Who is paying the highest insurance premiums in Ontario, and why?

Insurance costs for those who live in Ontario fell on average by 3.8 per cent, with some areas seeing a drop of over 26 per cent from 2021, according to a new report.

Insurance costs for those who live in Ontario fell on average by 3.8 per cent, with some areas seeing a drop of over 26 per cent from 2021, according to a new report.

“Over the past two years, many Ontarians have been driving much less than they used to, due to pandemic-induced lifestyle changes such as remote work,” said Tanisha Kishan of Ratesdotca.

“There has been a corresponding drop in accidents and claims, which means fewer losses to be absorbed. This could contribute to the continued decrease in premiums we are seeing now. But it won’t last forever.”

The City of Brampton, which formerly had the highest auto insurance rates in the province, according to Ratesdotca, has fallen to fourth after rates in that area fell by 26.8 per cent year over year.

Another GTA city, Vaughan, moves atop the rankings despite the fact that rates fell in that city by an average of 6.7 per cent to $2,179.

In spite of the fact that average prices fell in the GTA, the remainder of the top 5 for the list all came from that area as it included Ajax, Richmond Hill and Mississauga.

Other notable cities’ rankings from the list include Toronto (7), Hamilton (17), London (19), Cambridge (23), Guelph (27), Thunder Bay (31), Peterborough (34), Kitchener (35), Sudbury 43 and Ottawa (44).

At the bottom end of the auto insurance pay scale are Cornwall, Elizabethtown, Amherstview, Gananoque, Martintown, Iroquois, Brockville and Kingston, where premiums were estimated to be around $1,132 last year.