Canadian News and Stats

Best car insurance in Ontario, 2026

Ontario drivers pay more for car insurance than anyone else in Canada. We went through every rate change the regulator approved since January 2025, the latest customer rankings, each insurer's financial strength and what Ontario drivers say happened when they made a claim.

By Canadian News and Stats insurance desk Published Updated 27 sources

Our picks

No insurer is cheapest for every driver. Your price depends on your postal code, car, record and years insured, and each insurer weighs those things its own way. These picks rest on things you can check: customer rankings, rate filings and ratings agencies. Get at least three quotes before you switch.

  1. Best overall

    Intact Insurance

    Intact is the only insurer that placed in the top three for both overall satisfaction and claims in each of the last two Rates.ca customer studies.9,10 AM Best rates its financial strength A+,13 and its 2026 rate filing was a small cut.1 You buy it through a broker. Intact's direct, buy-online brand is belairdirect.

    A+AM Best rating, affirmed May 2026
  2. Highest rated by its customers

    CAA Insurance

    CAA came first overall in the Rates.ca study for the third year in a row. It also ranked first for trust, value and clear communication.9 You don't need a CAA membership to buy, but members get a discount of up to 20% (5% on the basic Everyday plan).23 Its two 2026 filings barely moved prices.1

    #1Rates.ca best overall, 3 years running
  3. Best claims experience

    Zenith (Northbridge)

    Customers ranked Northbridge's personal insurer, Zenith, first for claims in both the 2025 and 2026 Rates.ca studies.9,10 It's small, with under 1% of Ontario's market, and sells only through independent brokers.25 Ask a broker for a Zenith quote by name.

    #1Rates.ca claims, 2025 and 2026
  4. Biggest 2026 rate cut

    The Personal (Desjardins)

    The Ontario regulator, FSRA, approved a 5.3% cut for The Personal on renewals from Nov. 28, 2026. That was the largest cut granted to any big Ontario insurer this year.1 The Personal sells through group plans for employers, unions, alumni and professional associations,24 so check whether your workplace or association has one.

    −5.30%FSRA-approved, renewals from Nov. 28
  5. Big cut, with an agent

    Co-operators

    Co-operators won approval for a 3.73% cut on renewals from Sept. 11, 2026.1 It holds an A rating from AM Best.17 Its filings in 2025 added up to about 11.9%, so the cut gives back only part of last year's increases.

    −3.73%FSRA-approved, renewals from Sept. 11

How the big insurers compare

The table covers Ontario's nine biggest car insurance groups. Together they wrote about 89% of the province's private auto premiums in 2024.1 The "since Jan. 2025" column compounds every rate change FSRA approved for each company's main Ontario entity since January 2025. This is our own calculation. Use it to see which way prices have moved, not to predict your renewal.

Insurer groupMarket share2026 approved changeSince Jan. 2025Rates.ca 2026Financial strength
Intactincl. belairdirect18.7%−0.15%Intact, from June 15+2.8%belairdirect +4.8%#2 overall, #2 claims, #2 trustAM Best A+13
DesjardinsCertas, The Personal12.7%−2.00% / −5.30%from Nov. 28−3.2% / −6.3%Not in top threeNo public P&C rating found
Avivaincl. RBC Insurance12.7%−1.64%RBC-branded, from Sept. 1+7.2%Aviva-branded +8.1%#3 claimsS&P AA−14
TD Insurance11.9%+0.57%from May 25+6.3%Not in top threeNo public rating found
Co-operators8.2%−3.73%from Sept. 11+7.7%Not in top threeAM Best A17
Allstateincl. Pembridge7.6%−1.64%from Sept. 15−2.8%Not in top threeNo public rating found
DefinityEconomical, Sonnet, Travelers7.5%10.0% with Travelers−1.31%from Sept. 1+2.4%Sonnet +3.8%Economical #2 value, #3 trust, #3 communicationAM Best A15
CAA6.9%−0.02%, −0.12%from July 1 and Dec. 1+3.9%#1 overall, trust, value, communicationNo current public rating found
Wawanesa2.6%−1.21%, −0.23%from May 1 and Sept. 1+8.8%Not in top threeAM Best A18

Market share is each group's 2024 share of Ontario private passenger auto premiums, the latest year FSRA publishes. Rates.ca published only the top three in each category, and its survey reached customers of five brokerages, so insurers that sell mainly direct or through their own agents are thinly represented. Sources: FSRA rate approvals database1, Rates.ca/Pollara9, rating agencies as cited.

