Auto insurance premiums rising: Here’s what you can do to trim the bill

Rising auto insurance premiums tied to stolen vehicles are affecting drivers even when they haven't been targeted themselves. Here's why and what you can do about it.

Canada’s auto theft problem might be showing signs of easing, but drivers are likely to continue feeling the pinch on their insurance premiums, experts tell Global News.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents to a recent Ratehub.ca survey said they’ve faced a “significant” increase in auto insurance premiums recently.

However, there are some steps individual drivers can take to pump the brakes on rising costs, experts say, both before and after driving off the dealership lot.

Canada’s reputation for car thefts has been less than stellar, with a recent Interpol report listing the country among the top 10 for stolen vehicle reports.

The situation has led to a surge in payouts from insurers. Private auto insurance firms paid out $1.5 billion from theft claims last year, an increase of 254 per cent from 2018 levels, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In Ontario, those costs surged past $1 billion for the first time, an increase of 524 per cent.

Morgan Roberts, vice-president of RH Insurance, says car theft has always been present in her 15 years as a broker in the industry, but recent years have been another thing altogether.

“It’s been astronomical. There’s been more theft than I’ve ever dealt with in my career. So that definitely does have a cost in the insurance industry as well,” she tells Global News.

Car thefts have received their fair share of attention from the federal and provincial governments and law enforcement in the past year, and there are signs of improvement.