Alberta’s Auto Insurance Among Highest in Canada: Report

Traffic crawls during morning rush hour in Toronto, in a file photo. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

While Alberta may offer good value when it comes to buying a house, the same can’t be said when it comes to paying for auto insurance, according to a report conducted by international accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Commissioned by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) and released on Dec. 8, the report found that Alberta’s auto insurance rates are among the highest in the country when compared to other provinces, based on research done between September and October.

The report compared the rates in nine provinces and looked at 30 different driver profiles based on a set of criteria including age, gender, marital status, employment status, years licensed, vehicle, average daily commute, and annual kilometres driven.

For example, an 18-year-old man with a Stage 2 learner’s license and a 2012 Honda would pay a yearly average fee of $5,936 in Alberta, compared to $5,199 in Ontario, $5,019 in Newfoundland, $4,861 in Nova Scotia, and $4,297 in New Brunswick. Rates are cheaper in Prince Edward Island ($2,988), B.C. ($2,511), Manitoba ($1,413), and Saskatchewan ($1,129).

Specifically, the 10 cities with the highest auto insurance fees for this profile group are as follows:

• Alberta - Calgary ($6,140)
• Alberta - Edmonton ($6,471)
• Alberta - Grande Prairie ($5,576)
• Alberta - Red Deer ($5,557)
• Ontario - Kitchener ($5,774)
• Ontario - Thunder Bay ($5,576)
• Ontario - Toronto ($5,294)
• Nova Scotia - Halifax ($5,315)
• Nova Scotia - Sydney ($5,517)
• Newfoundland - St John’s ($6,828)

A look at the profile of a 30-year-old married man, employed, with 14 years of driving experience and driving a 2019 Ford F350 SD XLT crew cab, but met with an accident in September 2019, shows a similar trend of Alberta offering the highest rates.

In Alberta, this driver would have to fork out $4,791 a year on average for his auto insurance. In Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island, he would have to pay $3,735, $3,568, and $3,096, respectively. Rates would be more favourable to him in New Brunswick at $2,633 and B.C. at $2,065, while Saskatchewan would give him the best rate at $1,417. The report doesn’t include the figure for Newfoundland.

A breakdown of the top 10 cities with the most expensive rates for this profile is as follows:

• Alberta - Calgary ($5,042)
• Alberta - Edmonton ($4,480)
• Alberta - Grande Prairie ($4,701)
• Alberta - Red Deer ($4,939)
• Ontario - Kitchener ($3,423)
• Ontario - Thunder Bay ($4,701)
• Nova Scotia - Antigonish ($3,493)
• Nova Scotia - Halifax ($3,944)
• Nova Scotia - Sydney ($4,014)
• Nova Scotia - Truro ($3,488)

The report also calculated the estimates for the profile of a 35-year-old woman, single, employed, with 19 years of driving experience and driving a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan, but charged with a major conviction last September.

This driver would have to pay the most in Alberta at an average annual rate of $2,537, followed by Nova Scotia at $2,447. She would have a better rate in Ontario ($1,929), New Brunswick ($1,803), and Newfoundland ($1,761), while getting the best rates in Prince Edward Island ($1,371), B.C. ($1,269), Manitoba ($1,247), and Saskatchewan ($1,074).

The 10 cities with the highest auto insurance rates for this profile are somewhat similar to the other two profiles:

• Alberta - Calgary ($2,639)
• Alberta - Edmonton ($2,701)
• Alberta - Grande Prairie ($2,264)
• Alberta - Red Deer ($2,546)
• Ontario - Thunder Bay ($2,264)
• Nova Scotia - Antigonish ($2,257)
• Nova Scotia - Halifax ($2,650)
• Nova Scotia - Sydney ($2,624)
• Nova Scotia - Truro ($2,256)
• Newfoundland - St John’s ($2,255)

For all profiles, rates from B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were provided directly by ICBC, Saskatchewan Government Insurance, and the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation, respectively, to Ernst & Young in September, the report said.

“Rates for the other provinces were collected from a broad sample of quotes obtained online using September 1, 2022, as the effective policy date.”