How much to insure Canada’s cheapest pickup trucks for 2023?

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Canadians love their pickup trucks. In 2022, pickups made up almost a quarter of Canadian motor vehicle sales, and the Ford F-Series has been the top selling vehicle in the country every year since 2009. But for budget-minded Canadians, pickup trucks can be pricey to buy. Thankfully they are very affordable to insure.

Based on Driving.ca’s breakdown of the cheapest pickup trucks for 2023, here’s our ranking of the most affordable pickups in terms of auto insurance premiums:

TruckCategoryAnnual premium1
GMC Sierra 2500Heavy-duty$1,605
Chevy Silverado 2500Heavy-duty$1,682
Ford F-250Heavy-duty$1,832
Ford F-150Full-size$1,886
Ford MaverickCompact$1,892
Ford RangerMidsize$1,984
Chevy Silverado 1500Full-size$1,988
Nissan FrontierMidsize$1,993
Toyota TundraFull-size$2,021
GMC Sierra 1500Full-size$2,039
Hyundai Santa CruzCompact$2,084
Ram 2500Heavy-duty$2,088
Chevy ColoradoMidsize$2,183
GMC CanyonMidsize$2,209
Dodge Ram 1500Full-size$2,328
Toyota TacomaMidsize$2,443

Key findings

  • The top three trucks in our ranking were all from the heavy-duty category. This might suggest that the larger the truck, the lower the premium, but the two compact trucks landed in the middle of list (5 and 11).
  • Ford trucks fared very well, with all four making the top six.
  • Premium rankings were generally the same regardless of the postal code, gender, relationship status, age and driving record of the driver.
  • Regardless of what pickup you choose, you’re likely saving on insurance. All of the trucks on the list beat the Honda Civic (sedan) on premiums by 20-82%, and all but three beat the Toyota RAV4 (SUV).
  • Out of a total of 90 quotes, five different insurance companies had the best price for at least one combination of driver and vehicle.

How did we arrive at the rankings?

To determine which trucks on the list had the best premiums, we ran quotes for each of them using our online auto insurance quoter. To eliminate rating factors unrelated to the vehicles themselves, we got quotes for five different drivers. They vary in age, gender, relationship status and postal code. Some have cleaner driving records while others have some tickets and/or at-fault accidents.

In order to see how insurance rates for pickup trucks compare with other popular vehicles, we also ran quotes with the same drivers for the Toyota RAV4 and Honda Civic.

The drivers

Here are the drivers we used to determine our rankings:

  1. Eli, 46, single male, speeding tickets in 2019 and 2020, Newmarket (L3X)
  2. Brandi, 27, common-law female, one minor at-fault claim in 2021, Sudbury (P3C)
  3. Crisanto, 33, married male, speeding ticket in 2020, impaired driving conviction in 2022, Pembroke (K8A)
  4. Shayna, 57, divorced female, clean record, Toronto (M5T)
  5. Harper, 39, married gender X2, at-fault claim and conviction for following too close in 2020, Vanier (K1L)

All of the quotes are based on the following assumptions:

  • Drivers have all been licensed since the day they turned 16
  • All drivers get a winter tire discount (tires must be on the vehicle from Nov. 1 to Apr. 1)
  • Everyone has a 10 km daily commute, and drives approximately 10,000 km a year
  • Coverage levels:
    • $1 million liability ($2 million recommended)
    • No deductible for direct compensation claims (to fix your vehicle when another driver is at fault)
    • $1,000 deductible for comprehensive and collision claims (accident damage, vandalism, theft, weather damage)
    • $1,500 coverage for loss of use (pays for a rental car while yours is in the shop after a claim)
    • Waiver of depreciation where available (you can usually insure vehicles under three years old for their full purchase price)
    • Accident forgiveness where available (may not be available for drivers with claims or tickets)
    • $50,000 physical damage coverage for unowned vehicles (rental car or loaner)
    • Family protection endorsement where available (extra coverage for medical costs if you or your family are injured by an uninsured or underinsured at-fault driver)