Who is cutting rates in 2026

In 2025 FSRA approved big increases for several large insurers: TD's three companies got about 7% in May 2025, Wawanesa 11.25% in January 2025 and Aviva 5.02% in March 2025.1 In 2026 most of the big groups have filed small cuts.

2026 approved rate changes, largest Ontario insurers

Most recent FSRA approval in 2026 for each company's main Ontario entity. Applies at renewal from the date shown.

  • The PersonalDesjardins · Nov. 28−5.30%
  • Co-operatorsSept. 11−3.73%
  • CertasDesjardins · Nov. 28−2.00%
  • RBC InsuranceAviva General · Sept. 1−1.64%
  • AllstateSept. 15−1.64%
  • PembridgeAllstate · Sept. 15−1.45%
  • DefinityEconomical · Sept. 1−1.31%
  • WawanesaMay 1−1.21%
  • IntactJune 15−0.15%
  • CAADec. 1−0.12%
  • TD InsuranceSecurity National · May 25+0.57%
  • EchelonCAA group · Sept. 1+5.54%
−6%0+6%

An approved change is an average across an insurer's customers. Your own renewal can move more or less, or the other way, depending on your car, your claims and where you live. FSRA tells consumers to use its database "as a signal of a potential rate change coming their way".2

Three large brands had no approved change in 2026 as of Oct. 6: belairdirect (last change +1.41%, approved Oct. 2, 2025), Aviva-branded policies (last increase +1.49%, approved July 15, 2025) and Sonnet (last change −1.08%, approved Aug. 8, 2025).1

Prices are still high. FSRA puts the average Ontario premium at $2,164 a year as of October 2025, up from $2,006 a year earlier. GTA drivers average $2,810.3 Statistics Canada found Ontario had the highest average premium of any province at the end of 2024.4

What Ontario drivers report

We collected 33 Reddit threads posted between May 14, 2025 and Oct. 2, 2026 in r/PersonalFinanceCanada, r/ontario and r/askTO, 1,449 comments in all, and read the first-hand accounts that named an insurer. These are stories, not a survey. People post when something goes wrong, and many don't say which province they live in, so we note where a post came from an Ontario thread. Four problems came up most often.

The renewal jump, with no claim

The most common complaint was a higher renewal price on a clean record. FSRA approved changes for belairdirect that add up to about 4.8% since January 2025.1 In a January 2026 thread, one customer said friends and family saw belairdirect renewals rise by $600 to $2,000 a year. One renewal can move far more than that average.

“Renewal quote just came in at $485/month for auto alone (up from $391).”
belairdirect customer, Ontario
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, May 11, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“Every year, when it’s time for my renewal, I get quotes from other companies and before signing, I call Belair to tell them the offers I got… they always match or beat the offers.”
belairdirect customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, Jan. 27, 2026 · Read on Reddit

The fix most commenters described was switching. We counted 36 comments where someone said which insurer they had moved their car insurance to. Eighteen named CAA, and most of those were leaving TD. Read that with care. Two of the threads were TD complaint threads where CAA was the top suggestion, and other commenters said CAA quoted them more than they already paid, or that CAA raised their premium 20% three years in a row.

Write-off offers are where claim fights start

When an insurer declares a car a total loss, it pays what it says the car was worth. Several posters said the first offer came in well under what similar cars sell for. In a June 2026 thread, an owner said another insurer valued a 2016 Prius c at $13,000 while TD offered about $9,000. A July 2025 post said Desjardins offered about 35% below market value after a rear-end crash.

“I had to hire a private appraiser and I ended up getting 10k more than the first offer with taxes. But appraiser ended up costing me around 750$.”
Intact customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, June 3, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“CAA was really good for me after a $24000 smashed minivan repair. I got rear ended… Insurance went up $2 a year the following year.”
CAA customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, Jan. 27, 2026 · Read on Reddit

You don't have to take the first number. The standard Ontario auto policy says that if you disagree with the insurer over your car's value, you can ask for an appraisal under the Insurance Act. You and the insurer each appoint an appraiser, and an umpire settles what they can't agree on.27 Ask for the valuation report and check each comparable car in it.

