At one time, the area called the North-Western Territory covered what’s now the Yukon, northeast British Columbia, and parts of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Along with Rupert’s Land, the Hudson’s Bay Company transferred this area to Britain, which then transferred it to the three-year-old country of Canada. Since then, the north was whittled into provinces and other territories until finally in 1999, the Northwest Territories arrived at its present-day area after the territory of Nunavut was created. Today the NWT is one of only two regional governments where aboriginal people comprise the majority. Reflecting that, there are 11 official languages, more than any other place in North or South America.

The NWT economy is based around mining and petroleum, including gold, diamonds and natural gas. It’s thought that NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba come together in a quadripoint. That is, the two territories and two provinces meet at a point, a Canadian version of the Four Corners, as with New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona in the U.S. So remote is this point, however, that surveys in the area haven’t been completed.

NWT Car Insurance System

The NWT uses a private insurance system to cover car owners in a land with few roads. There’s nothing surprising about the NWT’s system, as it has much in common with provincial private insurance.

• Third Party Liability – minimum coverage is set at $200,000 and this covers an at-fault driver against litigation. Typically, drivers opt for $1 million with optional coverage to avoid covering settlement costs in excess of $200,000.
• Accident Benefits – this is a no-fault portion of coverage, since, in an accident, each driver’s own insurance company pays for the insured’s medical and rehabilitation costs and lost income. This includes medical payments, disability income, death and funeral benefits.
• Uninsured Motorist coverage – in the event of a collision with an uninsured or unidentified driver, this portion of coverage could assist with paying your medical costs or property losses.

As with other private insurance systems, optional and enhanced coverage is available, along with collision and comprehensive coverage. Deductible levels are also available, with higher deductibles lowering car insurance premium costs.