Ontario car insurance is higher as compared to other provinces in Canada

By – Ishan Sohi

Seneca student Gurpreet Singh pays $450 a month which is more than half of his rent. He says he’s paying “much more than we really need.” Ontario’s auto insurance rates have risen 14% since 2017, the highest in the nation, said Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk.

 The A-G reports Ontario has low auto accident injury rates still the Treasury Department has not improved its system enough to provide low-cost private auto insurance to Ontario residents. The cost of insurance varies from $1,200 for a person residing in London, Ontario, to $3,350 for a person living in Brampton.

Tahir Murtuza, an employee of RBC Insurance Company, said the large number of cars in Ontario is one of the reasons for the high level of auto insurance. He said, “the more cars on the road, the more likely they are to get into an accident, especially in winter.”

In addition, he says, an increase in the number of people who own cars in rural areas leads to reckless driving, which leads to an increase in accidents.

Lysyk said the liability component of Ontario’s auto insurance system drives up costs across the system because it allows victims to sue at-fault motorists. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority estimates that between 30% and 35% of personal injury settlements involving insurers and claimants are spent on professional and legal costs such as contingency fees rather than helping the injured person. increase. The cost of auto parts and services has risen significantly and insurers have to respond to price increases.