Revealed – Ontario’s most and least expensive cities for home insurance

Residents in Ontario’s suburban areas are paying more than twice as much for home insurance as their counterparts in affluent neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area, a new report by RATESDOTCA has revealed.

The insurance comparison website analyzed July data gathered using its interactive online Home Insuramap tool and found an approximately $1,145 difference between the premiums paid by residents in Lasalle – the suburb with the highest home insurance – at $2,098 and those living in Woodbridge – the city with the lowest premiums – at $953. The figure represents a 120% difference.

“Many different factors influence the cost of insurance premiums,” said John Shmuel, managing editor at RATESDOTCA. “Things like credit scores and unemployment rates could be used to determine the cost of insuring a homeowner, which impacts rates. Other factors include crime rates and the number of claims in a particular area.”

Shmuel added that, unlike auto insurance, the home insurance market is unregulated.

Read more: Home insurance post-pandemic: What brokers need to know

The average cost for home insurance premiums in Ontario is $1,342 annually, according to RATESDOTCA’s data. The study only included cities with a population of at least 10,000.

Apart from Lasalle, Windsor, Kingsville, Amherstburg, and Thunder Bay registered the most expensive home insurance. On the other end of the spectrum, Aurora, Oakville, Richmond Hill, and Stratford joined Woodridge as the Ontario cities with the lowest premiums.

The tables below reveal the top 10 most and least expensive neighbourhoods in Ontario for home insurance based on data gathered by RATESDOTCA.

Top 10 most expensive neighbourhoods for home insurance

_{Source: RATESDOTCA}

Top 10 least expensive neighbourhoods for home insurance

_{Source: RATESDOTCA}

Shmuel also shared the following tips to help homeowners to lower their insurance costs:

• Be selective on what you claim. Avoid making claims for small things as that will impact your claims history, which affects rates.
• Bundle home insurance with auto insurance policy. Insurance providers offer bundle discounts of up to 15% 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.