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September 25, 2019

The best car insurance companies in Ontario

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See the latest version of this post: The best car insurance companies in Ontario for 2024

Ontario has about 12 million registered vehicles and only about 11 million people who are currently of driving age. Long story short, if you’re an adult living in Ontario, there’s a good chance you need car insurance. But you probably see ads for dozens of different insurance companies every week, and they all say that they’re the best, that they offer the best rates, and that they give you the best service if you have to make a claim.

Which are truly the best car insurance companies in Ontario?

The fact is that more than 50 companies can offer auto insurance in the province (80 if you count local mutual insurers), but they all target different types of vehicles and drivers, so the choices for you will be somewhat more limited. The question is not so much “Which are the best auto insurance companies?”, as much as which are the best for you. Different companies offer differing levels of service if you have to make a claim, and the company that gave the best rate to your cousin may not offer you a similarly attractive price.

Finding the best auto insurer for you is a matter of:

Ontario car insurers at a glance

There is a lot of information out there about insurance companies, but there’s no one place to find it all. We’ve tried our best below. Note that J.D. Power only offers ratings for the largest insurers, and we at Mitch are only able to get pricing information for the companies we work with.

Best auto insurance companies in Ontario

 
Insurance Company Type of Insurance Sold How to Buy* J.D. Power Rating Google Rating** Size (by premiums) Clean Driving Record Medium Risk Driver§ High Risk Driver|
Male Female Male Female Male Female
50 yr old, Toronto 35 yr old, Peterborough 60-yr-old, Barrie 60-yr-old, Kanata 60-yr-old, St. Catharines 25-yr-old, Barrie 25-yr-old, Kanata 25-yr-old, St. Catharines 30-yr-old, Barrie 30-yr-old, Kanata 30-yr-old, St. Catharines 40-yr-old, Barrie 40-yr-old, Kanata 40-yr-old, St. Catharines
AIG Canada Business Broker   2 / 5
(24)
Small                            
Allstate Insurance Co. of Canada Regular, motorcycle Agent, Direct   2.9 / 5
(79)
Medium                            
Aviva Canada Regular, motorcycle, specialty, business, ride-sharing Broker   2.2 / 5
(314)
Large ($2,312) ($1,562) ($2,590) ($1,944 ($2,124) ($3,308) ($2,477) ($2,708)            
Belairdirect Regular, ride-sharing Broker   4.2 / 5
(2,797)
Large                              
Beazely Canada Business Broker   5 / 5
(1)
Small                            
CAA Insurance Regular Broker   2.9 / 5
(24)
Medium ($1,480) ($1,048) ($1,835) ($1,639) ($1,505) ($2,632) ($2,487) ($2,399)            
Travelers Essential Regular Broker   Small ($2,808) ($1,664)                        
Chubb Insurance Co. of Canada Business Broker   3.3 / 5
(19)
Small                            
Coachman Insurance Co. High-Risk Broker   2.1 / 5
(29)
Small                 ($4,207) ($3,225) ($3,310) ($3,878) ($2,973) ($3,067)
Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group Regular, business Broker   2.8 / 5
(29)
Small                            
The Co-operators Insurance Regular, business Direct   4.5 / 5
(24)
Large                            
Coseco Insurance Regular Broker   2.8 / 5
(63)
Small                            
CUMIS Regular Broker   2.2 / 5
(30)
Small                            
Desjardins Insurance Regular, motorcycle Agent, Direct   2.0 / 5
(74)
Large                            
Dufferin Mutual Insurance Co. Regular, business Broker   3.3 / 5
(3)
Small                            
Echelon Insurance Co. High-Risk, motorcycle, specialty Broker     Medium ($4,436) ($1,949)             ($3,551) ($3,384) ($3,673) ($3,642) ($3,417) ($3,723)
Economical Insurance Regular, High-risk, business Broker   2.6 / 5
(201)
Large   ($1,437)   ($2,862) ($3,229) ($3,472) ($2,887) ($3,230) ($3,974) ($3,075) ($3,684) ($3,267) ($2,526) ($3,030)
