Toronto Car Insurance Calculator, Compare Auto Quotes and Rates

When it comes to car insurance, Toronto has a dubious designation: it has the highest average car insurance rates in all of Canada. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get a good deal on insurance but it does require extensive comparison shopping and active steps to reduce your risk to insurers. The good news is you don’t need to spend hours getting quotes from dozens of auto insurance providers in the province; with a car insurance calculator in Toronto, you can easily get an estimate for what you should pay to make shopping around easier.

Ready to save money on your car insurance with a Toronto insurance calculator? Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is a Car Insurance Calculator in Toronto?

A Toronto car insurance calculator is a simple tool to compare rates from dozens of top-rated insurance providers in the province quickly and easily. You only need to provide your information once to compare deductibles, coverage, discounts, and insurance rates without commitments.

To get an accurate quote, we recommend providing as much information as possible. This includes:

• Your location. Where you live is a major factor that helps determine your premium.

• Driver’s license. This is used to gather information about your driving history.

• Vehicle information. The type of car you drive can influence the rate you pay depending on its value, estimated repairs, collision and theft risk, and safety rating.

• History of past insurance claims. If you have made insurance claims before, it may increase your rate.

• Deductible and coverage amounts. These factors greatly influence the cost of insurance. The higher your coverage, the higher your rate. The higher your deductible, the lower the rate for your insurance because you are accepting more financial responsibility if you need to make a claim.

• Optional coverage you wish to add.

• Discounts you qualify to receive.

A car insurance calculator in Toronto is completely free to use and it helps you reduce the price you pay for insurance coverage. It can even be used to explore factors that influence your insurance premiums to save even more money.

Ready to get started? Before you gather your information, you should understand the two types of Toronto insurance calculators available. Many insurance providers in the province offer calculators based on their own insurance products. These calculators can give you an accurate estimate for a policy with that specific company but it won’t help you with other insurance companies. You will also have no idea where the quote falls on the spectrum. Is it a fair price? Is it too high? Or is it the deal you’re looking for?

A general car insurance calculator in Toronto is useful for comparing rates among several insurance companies. Our calculator was developed in partnership with dozens of insurance providers throughout Toronto to help you maximize your savings. Our car insurance calculator in Toronto helps you get the lowest quotes possible for an insurance policy thanks to the sheer number of companies that are searched.

Why Use a Car Insurance Calculator in Toronto, Ontario?

As a driver in Toronto, you already know that you face among the highest car insurance rates in Canada. This doesn’t mean you don’t have the opportunity to save a significant amount of money. In fact, it just means that the potential savings are even higher. A car insurance calculator Toronto website gives you an advantage by helping you understand your insurance options, explore which factors influence your rate, and compare quotes among many insurance companies.

When used correctly with as much information as possible, a car insurance calculator in Toronto can be very accurate. Using a Toronto insurance calculator can help you understand when you are getting a good deal on the coverage you need. You can even use it to compare your current auto insurance policy against other providers to make sure switching companies won’t save you any money.

You can even get valuable insight and advice from a good car insurance calculator in Toronto. You can get recommendations for coverage limits and deductibles based on the answers you provide to help you choose the right amount of coverage without overpaying for coverage you don’t need.

The bottom line is insurance providers in Ontario offer a huge variety of policies with wildly different price ranges. Our Toronto insurance calculator helps you narrow down this information to make an informed decision.

Average Car Insurance Rates for Toronto

Before you get quotes for your own policy with a Toronto insurance calculator, you may find it helpful to understand what the typical driver pays in the province. Depending on the area of the city, the best drivers pay between $1,200 and $2,000. This is about average for Ontario as a whole.

Residential areas around the city core tend to offer the very best rates. This is where many residents rely heavily on transit for their daily transportation and may not even own cars. The most expensive areas to insure a car in Toronto are in the northeast and northwest regions. These areas have less extensive transit systems and require a greater reliance on your car.

As with other major cities, Toronto faces higher insurance rates than suburban areas thanks to its high population density. This translates to more traffic, a higher risk of vandalism and theft, and a higher risk of an accident.

Car insurance prices outside of Toronto can be significantly lower. Rates in Eastern Ontario are more than $500 less per year on average than Ontario. In areas like Belleville and Kingston, drivers pay an average of $1,000 per year. Fortunately, Toronto drivers don’t have the highest insurance rates. Vaughan and Brampton tend to have the highest car insurance rates in the entire country.

