnet Shift are required to download the app and activate their accounts within 15 days of the policy start date.

Sign up for Sonnet Shift and help support climate action

Sonnet Shift encourages safe driving behaviours that are also eco-friendly. But that's just the start of our commitment to going green. Along with our Sonnet sustainability promise, we’re also donating 1% of your Sonnet Shift premium to local charities focused on green infrastructure.

Learn more at Green Communities Canada

Want to know more about Sonnet Shift?

Behaviour-based car insurance is a new experience for many drivers. Whether you have questions before, during or after you sign up, most answers can be found with a quick visit to our Sonnet Shift FAQs. You can also contact us directly – we’re here to help.
What is the Sonnet Shift Mileage Contribution and how is it calculated?

What is your Mileage Contribution?

Sonnet Shift tracks the kilometers that all enrolled drivers of your vehicle(s) drive throughout your entire policy term. We use this to compare how often each driver enrolled in Sonnet Shift drives. In the app, this is called your Mileage Contribution. Quarterly, your Mileage Contribution is used as one of the factors in calculating your premium.

Did you know? If you’re the Primary Named Insured, you’ll be able to track the Mileage Contribution of all enrolled drivers. This way, you know who’s driving the most. Handy if you’re the one paying for gas!

How is your Mileage Contribution calculated?

When you first enroll in Sonnet Shift, we ask you to tell us who drives each vehicle the most (the Primary Driver). We also ask who drives each one less (the Secondary Drivers and/or Young Drivers). These details help us determine your premium from the moment you sign up.

Then, throughout your policy term, we track your actual mileage. We compare the mileage for each individual driver with the total mileage of all drivers assigned to a vehicle. This gives us a percentage that we call your Mileage Contribution. Every 3 months from the start of your policy, we use this as a factor in adjusting your premium.

The easiest way to look at Mileage Contribution? Think about the breakdown of your hydro bill. The usage may change and could result in a higher or lower premium for each driver on your next Shift Adjustment.

Do unenrolled Secondary Drivers contribute to your Mileage Contribution?

We can’t track the Mileage Contribution of unenrolled Secondary Drivers. That’s why we assign them a combined Default Mileage Contribution of 20%. The total Mileage Contribution for all drivers on the vehicle equals 100%. The 80% left over will be distributed among enrolled drivers based on their tracked Mileage Contribution.

Heads up! Your Mileage Contribution is slightly different than your Mileage Discount.
What coverages do the Sonnet Shift driving discounts or surcharges apply to?

Discounts or surcharges will be applied to any drivers that are enrolled in Sonnet Shift. If you’re eligible and qualify for the enrollment discount, Driving Result, and the Mileage Discount they will be applied to the following coverages:

  • Liability
  • Accident Benefits
  • All Perils
  • Collision
  • Comprehensive or Specified Perils
  • Uninsured Automobile Coverage

Discounts are not applied to endorsements or Family Protection Coverage.

Have more questions about your Driving Result? Want to know more about the Mileage Discount? Not sure how the Enrollment Discount applies? You can contact us – we’re here to help! Or, read our handy FAQs for instant answers:

  • Driving Result
  • Mileage Discount
  • Enrollment Discount
Can I opt out of Sonnet Shift at any time but remain insured with Sonnet?

Yes. You can opt out of Sonnet Shift at any time. Here’s how:

  1. Log in to your Sonnet.ca account.
  2. Start a policy change.
  3. Select Switch out of Sonnet Shift.
  4. Remove all enrolled driver(s) from the program.
  5. We’ll update your usage-based auto insurance policy to a traditional auto insurance policy and send you a confirmation email.

Keep in mind that any drivers on your policy who were enrolled in Sonnet Shift with you will lose any discounts from the program. Your premium will be adjusted on the date you unenroll. if a driver's score at the time of unenrollment results in a surcharge, the surcharge will be applied to your traditional auto premium moving forward (provided that at the time of your unenrollment you have 20 trips and 300 kms attributed to you in a Collection Period).

Once this change is completed, Named Insureds can still access the app. They will no longer have access to the Sonnet Shift section. Additional drivers will no longer have access to the app.

Heads Up! Deleting the app from your smartphone won’t automatically withdraw you from the program. You’ll still need to log into sonnet.ca to completely unenroll. Follow these steps to stop the app from tracking your driving.
What personal information does the Sonnet Insurance app collect?

The Sonnet Insurance app collects certain details during every trip you take. This allows Sonnet Shift to do its job. The data we collect lets us measure your driving behaviour so we can get your Driving Result. Your Driving Result is a discount or surcharge applied quarterly (every three months from your policy start date) to your car insurance premium.

The data we collect during each trip may include, but is not limited to:

  • Global positioning system (GPS) time and location data
  • Accelerometer data, gyroscope data
  • Location services on/off data
  • Screen on/off data
  • Magnetometer data, and other smartphone or instrumentation data
  • Mobile device ID
  • Phone call start and end time
  • Battery level and charging status
  • Technical information about your mobile device’s hardware or software. This could include your mobile device’s make and model, operating system version, and software version. It could also include other technical information relating to your mobile device.

We may also use specific personal information such as your name, address, phone number and email address. This info would be used for authentication purposes.

Usage-based insurance is new to a lot of drivers, and we want to support you every way we can if you have questions. The data we collect helps us do this. It also helps you help yourself! You’ve got access to some of your driving data, too, in the form of your Driving Score in the app. You can actually view the precise details of your trips – including things like a map of your routes and how well you drove on your trips (yes, it even shows where and when you might have braked a little too hard!). This means that each trip is a new opportunity to learn how to better your driving habits – and save even more on your car insurance.
How is my data protected?

Keeping your info safe is important to us. It’s our priority to ensure it’s always kept confidential and secure, and we have strict safeguards in place to protect it. Plus, we’ll always ask for your consent before we collect, use or disclose your personal information.

In accordance with our Sonnet Shift Terms and Conditions, we do need to share your data with our service providers. This is done on a need-to-know basis and only when permitted by law. Don’t worry, we’ll also make sure that protecting your info is as important to them, as it is to us. This includes making sure they have secure networks and take physical security measures to keep your information safe.

Want to learn more about how we protect your information? Check out our Privacy Policy.

Insured somewhere else? See how much it could cost to switch today.

Don’t wait for renewal to take advantage of a better price – cancelling your insurance mid-term may be easier (and cheaper) than you think.

Images of the Sonnet Shift app may not be exact representations of the product, scoring, discounts, or surcharges. In case of discrepancy, the Sonnet Shift Terms & Conditions and your Sonnet Shift account prevails over general information or representations available on this site.

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*Enrollment discount typically only applies until the drivers’ first Shift Adjustment. Once you’ve taken at least 20 trips and driven 300 kms, the enrollment discount will be replaced by your Driving Result – a discount or surcharge based on your driving behaviour – on your next Shift Adjustment. If you haven’t taken at least 20 trips and driven 300 km, the enrollment discount will remain for one more quarter (3 months). It’ll be removed on your next Shift Adjustment.