By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — January 25, 2019 — According to LowestRates.ca auto insurance for Canadians have risen quite a bit in comparison to 2017.
In their Q4 results of 2018, they found that drivers in Alberta saw a 10.05 percent increase and drivers in Atlantic Canada saw a climb of 3.75 percent.
In Ontario, women are paying 4.68 percent more than they did at the end of 2017.
Women in Alberta and Atlantic Canada also saw this climb ranging from a 5 to 11 percent increase.
John Shmuel, managing editor for LowestRates.ca told Collision Repair that there are a couple trends that point to the rise in insurance costs. One of them being the high cost to repair modern vehicles. Newer vehicles nowadays come with more components that could go wrong. For instance, the ADAS sensors placed as a standard in all new vehicles can contribute to a very expensive repair bill.
The second trend that he mentioned was the rise in distracted driving collisions. This is a huge issue so much so that the Financial Services Commission of Ontario has flagged it.
According to Shmuel, on a micro level, the reason why rates have increased in Ontario is due to the increase in fraud. The most harmful fraud that is seen in the province is coming from lawyers and doctors claiming something that isn’t true in order to gain more of a profit. Shumel said it isn’t always these people from these professions doing this but there is a significant amount of this fraud happening to create a problem.
As for 2019, Shmuel says it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which way it will go. Right now it is looking like insurance rates will be continuing on an upward hike, because for all of these problems causing these increases, there isn’t really a simple solution.
LowestRates.ca wants to make sure Canadians are paying the right price for their insurance.
“For drivers, it’s likely no surprise that auto insurance costs continue to increase as rates have been rising steadily for over a year now,” said Justin Thouin, co-founder and CEO of LowestRates.ca. “While rate changes are influenced by a number of external factors, it’s important for drivers to understand that while some insurers are raising rates, others may be lowering theirs. Insurance companies raise rates when their costs rise. And not all companies experience the same costs. That’s why it’s important to compare online to ensure you’re being charged a competitive rate.”