Driving apps: a discount with strings

Telematics apps can cut a premium. Posters also described scores that shifted without warning. One TD customer said that after TD changed its app's software, the same driving put them on the edge of a penalty instead of a discount.

“Even If I saved 15%, that’d be $~25/month. Which is only 25 minutes of my wage… and I had spent way more time than that trying to figure how the app was working.”
belairdirect automerit user, Ontario
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, June 14, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“[I] got a permanent 24% discount on my premium that never goes away as long as I dont let my insurance lap[se].”
belairdirect customer, Ontario thread
r/ontario, March 1, 2026 · Read on Reddit

An Oct. 2, 2026 post said Sonnet raised a quote by 30% after a driver didn't enrol in its Sonnet Shift app, which had come with a 10% discount. We could not check that account. Before you sign up for any app discount, ask what your price becomes if you leave the program.

Claims: the adjuster matters as much as the brand

We found good and bad claim stories for almost every insurer, sometimes in the same thread.

“I’m with CAA and had 3 claims with them. Terrific customer service and made the process as seamless and stress-free as possible.”
CAA customer, Toronto thread
r/askTO, June 20, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“I had to escalate to the ombudsman because the adjuster they contracted wouldn’t pull any police or accident reports.”
Aviva customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, Jan. 27, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“They arranged everything VERY quickly… that was within 30 mins.”
former Sonnet customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, April 30, 2026 · Read on Reddit
“My claim adjuster went on vacation right off the bat, and has been slow to respond since he’s been back.”
Sonnet customer, province not stated
r/PersonalFinanceCanada, Sept. 15, 2026 · Read on Reddit

A commenter whose wife used to work in insurance summed it up in an Ontario thread: claims adjusters are “hit or miss no matter what company you go with.”

What changed on July 1, 2026

Ontario rewrote the accident benefits part of every car policy. Since July 1, only three benefits are mandatory: medical, rehabilitation and attendant care.5,6 Insurers must still offer the rest, but you can now choose not to buy them:

  • income replacement and non-earner benefits
  • caregiver, housekeeping and home maintenance benefits
  • lost educational expenses and visitor expenses
  • death and funeral benefits, and damage to personal items such as glasses or hearing aids

Your renewal keeps your current coverage unless you agree in writing to drop part of it.7 Since July 1, these optional benefits cover only you, your spouse, your dependants and drivers listed on your policy. That change applies to every policy, whatever your renewal date.7 Your car insurance also now pays first for medical and rehab costs after a crash, except medication, so your workplace health plan no longer goes first.7

Before you drop income replacement

If a crash kept you off work for months, income replacement is the benefit that pays you. Turning it down lowers your premium, but FSRA has not said by how much.7 Check what your employer's disability coverage pays first, and ask your insurer for the price with and without it.

How to pay less in Ontario

  • Get quotes a month before renewal. FSRA's advice is blunt: "Do not assume companies charge the same price for the same benefits."8 Get quotes from a broker and from at least one direct insurer such as belairdirect, TD or Sonnet. Those three sell only direct, so a broker can't quote them for you.
  • Ask for every discount you qualify for. All Ontario insurers must offer a winter tire discount. FSRA lists typical ranges of 5 to 15% for multi-policy, 5 to 15% for multi-vehicle and 5 to 20% for renewal or loyalty discounts. Graduated licence holders can get 10% off when they move to G2 and again at G if they have no convictions or at-fault claims.8
  • Your credit score is not a factor. Ontario bans insurers from using credit history or credit ratings to price car insurance.19
  • Consider a driving app. belairdirect gives new customers a sign-up discount on its automerit app, with savings of up to 25% for safe driving.26 Read the terms first: FSRA approves these programs one by one, and some insurers can raise your price for risky driving.20
  • Check the car before you buy it. High-theft models cost far more to insure in the GTA. A Pickering driver posted in February 2026 that her CAA quote went from $115 to $325 a month when she traded a 2022 Subaru Crosstrek for a 2025 Ram 1500. Get a quote on the exact model and year before you sign.

Before you trust a "best insurer" ranking

Some Canadian comparison sites still rank insurers with J.D. Power scores. J.D. Power's last Canadian auto insurance satisfaction study came out in February 2019, from a survey fielded in late 2018.11 Its insurance study list now covers the U.S. only.12 A "2026" ranking built on those scores uses seven-year-old data.

