Brampton’s average surges by nearly 40%, while Toronto’s jumps by almost 20%
According to data from the RATESDOTCA Insuramap, an interactive online map that displays the average insurance rates by postal code, Ontario’s average estimated auto insurance premium increased by 12% in 2023 compared to 2021. The average estimated premium is now $1,744, which is the highest increase in the survey’s history.
The average estimated premium for auto insurance in the province was $1,555 at the end of December 2021, when RATESDOTCA conducted its most recent survey. Since then, much has changed. The majority of drivers have resumed their pre-pandemic routines since the COVID restrictions were lifted. In the meantime, insurers’ operating costs are rising as a result of soaring inflation, persistent shortages of vehicle and component parts, extended repair wait times, an increase in auto theft, and an increase in the number and severity of claims filed.
The data reveals the following important trends:
After falling to fourth place in the previous survey, Brampton is once again the city with the highest average rate in the province, at $2,707 per year. The estimated average rate is up 37%.
The rankings are dominated by cities in the York Region, including Vaughan, which topped the list last year. Vaughan tumbled to the center of the rundown at $2,158 every year, in spite of the fact that its rate remained, for the most part, steady, declining by just 1% year-over-year.
Toronto ($2,325 per year) and Mississauga ($2,311) surpass Richmond Hill and Ajax for second and third place, respectively.
Toronto has never placed in the top five before, but Mississauga has. In Toronto, the estimated average rate increased by 19%.
After finishing 10th in 2020, Hamilton fell out of the top 10 in 2021. However, it has reemerged as the ninth most expensive city for insurance, costing $1,810 per year. The city’s premiums are up 14%.
Similar to the previous Insuramap survey, a number of cities shared the 10th spot. Schomberg, King City, Stouffville, Aurora, and Nobleton all had an estimated premium of $1,801.
Sample quotes for a 35-year-old male driver who drove a four-door sedan and had no claims or driving convictions were used to estimate premium averages. If you don’t fit this description, you might get a different price. For instance, drivers in their teens and twenties will pay a premium that is higher than the ones shown on Insuramap, whereas drivers over the age of 35 may pay a premium that is lower.
It also matters what kind of vehicle you drive. In general, a popular model with basic trim and easily obtainable parts costs more to insure than a higher-end model that requires specialized parts and labor. The following contains additional information regarding our method.
Ontario’s auto insurance rates in 2023 are the most expensive
| Rank | City | Average 2023 estimated premium | Average 2021 estimated premium | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brampton | $2,707 | $1,976 | 37% |
| 2 | Toronto | $2,325 | $1,953 | 19% |
| 3 | Mississauga | $2,311 | $1,971 | 17% |
| 4 | Richmond Hill | $2,188 | $2,025 | 8% |
| 5 | Vaughan | $2,158 | $2,179 | -1% |
| 6 | Pickering | $1,985 | $1,959 | 1% |
| 7 | Markham | $1,870 | $1,744 | 7% |
| 8 | Oshawa | $1,839 | $1,833 | 0% |
| 9 | Hamilton | $1,810 | $1,564 | 16% |
| 10 | Schomberg, King City, Stouffville, Aurora, Nobleton | $1,801 | $1,766 (Schomberg, King City, Nobleton), $1,582 (Stouffville, Aurora) | 2% (Schomberg, King City, Nobleton), 14% (Stouffville, Aurora) |
Rate estimates are based on a 35-year-old driver of a 2019 four-door Honda Civic with a clean driving record.
Ontario collision protection organizations to clients: In 2023, expect a bumpy ride.
Numerous insurers in Ontario requested permission to raise rates due to rapidly rising inflation. Late last year saw a steady stream of requests for rate changes to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), some of which were significant.
One insurer’s 15% rate increase, for instance, was approved by the provincial regulator and went into effect in April. One more guarantor applied to bring down rates by 10.5% beginning in June, with the exception of it disguised a net increment; Around the same time, the insurer ended its pandemic rebate program, resulting in a 7.5% increase in customer premiums.
Since the beginning of the year, 22 insurance companies had received approval to raise their rates, with an average increase of 6.5 percent per company at the time of publication. However, additional approvals are expected.
According to RATESDOTCA insurance expert Daniel Ivans, “Insurance companies are still catching up.” Since they were permitted to increment doesn’t mean dealing with their misfortunes from the most recent couple of years is sufficient. There will be some tweaking to come.