How Car Insurance Premium Allocation Works

There are many misconceptions about how your insurance company uses the premiums it collects. The premiums of all policyholders are used to pay for the claims of the few who must file a claim due to an accident or injury. The rest of the premiums are put toward other areas such as investments, claim expenses, and operating expenses.

For every $1 the insurance company receives in premiums, about $0.50 goes back to policyholders in claim pay-outs. Around $0.15 goes toward taxes and $0.20 goes toward regulatory and operating expenses. About $0.10 goes toward the insurance company’s profits. Of course, these numbers will depend on the insurance company.

The Ontario Government has a number of regulations governing how insurance companies can allocate premiums. Your insurance company must keep a certain amount of money set aside to respond quickly to claims or natural disasters. This is called a legal reserve. Your insurance company is also required to put its money in low risk investments that can be liquidated quickly if necessary to pay for claims.

Understanding How Car Insurance Works in Ontario

Auto insurance is mandatory in Ontario. Driving without insurance can come with heavy fines of up to $50,000 as well as vehicle impoundment and a one-year license suspension. While car insurance is required across Canada, minimum coverage can vary.

Ontario requires a minimum of $200,000 in third-party liability insurance coverage. If you are involved in an accident in a province with a higher minimum liability limit, such as $400,000, but you only have the Ontario minimum coverage of $200,000, your insurance policy must still honour the higher limit.

You are also required to buy statutory accident benefits coverage with your liability coverage. This offers supplemental medical care and rehab if you are hurt in an accident. It also pays 70% of your lost income up to $400 per week regardless of fault if you are injured in an accident.

Another mandatory form of coverage in Ontario is Direct Compensation-Property Damage (DC-PD). DC-PD essentially means you receive direct compensation from your insurance policy for damages to your car when you are involved in an accident and not at fault as long as the other driver is insured under Ontario law and the accident happened in Ontario.

This mandatory coverage protects you if you are at fault for an accident by paying for the other driver’s damages. If also covers you if you’re hurt in an accident with a hit-and-run driver or uninsured driver. Damage to your vehicle is covered if you are hit by an uninsured driver but you need optional car insurance coverage to pay for damage caused by a hit-and-run driver.

Optional Coverage

Along with mandatory insurance coverage in Toronto, you may choose to add optional forms of coverage for better protection against a broader range of risks. A car insurance calculator in Toronto can help you explore how adding or removing coverage options can affect your premium. Fortunately, many forms of additional coverage are very affordable. Here are some of the most popular.

• Collision coverage. This type of coverage pays for damages to your car in a collision, which is usually an incident that happens when the car is being driven.

• Comprehensive coverage. This covers damage to your car when the car is parked, including damage from vandalism, theft, fire, and hail.

• Additional liability coverage. You can increase the mandatory $200,000 minimum third-party liability coverage by up to $2 million in coverage to protect you against more serious accidents.

• Additional statutory accident benefits. Your mandatory accident benefits coverage only replaces lost income to a point. You can increase your policy limits and add coverage for funeral costs and housekeeping.

• Additional property damage coverage. When you are at fault, you aren’t eligible for DC-PD coverage. Additional insurance can cover you even when you’re at fault.

• Gap coverage. Also known as guaranteed auto protection, this form of coverage helps pay the difference between what you owe on your car loan and the car’s actual value in the event of a total loss. Remember that new cars lose value as soon as they are driven off the lot. This can create a gap between the car’s value and the amount you have financed. Without gap coverage, you can be responsible for the difference if your car is written off by the insurance company after an accident.

You can also add endorsements to your policy which customize your coverage even further. You may add an endorsement for a non-owned vehicle, for example, to skip costly collision damage waivers when you rent a car. Many Canadians also opt for an accident forgiveness endorsement which forgives your first at-fault accident. With a loss of use endorsement, your policy will pay for a rental car after an accident while your car is being repaired.

Deductibles

Collision and comprehensive insurance are subject to deductibles. This is the amount you need to pay before your insurance company pays anything toward a claim. The lower your deductible, the higher your premium will be. A higher deductible can reduce your premium because it lowers the insurance company’s risk. You can use a car insurance calculator in Toronto to help you see how changing your deductible will change your car insurance premium.

Rules for How Premiums Are Calculated

Ontario has regulations that govern how insurance premiums may be calculated but insurance companies do have plenty of room to adjust rates. Overall, your premium will reflect the risk that you will submit a claim with your insurance company. In Ontario, your car insurance rate will be calculated based on your chosen deductible and coverage limits as well as factors like your neighbourhood’s theft and safety rating, your driving history, your car, and how often you drive. While many factors can affect your car insurance rates, Ontario is one of just a few provinces that outright bans the use of your credit information in determining car insurance premiums.