The Rates.ca study we cite is the largest current survey of Ontario drivers, with 14,676 responses. It has two limits you should know. Rates.ca sells insurance quotes, and the study only surveyed customers of five brokerages. Insurers that sell mainly direct or through their own agents, such as TD, belairdirect and Sonnet, are unlikely to be well represented in that sample.9

Treat any "complaints per insurer" table with suspicion too. The industry ombudsman, the General Insurance OmbudService, reports complaints by province and product but not by company.21 FSRA reports complaints by sector only.22 In 2024-25 the GIO opened 7,330 files nationally, 4,701 of them from Ontario, and claims were the most common subject.21

If your insurer says no

Ask for a final position letter, then take it to the General Insurance OmbudService, which is free (1-877-225-0446). Its informal conciliation stage has to finish within 45 days.21 Disputes over accident benefits go to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and the July changes did not alter your right to appeal there.16

Common questions

Who is the cheapest car insurer in Ontario?

No company is cheapest for everyone. Insurers file their own rating rules with FSRA, so one driver's cheapest quote can be another's most expensive. In 2026, Desjardins (Certas, The Personal), Co-operators, Allstate and RBC-branded Aviva policies won the biggest approved cuts among large insurers.1

Does my credit score affect my car insurance in Ontario?

No. FSRA prohibits insurers from using credit history or credit ratings to set auto premiums.19

Do I need a CAA membership to get CAA car insurance?

No. CAA sells auto insurance to non-members, but members in good standing can save up to 20%. Everyday members save up to 5%.23

Is income replacement still included in Ontario car insurance?

Not automatically for new policies. Since July 1, 2026, income replacement is an optional benefit. Existing policies renew with the same coverage unless you agree in writing to drop it.7

What is the average car insurance premium in Ontario?

$2,164 a year as of October 2025, according to FSRA. Drivers in the GTA averaged $2,810, other urban drivers $2,076 and rural drivers $1,740.3

How we did this

We started with primary sources. We downloaded all 156 private passenger auto rate approvals in FSRA's database from Jan. 1, 2025, to Oct. 6, 2026, plus each insurer's 2024 market share.1 We added current financial strength ratings from AM Best, S&P and Fitch, and the 2025 and 2026 Rates.ca/Pollara customer studies, the only recent surveys that rank Ontario insurers by name.

Then we read what drivers wrote. We collected 33 Reddit threads and 1,449 comments about Ontario car insurance posted from May 14, 2025 to Oct. 2, 2026, found by searching r/PersonalFinanceCanada, r/ontario and r/askTO for insurer names and claim topics, and read the first-hand accounts that named an insurer. We quote people with a link so you can read the whole thread, and we do not publish usernames. These posts are anecdotes, not a survey. We use them to show what can go wrong and what to ask, not to score insurers. We also searched X for Ontario insurance posts. Most were about premiums and politics in general, so we did not quote them.

No insurer paid for a placement on this page, and it has no affiliate links. We will update it when FSRA approves new rates or a new customer study comes out, and each change will go in the log below.