Complete ranking of automobile insurance costs by the city in Ontario
| Rank | City | 2023 premium | 2021 premium | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRAMPTON | $2,707 | $1,976 | 37% |
| 2 | TORONTO | $2,325 | $1,953 | 19% |
| 3 | MISSISSAUGA | $2,311 | $1,971 | 17% |
| 4 | RICHMOND HILL | $2,188 | $2,025 | 8% |
| 5 | VAUGHAN | $2,158 | $2,179 | -1% |
| 6 | PICKERING | $1,985 | $1,959 | 1% |
| 7 | MARKHAM | $1,870 | $1,744 | 7% |
| 8 | OSHAWA | $1,839 | $1,833 | 0% |
| 9 | HAMILTON | $1,810 | $1,564 | 16% |
Brampton advances to first place thanks to accelerating accident claims
Brampton has historically had the highest insurance rates in the province. Not only is the number of claims per capita rising, but the most frequently filed claim also typically comes with the highest cost.
According to Ivans, “If I were to pull someone’s history in Brampton, I’m far more likely to see injury claims.” Back-up plans are] not stressed over the vehicle fixes. They are concerned about claims for accidents.
The most expensive kind of claim that an insurance company will pay out is an accident settlement. In Ontario, standard accident benefits include lost wages, personal support workers, medical bills for treatments not covered by OHIP, and more. Individuals may receive tens of thousands of dollars in total payouts.
According to experts contacted by RATESDOTCA, drivers in the Greater Toronto Area appear to be more likely to use accident benefits and file civil lawsuits.
Despite the fact that there are numerous possibilities, there is no one-size-fits-all explanation for why it occurs. One possibility is that accident lawyers advertise more frequently to people who live in cities. In addition, drivers in rural areas are more likely to know the person they collided with. Ivans thinks that these differences make drivers in cities “more detached” from their neighbors and surroundings.
According to Ivans, “In the big city, expenses are high, and money is at the utmost.” When an incident occurs, people often wonder, “How can I make money from this?”
In the interim, Vaughan tumbling from the lead position to fifth this year doesn’t amaze Ivans.
As a broker for 15 years, I’ve noticed that Toronto and Brampton have always been the most expensive cities in Ontario for auto insurance. The GTA comes out on top. Some of the time exceptions find their direction to the top, Vaughan being an illustration of this in 2021,” says Ivans.
The Golden Horseshoe has the highest auto insurance rates in Ontario, and almost every city in it has similar problems. In fact, in 2023, the order of the Insuramap rankings changed, but the top 10 are mostly the same every year.
A couple of the principal challenges confronting drivers in the Brilliant Horseshoe are blockage, longer everyday drives, and higher normal vehicle costs. Due to the fact that the majority of newcomers first settle in this region of Southern Ontario, the area also has a high concentration of new drivers, a group that typically faces higher rates in Canada due to a lack of insurance history. Because of all of these things, insurance companies in the area anticipate a lot of claims activity from their customers, so they raise premiums across the board to protect themselves financially.
The Insuramap survey found that premiums are lower than the provincial average in 168 of the 187 cities surveyed. Eighteen of the excess 19 urban communities are situated in the center of Brilliant Horseshoe locale.
Although non-GTA cities continue to be below the provincial average, drivers everywhere should be prepared for additional rate increases. Not all locations are being hammered by rate hikes. To date, modest increases have occurred in Ottawa and other communities outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
For the purposes of our survey, auto insurance in Ottawa, which includes its suburbs, increased by 5% annually, from $1,257 to $1,321 ( From $1,257 to $1,437, the Ottawa proper increased by 14%: still significantly lower than the provincial average.)
Claudia Fortin, an insurance broker based in Ottawa, claims that some GTA premiums are “more than double” what drivers pay in the nation’s capital for individual insurance policies.
There are a couple of purposes behind this. Premiums are set by insurance companies based on a person’s likelihood of making a claim based on three main risk factors:
Individual risk (based on age and gender by insurers) Vehicle type Geographic area This means that even drivers with perfect driving records are subject to surcharges based on the city they live in. Rates are based on a postal code’s forward sortation area (FSA), which is the first three characters, to give insurers an even more in-depth risk assessment.
“[Ottawa] has fewer people. The 417 is the only major road in the area. It is barely a highway after that. You have much less activity happening in a really huge region,” says Fortin. In the meantime, road level movement looks particularly changed somewhere else in southern Ontario. ” In some of the smaller cities in the Greater Toronto Area, traffic is extremely congested.
According to Fortin’s prediction for auto insurance rates in 2023, drivers in Ottawa will see additional rate increases, but none as significant as those in Toronto or nearby areas.