All of these factors influence how likely you are to file a claim. Your risk can be higher if you drive a car with a poor safety rating or high theft rate, live in a community with a high collision rate, or have tickets or prior accidents on your driving record, for example. Each insurance company gives these factors different weights which means different policy rates.

In Toronto, the car insurance industry is served by private insurance companies that must work within the regulations of the Insurance Act. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario governs the insurance company. Despite strong regulations, Ontario still has a competitive insurance market.

Consumers’ Bill of Rights in Ontario

Under Ontario law, you are required to carry car insurance if you own a vehicle. Still, the Insurance Act gives you many rights when you buy insurance. Here is what you need to know about your legal rights when you compare rates using a car insurance calculator in Toronto.

Your rights as a car insurance buyer include the right to:

• Receive the reasons in writing if you are denied a policy

• Keep your policy in force if your premiums are paid and you meet your responsibilities

• Pay your car insurance in monthly premiums

• Keep the policy in force if the premium is paid within 30 days of receiving one or two NSFs

• Receive written notice if your policy is not renewed

• Prompt, fair claims processing

• Reasonable repairs to your vehicle when it’s damaged

• Choose the vehicle rental company, tow company, and auto repair shop when you file a claim

• Dispute the insurer’s refusal to pay benefits

You can learn more about your rights and responsibilities through the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

2016 Ontario Car Insurance Reform

In 2016, new rules went into effect in Ontario that affects coverage options for consumers and the cost of car insurance. The reform largely affects statutory accident benefits you receive if you are hurt in an accident. Some benefits have been reduced but there are options to increase coverage.

Prior to June 2016, rehabilitation and medical benefits for non-catastrophic accident injuries had a maximum limit of $50,000 with an extra $36,000 in coverage for attendant care. Under the new rules, benefits are combined with a reduced total benefit of $65,000. You can increase your benefits to up to $136,000, however. For catastrophic injuries, the benefit is essentially cut in half from $1 million each for medical care/rehabilitation and attendant care to a combined $1 million.

Your accident benefit still covers income replacement of 70% of your gross income up to $400 per week but you now have the option to increase the weekly limit to $600, $800, or $1,000 per week.

Our Toronto insurance calculator already considers these changes to Ontario insurance law.

Factors That Affect Your Car Insurance Rate

Did you know there are a dozen factors that can affect how much you pay for car insurance? A car insurance calculator in Toronto uses the information you provide to calculate how these factors will influence your insurance premium. Unfortunately, some factors are completely out of your control, such as your gender, age, and the crime rates in your area. Still, there are many factors you can change to get lower rates. You can use a Toronto insurance calculator to see how changing factors like your deductible, coverage, and vehicle can save you money.

Deductible

One of the most common strategies for saving on car insurance is simply raising your deductible, which is the amount you pay for a claim before your insurance coverage kicks in. You can typically choose a deductible ranging from $250 to $1,000. Just make sure you choose a deductible that you can afford if you ever need to make a claim. Don’t assume that increasing the deductible and your share of financial responsibility will automatically save you money, though. Some people don’t see much difference by increasing their deductible in which case it isn’t recommended. Use a car insurance calculator in Toronto to compare premiums with different deductibles that will still be affordable.

Coverage Limits

One of the biggest factors that influences your premium is the amount of coverage you choose. Whether you go with just mandated liability coverage or you add comprehensive and collision or even endorsements like roadside assistance, consider how much the protection will cost over the course of the year. A car insurance calculator in Toronto will help you see how adjusting your limits for each type of coverage will affect your premium.

Demographics

While it isn’t as big of a factor as your driving history, your age, gender, and marital status will be considered to determine your premium. This is because insurance companies assess risk and assign you a premium based on the risk of other people of the same age, gender, and marital status. Younger people tend to get in more accidents than older drivers unless they’re married. Men also cause more accidents than women as a general rule. Simply being married can save you up to 20% on your premiums. According to insurance companies, men under 25 have the worst statistical record.

Women are, on average, safer drivers than men with the lower insurance premiums to prove it. Across Canada women pay 5% less for auto insurance than men. Along with having fewer accidents, their claims are usually lower. In Ontario, this difference between men and women works out to $5 per month or $60 per year.