The 33 Reddit threads we read

Sources

Show all 27 sourcesHide sources
  1. FSRA. "Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Rate Approvals database: all approvals Jan. 1, 2025 to Oct. 6, 2026, and 2024 market share by insurer." Data retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. autorateapprovals.fsrao.ca
  2. FSRA. "Auto insurance rate approvals." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.fsrao.ca/consumers/auto-insurance/understanding-auto-insurance-rates/auto-insurance-rate-approvals
  3. FSRA. "Your average premium." Data as of October 2025. www.fsrao.ca/consumers/auto-insurance/understanding-auto-insurance-rates/your-average-premium
  4. Statistics Canada. "Impacts of rising costs and claims on personal automobile insurance profitability and consumers in Canada." April 2, 2025. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2025003-eng.htm
  5. FSRA. "Changes in Statutory Accident Benefits coverage in Ontario on July 1, 2026." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.fsrao.ca/industry/auto-insurance/changes-statutory-accident-benefits-coverage-ontario-july-1-2026
  6. Government of Ontario. "O. Reg. 383/24, amending O. Reg. 34/10 (Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule)." Filed Oct. 11, 2024. www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r24383
  7. FSRA. "Auto reform, accident benefits optionality: customer Q&A." January 2026. www.fsrao.ca/sites/default/files/2026-01/Auto%20Reform%20SABS%20Opt%20-%20Customer%20Q&A%20EN.docx
  8. FSRA. "How to save on auto insurance." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.fsrao.ca/consumers/auto-insurance/purchasing-your-policy/how-save-auto-insurance
  9. Rates.ca / Pollara Strategic Insights. "Rates.ca Annual Best Auto Insurance Study 2026 (n=14,676 Ontario customers of five brokerages, fielded Aug. 25 to Sept. 23, 2025)." Jan. 27, 2026. insurance-canada.ca/2026/02/09/rates-auto-study-customers-satisfied-claims-service
  10. RATESDOTCA / Pollara. "Annual Best Auto Insurance Study (Ontario and Alberta, fielded fall 2024)." Jan. 22, 2025. www.newswire.ca/news-releases/despite-increasing-auto-insurance-premiums-and-industry-challenges-consumers-still-trust-their-insurers-ratesdotca-annual-best-auto-insurance-study-875182444.html
  11. J.D. Power. "2019 Canada Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study." Feb. 14, 2019. www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2019-canada-auto-insurance-satisfaction-study
  12. J.D. Power. "Insurance industry studies." Viewed Oct. 6, 2026. www.jdpower.com/business/insurance
  13. AM Best. "AM Best affirms credit ratings of Intact Financial Corporation and its core subsidiaries." May 21, 2026. news.ambest.com/NewsContent.aspx?refnum=274613&altsrc=23
  14. Aviva plc. "Credit ratings and debt (Aviva Insurance Company of Canada; Aviva General Insurance Company)." As at July 20, 2026. www.aviva.com/investors/institutional-investors-overview/credit-ratings-and-debt
  15. AM Best. "Rating actions on Travelers Insurance Company of Canada and Dominion; affirms Definity Insurance Company." Feb. 24, 2026. news.ambest.com/pr/PressContent.aspx?altsrc=2&refnum=37062
  16. Tribunals Ontario. "LAT operational update: amendments to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule in effect July 1." June 26, 2026. tribunalsontario.ca/2026/06/26/lat-operational-update-amendments-to-the-statutory-accident-benefits-schedule-in-effect-july-1
  17. Co-operators. "Investor relations: credit ratings." As of June 30, 2026. www.cooperators.ca/en/about-us/corporate-overview/investor-relations
  18. AM Best. "AM Best affirms credit ratings of The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company." April 21, 2026. news.ambest.com/PR/PressContent.aspx?altsrc=2&refnum=37226
  19. FSRA. "Helping consumers get access to auto insurance rates that are fair and reasonable." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.fsrao.ca/announcements/helping-consumers-get-access-auto-insurance-rates-are-fair-and-reasonable
  20. FSRA. "FSRA has removed UBI guidance to allow more competition and innovation in the auto insurance market." Nov. 23, 2020. www.fsrao.ca/announcements/fsra-has-removed-ubi-guidance-allow-more-competition-and-innovation-auto-insurance-market
  21. General Insurance OmbudService. "2024-2025 Annual Report." October 2025. giocanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GIO_Annual_report_2025_EN_Final_updated.pdf
  22. FSRA. "2024-25 Annual Report, Appendix D: complaints received by sector." 2025. www.fsrao.ca/sites/default/files/2026-02/2299%20-%20FSRA%202024-25%20Annual%20Report-rev2.pdf
  23. CAA South Central Ontario. "Auto insurance FAQs (membership and member discount)." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.caasco.com/insurance/resource-centre/faqs/auto
  24. The Personal. "Insurance plans for organizations." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.thepersonal.com/groupinsurance.html
  25. Northbridge Insurance. "Legal (personal insurance sold through independent brokers, insured by Zenith Insurance Company)." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.northbridgeinsurance.ca/legal
  26. belairdirect. "automerit." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.belairdirect.com/en/app/automerit.html
  27. FSRA. "Ontario Automobile Policy (OAP 1), Owner's Policy: appraisal under the Insurance Act, section 128." 2025 edition. www.fsrao.ca/sites/default/files/2025-07/OAP1-2025_FINAL-EN_aoda.pdf

Update log

  • First published. FSRA rate approvals current to Sept. 25, 2026, the latest approval in the database on Oct. 6.