Car insurance is expensive everywhere for some, the burden is a little bit lighter in a few places throughout BC–including Nanaimo.
HelloSafe recently published a forecast for what median car insurance premiums across Canada will be in 2023.
In this report, BC landed right in the middle zone. It isn’t the most expensive province on average but it also is not the cheapest place to drive a vehicle.
British Columbians pay an average of $1,775 per year across the province, while Albertans pay the most on average at an estimated $3,151 per year. The cheapest insurance cost goes to Quebec, whose median cost for car insurance is $1,112 per year.
In Edmonton and Calgary specifically, premiums on insurance are especially high. Edmontonians pay an average of $3,150 while Calgarians pay an average of $3,182 per year.
Meanwhile in BC, things aren’t looking so bleak. Nanaimo is one of the cheapest 10 cities to drive a car, according to HelloSafe. The average insurance premium is $1,264 for the Vancouver Islanders per year.
Kelowna and Prince George also made the cut for the 10 most affordable cities to have a vehicle insured. They pay $1,413 and $1,339 per year respectfully.
When it comes to vehicle insurance, it all comes down to your driver profile and your history.
HelloSafe says the cheapest yearly insurance policy of 2022 was $383 because the driver was a female driver living in Pas, Manitoba who was an employed 51-year-old and had been driving for over 35 years.
The most expensive insurance policy last year belonged to a maritimer at $6,828 per year. This is because their driving profile was a male driver in St. Johns, Newfoundland who was an 18-year-old student and had the status of a stage two learner.
The amount paid across Canada also depends on how long you’ve been driving.
Visit HelloSafe Canada for more tools.
As the above graph shows, drivers of 35 years are in the sweet spot financially while brand new drivers are paying almost five times as much.
Gender also plays a role in insurance policies. The average woman pays $1,935 while the average man pays $1,859 across Canada, according to HelloSafe.
The report in which the figures in this article originated came from data shared in the Canadian Private Passenger Vehicle Insurance Rate Comparisons made for the ICBC. The report was released in October 2022.
HelloSafe used available data on car insurance premiums from 33 Canadian cities located in 9 different provinces. They specifically looked into 27 different profiles of drivers using criteria such as, gender, age, marital and employment status, numbers of years of license, history of claims and convictions, distance of commute, annual kilometers driven and the car type and model.
