Most Canadians are paying higher insurance premiums overall for their home and car, a new report by Rates.ca shows.
Three in four Canadians (75 per cent) say their insurance premiums, for all types of insurance, have gone up in the last two years, the Leger survey conducted for Rates.ca has found.
This figure refers to Canadians who have at least one insurance policy on a home, apartment, condo and/or vehicle.
Canadians over 35 — who are more likely to own a car and home —experienced a higher rate (78 per cent) compared to Canadians aged 18-34 (64 per cent).
Six out of 10 (63 per cent) insured Canadians said they took steps to lower insurance costs, including shopping around (40 per cent), asking for discounts (30 per cent), changing or removing parts of coverage (21 per cent), the report said.
Home insurance costs rose steadily from 2022 to 2025 across six Ontario cities —Toronto, Hamilton, Oshawa, Windsor, London and Ottawa — with the sharpest increases in 2024 before easing off in 2025, it added.
Aside from severe weather events, from fires to floods, home insurance costs were also impacted by construction costs going up because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
A look at local data reveals that car insurance premiums have been rising rapidly, accounting for most household expenditure on insurance.
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Between 2022 and 2025, the average auto premium increased from $3,453 to $3,997 in Toronto, accounting for 70 per cent of all household insurance costs in Canada’s most populous city.
Across six major cities in Ontario, auto insurance consistently makes up the majority of the average household’s insurance cost burden, ranging from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of total premiums.
This is, in part, because repair costs have risen sharply since 2022, owing to labour shortages and parts delays caused by supply chain disruptions.
“If insurance companies have to pay more money than anticipated … premiums will go up,” said Daniel Ivans, Rates.ca insurance expert and licensed insurance broker, who authored the report.
Every stage of a repair, including diagnostics, parts, and labour, costs more than it did just a few years ago, Ivans said.
“As incomes inflate, the cost of living, goods, parts, and labour inflate. Insurance premiums have to match the cost of losses,” he added.
The kind of car you buy can also determine your insurance premium, said Dan Park, CEO of Clutch Canada, a platform that facilitates the sale and purchase of pre-owned vehicles.
If a car is “fancier,” it is not only more likely to be a target for thieves, but also more likely to cost more to repair, Park said.
“We’ve had customers cancel purchases on CR-Vs and Civics specifically because their premiums spiked when they quoted a high-theft model,” he said.
“One customer saw their premium nearly double and walked away entirely.”
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