Men are also more likely to have tickets and driving-related convictions. According to one source, men who use Toronto insurance calculators are significantly more likely than women to report common infractions like:

• Failure to wear a seat belt

• Failure to carry evidence of car insurance

• Failure to obey traffic signals or signs

• Speeding less than 45 km/h over the limit

Driving Habits

If you have parking tickets, driving offense convictions, or license suspensions on your record, be prepared for higher premiums. These incidents can remain on your record for quite some time, too. A conviction for a driving offense will remain on your driving history for up to 6 years before your record is considered clean by insurance companies.

Your driving history isn’t all that insurance companies consider. How frequently you use your car, whether you are including high-risk drivers on your policy, and whether you take transit to reduce your annual kilometres can all affect your rate. Your insurance company will even consider your primary purpose for driving whether it’s for business or leisure. An easy way to lower your premiums is by using a car insurance calculator in Toronto. Use the calculator to lower your annual kilometres to see how using public transit to commute to work can save you money.

Where You Live

Urban areas like Toronto have very variable insurance rates and claim costs. The higher the population density, the more thefts, accidents, and risks. Where you live is a very important factor that influences your premiums. When you use a car insurance calculator in Toronto, providing your address is important to give you the most accurate price estimate.

Vehicle

Your insurance company will consider the type and age of the car you are insuring along with factors like theft rates, repair expenses, and safety rates. In general, the harder the car is to steal and the more affordable it is to repair, the lower your premiums will be.

In Ontario, insurance companies use the Canadian Loss Experience Automobile Rating (CLEAR) system to determine the chances that your car will be involved in a claim and how much the claim will cost. This system maintains data for every make, model, and year to calculate expected and actual claims losses. This system can show you why you may pay more for insurance than someone with an otherwise identical driving record and demographics but a car that’s worth three times as much as yours.

By choosing a car with a lower CLEAR number, you can reduce your risk and pay a lower premium. Before buying your next car, be sure to compare CLEAR scores and use a car insurance calculator in Toronto to reduce your total cost of ownership and your insurance premiums. You can get the most recent version of the CLEAR list from the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Claims History

Have you made insurance claims in the past toward your car or home insurance? Your claims history is an important factor in determining your car insurance rate. This is because insurance premiums consider the likelihood you will suffer a loss and make a claim. Past claims increase the risk you will suffer another loss at some point. The good news is your claims history isn’t as important as you may think because the location and type of risk are more important.

Credit Is NOT a Factor in Toronto

Here’s good news when you live in Ontario: your credit history can’t be used to determine your car insurance premium. Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only two provinces in Canada that strictly prohibit auto insurance companies from using credit information. Alberta requires that insurance companies receive explicit permission from the consumer to access their credit history. In other areas of Canada, there may be no regulations at all governing whether a consumer’s credit score can be used although this isn’t always an issue as some areas have provincially regulated insurance.

How to Save on Car Insurance in Toronto

Want to save big on the coverage you need? Here are the best ways to reduce your premiums without sacrificing quality coverage.

Choose the Right Amount of Coverage

More isn’t always better. While you want enough coverage to protect you if something happens, you don’t want to pay for coverage you don’t need. There are some types of coverage you may not need at all, such as loss of use coverage if you have more than one vehicle.

Get Discounts

There are many discounts you can potentially get on your policy to save a bundle. Every insurance company offers their own discounts but some are more common than others. Here are some discounts you may qualify for:

• WInter tires. Using winter tires offers better traction in snowy conditions. You can save up to 5% by using winter tires if you let your insurance company know.

• Senior and retiree discount. If you are over 50 or recently retired, you can probably get a discount of up to 10%.

• Out of town student discount. You can save up to 30% on coverage for your children while they are away at college.

• Professional association discounts. Find out if you qualify for a group insurance rate thanks to a professional or institution association.

• Defensive driving course. You can save money even as an experienced driver by taking a driving course.

A car insurance calculator in Toronto can help you find and get the discounts you deserve to save more money on your insurance.

Increase Your Policy’s Deductible

By increasing your deductible, you are essentially increasing your share of the cost if you need to make a claim. This also reduces the likelihood that you will file a claim for somewhat minor damages.

Consider Telematics

A growing number of insurance companies in Toronto offer telematics, a device you can install in your car that records driving activities like speed, how and when you brake and accelerate, the time of day when you drive, and how far you drive. Insurance companies can use this information to personalize your premiums. While you may save money if you are a safe and careful driver, it’s still possible for your rates to go up if you speed or brake hard.

Telematics-based insurance is also known as usage-based insurance (UBI). This option is most popular among Canadian drivers who drive less than 10,000 kilometres per year.

