For most Ontarians, driving is a must. And for every driver in Ontario having auto insurance is the law. As an expense with no way of avoiding, saving money on your car insurance rates has become a part of the driving experience in our province. But with auto insurance rates continually on the rise and more insurance options, it gets harder to find the lowest car insurance every year.
Never fear, Insurance Hero is here! We’re committed to protecting you from the high price of car insurance by shopping the insurance companies to find you the coverage you need at the best prices available.
We’re also committed to transparency and educating Ontarians on how their insurance rates are calculated. So in this post, we look at the factors that go into determining your auto insurance rates with an in-depth analysis on how to find the cars with the lowest insurance rates and why.
Cars with the Lowest Insurance Rates in Ontario
When purchasing a new or used vehicle, along with the sticker price, how much you’ll be spending on gas and what your maintenance costs will look like on the cars you’re considering, one of the biggest factors to think about is the auto insurance price you’ll pay as this is something that, like gas, has to be purchased for you to be able to drive the car.
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The type of car you drive has a significant influence on the price you pay for auto insurance. What insurance companies are looking for when they take the type of vehicle into consideration is 1) how likely is it that they will have to pay out a claim on your vehicle and 2) how much they think those claims would cost them.
To help them make that determination, insurance companies will either use the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s annual “How Cars Measure Up” report and/or a CLEAR score (Canadian Loss Experience Automobile Rating) to help them determine auto insurance rates.
Both the report and the CLEAR system take annual data into consideration around which vehicles were stolen most frequently, which vehicles were involved in the most accidents and the average cost per claim of vehicle. Insurance companies use this data to help them predict how likely it will be that they will have to pay a claim for your car and, on average, how much that claim will be.
If you’re looking for cars with the lowest insurance rates in Ontario, using one or both of these resources when researching cars you’re considering can help you save money on car comprehensive insurance by choosing a vehicle that typically has the lower rate of theft and accident involvement.
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How Car Models Affect Insurance Rates
Another related factor to consider when trying to find cars with the lowest insurance policy rates is the year, make and model of the cars you’re considering.
Generally speaking, the older the car, the cheaper it will be to repair and/or replace as vehicles depreciate over time. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule including vintage cars and cars that are both older and not as common (but not vintage) so it’s harder to find parts for them.
As for the make of a car, usually higher-end luxury vehicles are costlier to insure for the obvious reasons that they are more attractive to car thieves and because parts and labour are usually more expensive than they are for the provincial average rates car.
Finally, the model of a car also affects the insurance rate for that car. If you look at two different models from the same manufacturer, you could find that one of those cars has a lower insurance rate because it’s less likely to be stolen or involved in an accident. The same is true even for two cars of the same model. A four-cylinder version of a car, for example, could have a lower insurance rate than the V6 version of the same car because the statistics show that the V6 was involved in more accidents.
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Other Factors That Impact Car Insurance in Ontario
Of course, there are other factors that affect your cheap car insurance rates such as:
- Your personal profile which includes:
- Your driving record (more information on this in the next section)
- Where you live – Some cities, even neighbourhoods within the same city, have higher instances of car theft and accident claims, making insurance rates higher in these areas.
- Age, marital status and, although this is changing, gender as well – As a general rule of thumb, older drivers are considered to have more driving experience and less likely to drive recklessly so you’ll see insurance rates drop after a driver has turned 25 and again when they become 40 years of age. Drivers that are married also tend to pay less for car insurance because the risk profiles indicate they are more likely to drive safer.
- The amount of driving you do – This is fairly straightforward as the more driving you do, the higher your chances of being involved in an accident.
- The amount of auto insurance coverage you purchase. The more protection you buy, the higher your rates will be. Coverages over and above the mandatory insurance cover include options like comprehensive coverage, increased third party liability protection and increased accident benefits coverage.
- The deductible you choose. Generally speaking, the higher your deductible (the amount of money you have to pay out of pocket when you make a claim), the lower your insurance rate and vice versa.
- Your insurance company. Insurance companies also use their own historical data around the number and insurance costs of claims which means that the same driver with the same car can pay a lower insurance rate with one company than they would with another.
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Driving Record and Insurance Rates in Ontario
Another factor that has a significant impact on your cost of insurance is a clean driving record. This includes when, or how long ago, you became fully licensed as well as other factors like if you took a driving course, how many at-fault and partially at-fault accident claims you’ve had and how many driving convictions are on your driver’s abstract and the types of convictions they are.
All of the above factors are used to decide if you are a low-risk or high-risk driver which, in turn, determines your auto insurance rates.
Click here and get an online quote for Ontario Car Insurance Provider in minutes or call us at 1 (855) 777-4376
FAQs
Does Car Colour Affect Insurance Rates?
No, the colour of your car does not affect your auto insurance premiums. This is an urban legend that seems to have been around forever and is still around to this day.
Does Credit Score Impact Car Insurance in Ontario?
While some provinces still consider a driver’s credit score when determining their auto insurance rates, in Ontario, auto insurers are not legally allowed to consider your credit score, credit history or past bankruptcies.
How Do I Lower My Car Insurance Premium?
There are a few things you can do that may lower your car insurance premiums including:
- Only paying for the coverage you absolutely need
- Purchasing a policy with a higher deductible
- Calculate how much driving you actually do and whether you drive every day or only occasionally
- Ask about discounts
- Take a defensive driver course or driver training
- Drive safely to avoid driving convictions and at-fault accidents
- Pay your premiums on time
- Choose a car with the lowest insurance premiums
- Avoid switching your insurance company in the middle of a policy period to avoid cancellation fees
