RATESDOTCA Reveals the Most Expensive Ontario Cities for Home Insurance

TORONTO, Sept. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new report from RATESDOTCA found that Ontarians residing in suburban neighbourhoods such as Lasalle in Windsor, are paying more than double the home insurance premium in comparison to affluent GTA neighbourhoods such as Woodbridge. Most of the top 10 least expensive places in Ontario for home insurance are well-to-do Toronto suburbs.

Further, Northern Ontario cities such as Timmins, Thunder Bay, and Elliot Lake occupy half of the top-10 list of most expensive cities for home insurance premiums.

“Many different factors influence the cost of insurance premiums. Unlike auto insurance, the home insurance market is unregulated. Things like credit scores and unemployment rates could be used to determine the cost of insuring a homeowner, which impacts rates,” says John Shmuel, Managing Editor, RATESDOTCA. “Other factors include crime rates and the number of claims in a particular area.”

Compiled in July 2021 using the data from RATESDOTCA’s interactive online map tool, Home Insuramap, the table below captures the city alongside estimated annual premiums paid by Ontarian homeowners.

TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE*

	City	Closest urban area	Estimated Annual Premium ($)
1	Lasalle	Windsor (Essex)	2,098
2	Windsor	Windsor	2,072
3	Kingsville	Windsor (Essex)	1,889
4	Amherstburg	Windsor (Essex)	1,864
5	Thunder Bay	Thunder Bay	1,857
6	Timmins	Timmins	1,821
7	Lively (Walden)	Sudbury	1,761
8	Essex	Windsor (Essex)	1,760
9	Garson	Sudbury	1,747
10	Elliot Lake	Sudbury	1,747

According to RATESDOTCA’s data, the provincial average cost for home insurance premiums is $1,342 per year.

Across the province, there is an approximately $1,145 difference in home insurance between the most expensive, Lasalle at $2,098 a year, and the least expensive city, Woodbridge at $953 a year.

From the top 10 least expensive list, GTA suburbs Woodbridge ($953) and Richmond Hill ($982) topped the list with the cheapest insurance premiums, with Ajax ($1,027) and Kleinburg ($1,031) taking the 9^th and 10^th spots, respectively.

TOP 10 LEAST EXPENSIVE*

	City	Location	Estimated Annual Premium ($)
1	Woodbridge	GTA	953
2	Stratford	Kitchener-Waterloo	979
3	Richmond Hill	GTA	982
4	Oakville	GTA	1,011
5	Aurora	GTA	1,015
6	Holland Landing	GTA (York)	1,020
7	Simcoe	Kitchener-Waterloo	1,022
8	Milton	GTA	1,024
9	Ajax	GTA	1,027
10	Kleinburg	GTA (Vaughan)	1,031

Shmuel offers the following tips for homeowners to lower insurance costs:

Be selective on what you claim. Avoid making claims for small things as that would impact your claims history, which affects rates.
Bundle with your auto insurance policy. Insurance providers offer bundle discounts of up to 15 per cent if home and auto policies are purchased together.
Maintain a good credit score or find a home insurance provider who does not use credit score to determine premiums.
Install home monitoring systems. Decrease the risk of damage to your home and theft and avoid making unnecessary claims.
Compare home insurance rates. Find the policy and rate that best suit your situation.

^{*Only cities with a minimum population of 10,000 were included in this report}

About Home Insuramap

RATESDOTCA’s Home Insuramap is an interactive online map which allows Ontario residents to see how their home, condo or tenant insurance rates compare to other parts of their city or province.

The estimated home insurance premiums are based on a 45-year-old homeowner, who has been insured for at least 10 years and lives in a 2,500 sq ft house with brick veneer, wood frame construction, natural gas heat, and a roof that is 10-15 years old.

The estimated condo insurance rates are based on a 1 bedroom plus den, 800-1,000 sq ft condo in a high-rise, fire resistance type building constructed after 2007, with $40,000 worth of contents.

The estimated tenant insurance premiums were based on a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,000 sq ft apartment with $35,000 worth of contents and $1m liability.

About RATESDOTCA

RATESDOTCA is Canada's leading rate comparison website that offers a quick and simple digital experience to compare the widest selection of insurance and money products in the market. More than 10 million Canadians rely on RATESDOTCA every year to get a better rate on car, home, and travel insurance, mortgages, and credit cards. RATESDOTCA aims to help Canadians make better insurance and money decisions so they can save time and money to spend on what really matters to them. @RATESDOTCA

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SOURCE RATESDOTCA

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Karishma Singh, Proof Strategies Inc. for RATESDOTCA, ksingh@getproof.com, (647) 535-4876; Shania Rohr, Proof Strategies Inc. for RATESDOTCA, srohr@getproof.com, (905) 699-2251.