For a while yet, insurance costs in Ottawa are likely to remain shielded from the worst effects of a tough market. We might see it, but I doubt it if Ottawa receives a huge number of claims one day, says Fortin.
Insurance rates are rising because of bigger cars and more thefts. However, there are significant increases in communities where SUVs and pickup trucks are the most common vehicle type.
Monique Marcotte, a record leader for McDougall Protection in Sudbury, says protection rates for individuals who drive these vehicles are far up because of vehicle robbery.
Each week, Marcotte’s brokerage files two or three comprehensive claims on behalf of drivers whose vehicles have been stolen. Previously, we could get a few a year,” she says.
I’m seeing higher rates for the Dodge Ram, while the premium for a Lexus SUV is skyrocketing. With those kinds of vehicles, you can’t even get around it,” says Marcotte. “With a sedan, we’re not seeing anything as crazy.”
Based on an individual driving a sedan, the Sudbury premium estimate is $1,321 per year, which is $63 more than the 2021 Insurance estimates. Be that as it may, for clients with rough terrain vehicles, increments of $150 to $200 are more average this year, says Marcotte.
She says that as a result of these unfavorable trends, more drivers are warming to the idea of installing a GPS device on their vehicle to track its location in the event that it is stolen, and she adds that she is a convert herself. I put my AirTag under my seat whenever I go south.
Additionally, driver insurance rates can be reduced by using telematics and usage-based insurance (UBI). The two terms allude to innovation that permits an insurance agency to follow an individual’s driving propensities in return for limits. Telematics has been accessible in Ontario from select suppliers for some time, yet take-up has been slow. According to Marcotte, insurance companies are promoting the potential benefits of telematics, such as discounts for safe driving and GPS monitoring, by sending letters to Sudbury customers. She noticed that perspectives towards innovation have changed notwithstanding phenomenal vehicle robberies.
She states, “Obviously, it’s not 100%, but for the most part, people are buying into it.”
How to Lower Your Auto Insurance Premium No Matter How Bad the Economy Is Drivers Have a Few Options for Lowering Their Auto Insurance Premiums, Some of Which Are Better Than Others Drivers will be able to opt out of standard coverage, also known as direct compensation property damage (DCPD), in the province next year. This coverage pays to fix or replace their vehicle if they are not at fault for a collision with another vehicle.
Although getting rid of DCPD will, in fact, lower a driver’s insurance premium, according to Ivans, drivers who believe they require the savings on a monthly basis also stand to suffer the most in the event of an accident. If saving $150 per year is so important to you, you won’t have that coverage.
All things being equal, drivers can attempt numerous different strategies to bring down their rates. According to Ivans, the following particular factors have a significant impact:
Ensure that you have a clean driving record. The first is really self-evident and simple: Ivans advises maintaining safe driving habits. The more you are without an episode, the lower your rates will be.
Sign up for telematics or UBI. Utilization-based insurance programs are now offered by the majority of major insurance companies and are powered by an app that tracks driving habits. When it comes time to renew, discounts are available for safe driving. According to Ivans, a lot of businesses are allowing customers who use the app to drive to qualify for discounts of up to 20%. Additionally, some telematics programs provide insurance that is similar to pay-as-you-go. For instance, drivers who travel less than 12,000 kilometers per year are eligible for lower rates from CAA. Each additional 1,000 kilometers you travel incurs a fee.
Consolidate your arrangements. Discounts of between 20% and 40% may be available to you if you insure your home and any other vehicle in your household with the same insurance company. The term “bundling” is a common term for this strategy.
Compare auto insurance quotes at the end. It’s one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to save hundreds of dollars.
Your vehicle insurance payment could be lower
Watch out for your insurance costs by contrasting your payment with the typical gauge for your postal code. If your rate differs significantly from the average estimate, it may be time to compare rates from multiple providers, especially if your policy is about to expire. In point of fact, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario both recommend looking at other options for auto insurance before signing a contract.
How we arrived at the estimated prices for Ontario cities and how to analyze the RATESDOTCA Auto Insuramap data
An interactive online map called the RATESDOTCA Auto Insuramap lets users search for the estimated rate of auto insurance in a city or neighborhood by postal code.
All assessed charges depend on a 35-year-old male who drives a 2019 Honda Municipal four-entryway vehicle with a case and sans-conviction driving record (orientation turns out to be to a lesser degree a worry for protection suppliers after about age 30). Our persona likewise bought two discretionary protection inclusions, crash and thorough protection with a $1,000 deductible.
Also, keep in mind that the premiums shown are based on the data from RATESDOTCA. Although extensive, the prices offered by our digital marketplace’s roster of insurance providers are set by them.