Alberta has highest auto insurance rates in Canada: report
Posted December 12, 2022 8:02 pm.
Last Updated December 14, 2022 8:37 am.
Alberta has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country, according to a report released by Ernst and Young (EY).
The report was commissioned by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC).
There were 30 driver profiles with various ages between 18 and 60, along with different cars. It was determined that Alberta had the majority of the highest rates.
In the report, an 18-year-old student would pay the exact same $1,128 for a 2012 Honda Civic LX in Saskatoon, while the same male driver would pay $6,140, and a woman would pay $4,928.
A woman in her 30s would pay $5,042 for an insurance premium in Calgary driving a 2019 Ford F350 SD XLT, while the same woman would pay $1,412.
Of the 30 profiles, Alberta has the highest for 24 of them, 11 for Edmonton, 10 for Calgary, and the remainder for Red Deer.
In comparison, B.C. has some of the cheapest rates in the country.
Read More: Alberta auto-insurance companies took in millions during pandemic: report
NDP Finance Critic Shannon Phillips says the prices result from the UCP lifting caps on auto insurance, which have gone up by 30 per cent.
“Albertans are getting gouged as they struggle to keep their car on the road and food on their table in the middle of an affordability crisis. They’re paying thousands of dollars more per year than other provinces for the same level of insurance. This is highway robbery, but rather than addressing it, the UCP is allowing big insurance companies to charge as much as they want,” Phillips said in a statement.
Phillips makes mention of the Superintendent of Insurance Annual Report, where the province picked up a hefty $2.45 billion in premiums that they paid out in claims in 2021.
An estimate from Statistics Canada says this equals $777 per vehicle, which is around 3.15 vehicle registrations in the province.
“These increases need to stop. We need a government that will help Alberta drivers, not their friends in the insurance industry. An NDP government will implement a freeze on insurance rates and provide real relief for Albertans,” said Phillips.
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CityNews reached out to UCP Minister of Finance Travis Toews for comment.