Facility Association High-Risk, motorcycle, specialty Broker   Medium ($5,095) ($2,090)             ($5,242) ($3,283) ($4,207) ($5,242) ($3,238) ($4,207)
Federated Insurance Regular, business Broker   4.0 / 5
(5)
Small                            
Gore Mutual Insurance Co. Regular, business Broker   3 / 5
(86)
Medium ($1,828) ($1,268)                        
Grenville Mutual Insurance Co. Regular Broker   3.9 / 5
(36)
Small                            
The Guarantee Co. Regular Broker   3.1 / 5
(24)
Small                            
Hagerty Specialty Broker   3.5 / 5
(29)
Small                            
Halwell Mutual Insurance Co. Business Broker   5 / 5
(3)
Small                            
Heartland Farm Mutual Inc Regular Broker   3.5 / 5
(18)
Small                            
HTM Insurance Co. Business Broker   4.4 / 5
(11)
Small                            
Intact Insurance Regular, motorcycle, specialty, business, ride-sharing Broker   3.9 / 5
(797)
Large ($1,876) ($1,336) ($3,863) ($2,816) ($2,659) ($3,515) ($2,929) ($2,706)            
Jevco Insurance High-Risk Broker   2.2 / 5
(51)
Medium                 ($4,473) ($3,138) ($3,392) ($4,329) ($2,995) ($3,297)
Novex Insurance Co. Regular Broker   1 / 5
(6)
Small ($1,686) ($1,217)                        
Northbridge Insurance Regular, business Broker   3.6 / 5
(96)
Medium                            
Optimum General Insurance Regular Broker   5 / 5
(3)
Small                            
Pafco Insurance High-Risk Broker   2 / 5
(52)
Medium ($5,918)               ($4,574) ($3,490) ($4,262) ($4,574) ($3,490) ($4,262)
Peel Mutual Insurance Co. Regular, business Broker   4.3 / 5
(6)
Small                            
Pembridge Insurance Co. Regular, motorcycle Broker   1.5 / 5
(99)
Medium ($1,734) ($1,021) ($2,368) ($1,924) ($2,087) ($3,430) ($2,621) ($2,817)            
The Personal Regular, motorcycle Broker   2.8 / 5
(161)
Small                            
Portage Mutual Insurance Regular, business Broker   3.4 / 5
(5)
Small ($1,982) ($1,084) ($1,524) ($1,244) ($1,770) ($2,004) ($1,599) ($1,770)            
RBC Insurance Regular Direct   3 / 5
(357)
Medium                            
RSA Canada Regular, motorcycle, business Broker   2.7 / 5
(48)
Medium ($1,895) ($1,331) ($3,430) ($2,295) ($2,928) ($2,953) ($2,084) ($2,546)            
Scottish & York Regular Broker   Small                            
Security National Regular Direct   Large                            
SGI Canada Regular Broker   Small ($1,895) ($1,291) ($2,634) ($2,097) ($2,201) ($3,489) ($2,819) ($2,913)            
Sonnet Insurance Regular Direct   Large                            
TD General Insurance Regular, motorcycle Direct   2.1 / 5
(250)
Large                            
Traders General Insurance Co. Regular Broker   Small ($2,203) ($1,487)                        
Travelers Canada Regular, motorcycle, specialty, business Broker   1.8 / 5
(80)
Medium ($2,716) ($1,550)       ($4,404) ($3,552) ($4,079)            
Trillium Mutual Insurance Co. Regular, business Broker   3.7 / 5
(18)
Small                            
Trushield Insurance Regular, business Broker   3.8 / 5
(35)
Small                            
Unica Insurance Regular, business Broker   3.5 / 5
(75)
Small ($2,318) ($1,332) ($2,537) ($2,030) ($2,226) ($2,826) ($2,304) ($2,480)            
Unifund Assurance Regular Broker   Small                            
Verassure Insurance Co. (Onlia) Regular Agent   4.3 / 5
(3)
Small                            
Wawanesa Insurance Regular, business Broker   1.7 / 5
(151)
Medium ($2,353) ($1,505) ($3,951) ($2,898) ($3,212) ($3,891) ($2,905) ($3,211)            
Western Assurance Regular Broker   1.3 / 5
(10)
Small                            
Zenith Insurance Co. Regular, motorcycle Broker   1.4 / 5
(19)
Small                            
Zurich Canada Business Broker   4.3 / 5
(12)
Small                            

*Agent = Sells through a network of agents that only sell their products.
Broker = Sells through independent brokers, who also offer quotes from other insurance companies.
Direct = Sells direct to the public, usually online or by phone.

