Albertans pay some of the highest car insurance rates in the country, according to newly released data. A report conducted by Ernst and Young accounting firm shows Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton on average having the highest rates in the province.
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia commissioned the report, which looked at 30 different customer profiles ranging in age from 18-65 and the different insurance rates that would be offered across nine different provinces. The profiles included a variety of backgrounds including single drivers, married, employed, retired, with two to 49 years of driving experience. The majority had a clean driver’s abstract, while 12 of the profiles reported either an accident, or a minor or major conviction.
The highest insurance rate shown in the report in Alberta is $6,471 — this is for an 18-year-old in Edmonton driving a 2012 Honda Civic. Across the country, the only more expensive rate for a single driver policy is for 18-year-old men and women in St. John’s Newfoundland.
All policies for the profiles in the report have a $2 million limit for third party liability, along with collision and comprehensive coverage with a $500 deductible. The vehicles have winter tires on them and are parked in a garage.
According to the most recent Superintendent of Insurance Annual Report, auto insurance companies in Alberta collected $2.45 billion more than they paid out in claims during 2021. That is equal to $777 for each vehicle registered in the province. Intact Insurance, the largest auto insurance company in the province, made $911 million in premiums in 2021, in comparison to the $467 million paid out in claims.
-With files from Kassandra Patterson