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The quotes

Premiums for the cheapest pickups in Canada
 MSRP3Eli’s premiumBrandi’s premiumCrisanto’s premiumShayna’s premiumHarper’s premiumAvg. premiumPremium rank
Compact        
Ford Maverick$31,100$1,110$2,495$2,314$1,247$2,296$1,8925
Hyundai Santa Cruz$40,299$1,176$3,015$2,417$1,321$2,489$2,08411
Midsize        
Chevy Colorado$34,303$1,086$3,171$2,574$1,416$2,667$2,18313
Ford Ranger$38,480$1,113$2,836$2,290$1,283$2,399$1,9846
Nissan Frontier$40,998$1,099$2,738$2,362$1,322$2,444$1,9938
Toyota Tacoma$41,350$1,335$3,702$2,873$1,430$2,873$2,44316
GMC Canyon$45,603$1,236$3,151$2,568$1,437$2,651$2,20914
Full-size        
Dodge Ram 1500 Classic$44,745$1,184$2,969$3,420$1,662$2,405$2,32815
Chevy Silverado 1500$45,003$1,134$2,798$2,336$1,353$2,318$1,9887
GMC Sierra 1500$45,903$1,128$2,940$2,358$1,326$2,445$2,03910
Ford F-150$46,055$1,123$2,622$2,309$1,230$2,147$1,8864
Full-size w/crew cab4        
Toyota Tundra$53,790$1,191$2,799$2,499$1,326$2,288$2,0219
Heavy-duty        
Chevy Silverado 2500$54,203$993$2,361$2,163$1,152$1,739$1,6822
GMC Sierra 2500$56,003$988$2,126$2,072$1,142$1,695$1,6051
Ram 2500$57,295$1,372$2,888$2,457$1,356$2,366$2,08812
Ford F-250$58,479$1,112$2,449$2,160$1,300$2,140$1,8323
For comparison        
Toyota RAV4$32,590$1,277$3,084$2,654$1,449$2,550$2,203NA
Honda Civic$26,835$1,686$4,189$3,638$1,615$3,518$2,929NA

Does the price of the truck make a difference in premiums?

Not as much as you might think. The most expensive trucks on the list are the heavy-duty trucks, most of which had the lowest premiums of all. The biggest influence on premiums is how likely passengers are to be injured, not the value of the vehicle. For example, the Ford F-150 King Ranch5 is 92% more expensive than the F-150 XL, but premiums for the King Ranch are only 26% higher.

How much difference do insurance premiums make?

Using payment calculators on the automakers’ websites, we estimated monthly payments on all of the midsize trucks and the GMC Sierra 2500. All of the monthly payments below are based on an 84-month term and a $5,000 trade in.

Monthly cost of ownership
 MSRPMonthly payment6Annual premiumMonthly premium
Chevy Colorado$34,303$455$2,183$182
Ford Ranger$38,480$556$1,984$165
Nissan Frontier$40,998$545$1,993$166
Toyota Tacoma$41,350$588$2,443$204
GMC Canyon$45,603$622$2,209$184
GMC Sierra 2500$56,003$868$1,605$134

The difference in the monthly payment from the Colorado to the Sierra 2500 is $423 a month, and you would only save $48 a month on your premiums, so clearly insurance costs won’t be a deciding factor in moving up to a bigger truck. But if you’re trying to choose between a Toyota Tacoma and a GMC Canyon (both midsize trucks), the $20 monthly savings in insurance will offset the extra $34 a month you’ll pay to finance the Canyon. And if you’re the type of driver that likes to keep your truck long after it’s paid for, you’ll continue to save on premiums.

Get an insurance quote on any truck

When you’re shopping for a new truck, it’s a good idea to consider the total cost of ownership. That includes monthly payments, fuel, maintenance, and of course insurance. Before you buy or lease that new truck, even if you’re sitting at the dealership, give us a call for a quick, no-obligation quote on whichever vehicles you’re considering. Our insurance brokers will make sure you have all the information you need to make the best decision.


1 Estimated based on quotes for five sample driver profiles

2 Gender X or non-binary means a driver identifies as neither male nor female.

3 MSRP and monthly payments do not include HST.

4 Insurance companies generally don’t rate a vehicle differently based on the trim or size of the cab, so rates for the Dodge Ram and Dodge Ram Classic with crew cab are the same as for a Dodge Ram with regular cab. Likewise for the Chevy Silverado.

5 All of the trucks on the list come in a number of different configurations or “trims”. Although the F-150 XL starts around $46,000, the F-150 King Ranch starts around $90,000.

6 Interest rates vary for different manufacturers from 4.9% to 7.99%.

Feature photo by Universal

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