**Average Google rating for all Ontario locations as of November 2019.

Overall customer satisfaction index ranking, Ontario region – J.D. Power 2019 Canada Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study. Note: J.D. Power Ratings are only available for companies that got a minimum of 100 responses from the consumer survey.

No tickets.

§2 tickets.

|3 tickets.

= Within 10% of lowest quote.

= 10-20% higher than lowest quote.

= 20-50% higher than lowest quote.

= 50-100% higher than lowest quote.

= More than double lowest quote.

= More than double lowest quote.

How do I find the best price?

Because different insurance companies are going after different kinds of customers, there’s no one company that offers the best rates for all drivers. Even if your cousin Joey tells you that his insurer is the cheapest, they may be the cheapest for him, but not for you.

The only way to find your best rate is to get a quote from as many different companies as possible. If you contact a direct insurer or an insurance agent, you will only get the price for that one insurance company.

The best way to get a lot of quotes all at once is to call an independent insurance broker (preferably one that works with lots of different insurance companies and doesn’t use online quoting). Mitch represents more than 40 companies, while some other brokers only represent a handful, and we don’t do automatic online quoting.

To give you an idea of the different quotes you can get, we created six imaginary Ontarians, of different ages, from different parts of the province, with different driving records, and generated quotes for each one, all based on a 2018 Chevy Impala LT V6 4-door (bought new), with winter tires, zero daily commute and 8,000 km per year. The table above shows how competitive different insurers’ quotes were for the different drivers.

Get an auto insurance quote in minutes.

Other than price, how do I know which companies are the best?

There is no iron-clad way to rank insurance companies, but here are a few ways you can begin your analysis.

1. Online auto insurance reviews

Online reviews are another way to get an idea of the kind of service to expect from a given company. These can also be unreliable for the following reasons:

  • Most people will only go to the trouble of submitting a review if they’ve had a bad experience;
  • The biggest companies have more customers, so they will have the most negative reviews;
  • Most people have only dealt with a maximum of three or four insurance companies, and most people don’t make claims, so most reviews are based on very limited knowledge; and
  • There are no controls to prevent companies from creating imaginary users in order to plant positive reviews for themselves and negative reviews for their competitors.

That said, all insurance companies licensed in Ontario are required to be financially sound, so you can rest assured that they won’t go out of business or run out of money to pay claims. The difference will be in how easy they are to get a hold of, and how much they argue with you about what is covered if you have a claim. Reviews will give you some idea at least of the bad experiences people have had.

2. Customer satisfaction studies

Every year, J.D. Power issues ratings based on a survey of auto insurance customers. The 2019 ratings are included in the table above.

While this ranking can be used as a general guide, note the following limitations:

  • The study is not intended for consumers. J.D. Power only provides detailed results for a fee.
  • J.D. Power has only provided ratings for 13 out of 80+ insurance companies that sell auto insurance in the province.
  • The survey relies on a very small sample size – a minimum of 100 respondents for a particular insurance company to be listed. For a province the size of Ontario, most surveys would require a sample of at least 1,000 to be considered reliable.
  • J.D. Power uses online panels to collect its survey data. This method is less reliable than other survey methods.

3. Size of insurance company (size can matter)

In insurance, the name of the game is spreading out risk widely enough so that you never run into a situation where your insurance company doesn’t have enough money to pay claims. Even in the event of a major storm, earthquake or other event that affects thousands of people at once. All insurers that operate in Canada have to meet minimum standards for financial stability, and most buy reinsurance to protect against major events, but if you want to be extra sure, it’s safer to have your insurance with a company that collects lots of premiums.

We’ve categorized each auto insurer in the province as either small, medium or large. This doesn’t refer to the size of the company, just to the volume of auto insurance premiums they take in.

