Advice on becoming a secondary driver on b/f's auto insurance...?

Hi there!

A friend of mine took a defensive-driving course last year, she is 46 yrs old and got her license last summer. The day she passed her road test, her boyfriend put her on his insurance plan as a secondary driver, and it only cost him another $12 a month. I'm 38 yrs old, have just taken the same defensive-driving course and got my license this week. When my boyfriend called his insurance company to have me listed, they quoted him a small fortune to have me as a secondary driver. I wasn't with him when he spoke to his broker; I was hoping to get some advice or reasoning regarding this.

I'd also like to know if anyone could tell me how much more they have paid for insurance after listing a secondary driver. I have to say that it's extremely discouraging to have paid so much for this course, then find out that I can't drive the only car that's available to me unless I pay nearly $400 dollars in fees until his policy renews... in just over a month! Wow! Apparently when it renews, the policy will change, and then it will be much cheaper, but not until then... WTF?

I should add that I'm from Nova Scotia, Canada... because rates and laws vary from region to region. Here, anyone can drive my b/f's car so long as they do not live in the same household... so my friends could drive his car, but I can't. Frustrating!!!!