Ontario Car Insurance Rates Dropped In 2015

July 16, 2015 - Shop Insurance Canada comments on the changes in Ontario car insurance rates this quarter and the trends in fatalities and injuries in car crashes in B.C.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has published the changes in insurance rates for the first quarter of 2015, while the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) has recently released crash statistics outlining trends in the factors that cause accidents, like driving under the influence and distracted driving.

For the companies that filed new rates (who collectively represent just under three-quarters of the Ontario insurance market), rates decreased on average by just under one per cent (0.95%).

Rates decreased by about half a percentage point in the previous quarter (the fourth quarter of 2014), meaning rates have gone down a combined 1.5 per cent over the previous two quarters.

This decrease seems to be in line with the Ontario government's promise in their 2013 budget to decrease rates by 15 per cent by August of this year; however, they have since only decreased the rates by about half of this figure, so it does not look like they will hit that target.

FSCO urges consumers to shop around for their auto insurance, as Ontario has a competitive insurance marketplace. The publication notes that "rates for the same coverage vary based on each insurer's claims experience and the insurer's rating system," so a website like Shop Insurance Canada that provides users with an instant rate comparison tool is invaluable.

The ICBC recently released statistics for crashes from 2009-2013, indicating that there were an average of 260,000 crashes in that five-year period, of which an average of 52,000 resulted in injury or fatality.

There were an average of 282 fatalities from 2009-2013 on British Columbia roads, and an average of 79,000 injuries. While fatalities have steadily decreased from 329 in 2009 to 245 in 2013, injuries have increased from 73,000 in 2009 to 85,000 in 2013.

The top factors that caused fatal crashes were speed, intoxication, and distraction. Crashes with alcohol and speed as factors have both fallen: intoxication has fallen from 127 incidents in 2010 to 64 in 2013, while speed has gone down from 133 in 2009 to 77 in 2013.

Fatalities as a result of distracted driving have remained steady over the past three years at around 80, having fallen from 100 in 2010.

Is decrease in the number of fatalities and increase number of injuries due to the improved technology and design in the auto industry? Should we expect similar trend is happening across Canada? How will these statistics affect our car insurance rates in Ontario?

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