As we talked about earlier this year (in this post from March 2022), home insurance is on the rise in Ontario. From the uptick in renovations to soaring costs of materials to extreme weather events, there are many factors pushing up the costs to insure a home or property.

Now we’re seeing historic inflation, the rise of interest rates, global supply chain issues and labour shortages pressuring costs even further. Since the fall of 2021, home insurance prices in Ontario have gone up on average around 10% (source: Canadian Underwriter).

So, let’s take a look at which cities have the cheapest home insurance in our province, and which came out on top for prices…

{The source for the following stats is the Canadian Underwriter}

10 cities with the cheapest home insurance in Ontario

1. Ajax
2. Stratford
3. Cambridge
4. Whitby
5. Holland Landing
6. Guelph
7. Waterloo
8. Kitchener
9. Concord
10. Stouffville

10 cities with the most expensive home insurance in Ontario

1. LaSalle
2. Windsor
3. Hearst
4. Foleyet
5. South Porcupine
6. Keewatin
7. Fort Frances
8. Val Caron
9. Elliot Lake
10. Kaspuskasing

What can explain the differences in insurance costs?

While there are many factors that come into play when setting insurance rates, there are a few explanations for what we see in the lists above.

~ Generally speaking, those who live in smaller, rural communities pay more for their property insurance. (We talk about that more here).

~ However, with that said, the Toronto area saw an increase in premiums of around 17%. This can be attributed to inflation, increased competition for contractors and the marked increase in prices and in wages.

~ Climate change and extreme weather events are major factors in rate setting and some of what we see above, particularly LaSalle and Kiwatin, can be attributed to water damage as these areas are known to be high risk for flooding.

With costs rising, it is becoming more important than ever to do your research and comparison shop to get the best home insurance prices possible. Reach out to someone from our team if you’d like to learn more how we can help you get cheaper insurance, or head over here to get a home insurance quote online.

Resource referenced for this post: Where home insurance premiums are trending upwards in 2022 – Canadian Underwriter