Different insurers for different types of drivers

The following categories define different types of driving risks. Different insurers specialize in different types of risks, so check the table above to see which insurers are open for business in your category.

1. Regular market auto insurance companies

Most Ontario drivers are insured in what is called the regular market. Typically, companies in the regular market will offer insurance to low and medium risk drivers who drive conventional vehicles.

In general, to be in the regular market, you can’t have more than 3 tickets and at-fault accidents (combined) on your record. Tickets stay on your record for 3 years. Accidents stay for 6 years. In some extreme cases, even if you only have one traffic-related conviction, if that conviction is a DUI or other serious criminal offence, that could be enough to put you in the high-risk auto insurance market.

A conventional vehicle is one that has four wheels, isn’t modified for racing, is not a vintage or classic vehicle, is not right-hand-drive and is not used for business purposes.

Depending on where you live, you may also be able to get a quote through a broker for your local mutual insurance company. There are about 30 across Ontario that aren’t listed above, because they only sell within their local area.

2. High-risk auto insurance companies

If you have more than three combined tickets and at-fault accidents on your driving record, or if you have one criminal conviction for drunk driving, racing or driving while suspended, you probably won’t be able to get quotes in the regular market.

3. Motorcycle insurance companies

Motorcycles are relatively expensive to insure because when there is an accident, it tends to result in more severe injuries, and longer-term disability, both of which are paid for by insurance. For this reason, motorcycle insurance is viewed as riskier even for experienced riders.

If you are under 25 years old, or have less than 5 years of riding experience, the list gets even shorter. In many cases, Facility Association may be your only option. For experienced riders, depending on where you live, one of your local mutual insurers may also offer coverage for your motorcycle.

4. Specialty insurers

There are only a handful of insurance companies that specialize in providing insurance for non-standard vehicles. That includes classic or collector vehicles, right-hand-drive vehicles and those that have had significant modifications.

5. Business vehicle insurance companies

If you just use your personal vehicle to go to and from meetings or sales calls, you can usually do that under a personal auto insurance policy. In that case, be sure to let your insurance broker know, but you probably won’t need a business (commercial) auto insurance policy.

On the other hand, if you have company branding on the vehicle, or if you use it to deliver goods, transport passengers, or haul tools and materials around, you will need a business insurance policy.

6. Ride-sharing vehicle insurance companies

Uber and other ride-sharing services are becoming more and more popular. But if you use your own car to drive for Uber or Lyft, or to deliver food, then most insurance companies won’t want to offer you insurance. You won’t need a business insurance policy, but there are only three companies that will sell you a personal auto insurance policy for this purpose.

Hey, we’re going to give it to you straight: It will be more expensive than what you’re used to paying for your own personal car insurance, but if you try to save money by not telling your insurance company that you drive for a ride-sharing service, you are essentially driving without insurance, so you better hope you never get into an accident.

7. Farm vehicle insurance companies

Ontario has a long tradition of farm mutual insurers, dating back to before confederation. Currently there are more than 40 mutuals operating in the province, although most of those only service their immediate geographical area.

In addition to farm mutuals, most of the above-mentioned business insurers will insure farm vehicles as part of a larger business insurance policy for your farm or other agri-business.

Looking for car insurance?

Speak with a Mitch Insurance broker today to get a quote on Ontario auto insurance. Learn more >

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Comments(2)

    Car insurance premium hikes in Canada are beginning to take a toll on how drivers regard their auto insurance providers, according to J.D. Power’s

    Thanks for the comment, Builddailys.

    It’s true that premium increases affect Canadians’ perception of, and confidence in, the insurance industry. The fact is that ultimately, it’s the provincial government that determines what kind of auto insurance product is required to drive on our roads, and to a large degree this determines the premiums we pay. There have been a series of auto insurance reforms since no-fault insurance was introduced in 1989, and the result has typically been a few years of rate stability followed by a new round of increases. With rates on the rise for the last few years now, it may be time for a reset yet again to make insurance more affordable for all.

    On an individual basis, consumers can make sure they’re getting the best possible rates by getting competitive quotes from a licensed broker.

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