Pay Your Premium in Full

Did you know you get a lower rate when you pay your premium in full? This is because insurance companies charge a fee to process monthly insurance payments. Along with skipping the fee, the insurance company may also give a minor discount as an incentive for a full payment. Use a Toronto insurance calculator to see what you can save if you have the money to pay for a year of coverage upfront.

Skip Collision Coverage for an Older Car

If you have an older car with a low resale value, you can save a significant amount of money by dropping collision coverage from your auto insurance policy. Collision coverage pays for damages to your car but it comes with a high premium compared to liability coverage. By skipping collision insurance, you can probably save more within a few years than your insurance would even pay out if your car is totaled. After all, there isn’t much sense in paying $600 a year for just $2,700 in coverage.

You can use a car insurance calculator in Toronto to see how much you can save by dropping collision coverage. To decide if it makes sense to drop the extra coverage, look at your car’s replacement cost, your deductible, your insurance premium, and the settlement you would receive. If your car has an average replacement cost of $2,000 and you have a $500 deductible, that means you would only receive $1,500 in a settlement. If your collision premium is $250 a year, you’d really only net $1,250 in the first year of coverage. Over time, you will be spending more money for less insurance coverage as you keep paying premiums and your car loses value.

Bundle Your Policy

Bundling your car insurance with other policies, such as home insurance and life insurance, can help you reduce your premiums on all of your insurance policies. Depending on the company, the discount can be up to 20% on car insurance and 10% on home coverage. This may be up to $200 per year in savings. The only downside to this approach is you may be missing out on discounts or better premiums elsewhere.

Install a Theft Deterrent System

There are many reasons for the high car insurance rates in Ontario and specifically Toronto including high rates of car theft. Installing an anti-theft device can help you qualify for a big discount on your car insurance. There are many options, some of which are very affordable. Whether you choose a high-tech system that turns off the fuel pump or a visible theft deterrent option, ask your insurance company how much you can save. A car insurance calculator in Toronto can also help you see how much an anti-theft device will lower your premium.

Practice Safe Driving

One of the best things you can do to lower your premium is practicing safe, defensive driving. A good driving record can dramatically reduce the cost of your insurance. Getting and maintaining a clean driving record takes time but it’s a sure-proof way to keep insurance costs low. Avoid distracted driving, obey traffic rules, and take extra time when road conditions are bad.

Compare Rates with a Car Insurance Calculator in Toronto

Discounts are great but don’t overlook the importance of comparison shopping. If you get a quote from just one or two insurance companies, you will have no way to know if you are getting a good deal or overpaying. There is no insurance company that offers the lowest rate for every driver, either. Use a Toronto insurance calculator to help you compare your options explore ways to save, and find out exactly how much you should be paying for coverage.

Top Toronto Insurance Companies

Price isn’t everything. Ideally, you want a car insurance provider that balances customer services with a good range of services at a price you can afford. Of course, there is no company that is perfect for every driver. While using a car insurance calculator in Toronto, you can compare rates among dozens of top insurance providers in Ontario for the best combination of reliability, customer service, and value. The top car insurance companies in Toronto include:

• TD Insurance. If you want a variety of coverage options at affordable rates, TD Insurance may be a good choice. This financially stable insurance company also offers a range of discounts.

• Intact Financial Corporation. In business since 1809, Intact offers a range of insurance products to help you bundle your policies. They also offer a substantial 20% discount on insurance if you have an electric or hybrid model.

• State Farm Mutual. While State Farm isn’t known for offering the best rates, they do offer a number of discounts and telematics devices that can save you up to 25% on coverage.

• Aviva Canada. Aviva tends to offer the best rates for drivers who own a sedan, truck, or minivan with a range of endorsements and add-on features.

• Wawanesa Mutual Insurance. Wawanesa has a history going back to 1896 with a broad range of coverage options and discounts. They are also known for their fast, easy claims process.

• RBC Insurance. While RBC doesn’t always have the lowest rates, they offer anonymous claims advice, 24/7 support, and a host of discounts.

• Co-operators Insurance. Co-operators is a Canada-based insurance company with a telematics program and broad coverage options.

• RSA Canada Group. RSA began nearly 300 years ago as Royal Insurance. Today, they operate in 140 countries with plenty of perks including lifetime repair guarantee and claims protection if you do not have a claim for 6 years.

• Economical Insurance Group. With a long history in Canada and a claims satisfaction rate of 93%, Economical Insurance Group is a good choice for a reliable insurance company with customisable policies.

• Desjardins General. Desjardins is one of the top-rated insurance companies for customer service with a 96% claim satisfaction rate. They also offer a host of discounts like telematics, multi-line discounts, hybrid discounts, loyalty discounts, and more.