7 Surprising Facts That Will Increase Your Car Insurance Costs

A driver who has never had a vehicle stolen and has never made a claim is already paying about $130 a year in Ontario toward auto theft, and the figure has risen because the crime rate has. Ontario regulation bars credit history and occupation from an auto rate sheet by name, and the list of personal facts an insurer in the province may not look at when it prices a policy is longer than those two items.

Auto Theft Raises Premiums for Drivers Who Never Claim

Theft is priced into an Ontario auto policy through comprehensive coverage. By 2023 stolen-vehicle claims in the province had passed $1 billion for the first time, up from $160 million in 2018 and $700 million in 2022. Every one of those claims was paid out of premiums collected across an insurer’s whole book, including the premiums of drivers who never made one.

The crime has since eased faster than the price of it. Auto theft across Canada fell 18% in 2025 against the year before, with Ontario down 22%.

An insurer books the losses and demonstrates them to the regulator before a rate change. The resulting change reaches a renewal notice a year or two after the claims behind it.

Why a 2024 Truck Costs More to Insure Than a 2018 One

Because a newer vehicle arrives with better locks and an immobilizer the older one never had, most drivers expect it to be the cheaper of the two to insure. The newer one is the one being stolen. Thieves work from resale value and from how easily a vehicle can be shipped abroad, both criteria pointing at recent model years.

Some insurers apply a named high-theft surcharge on top of the base premium for models on their internal lists. One raised its surcharge from $500 to $1,500 in 2024. Those lists are built from numbers like Ontario’s 2023 theft rate for the 2022 Range Rover, where one vehicle in every 14 in the province was stolen.

Because each insurer builds its own high-theft list and updates it on its own schedule, a model surcharged at one company draws nothing at another.

Credit Score and Occupation in Ontario Auto Rating

Most of the personal facts a driver expects to be judged on when a quote is put together are on that list. The prohibition covers the pricing stage and the point of issuing or renewing the policy alike. Regulation 664 sets out, item by item, the elements that no risk classification system for private passenger automobile insurance in the province may use:

the level of income
employment history
occupation, profession or employment circumstances
credit history and credit rating
possession of a credit card
bankruptcy history
home ownership
net worth
indebtedness

Where Credit Scoring Is Allowed in Canada

Ontario is one of only two provinces in the country that ban credit scoring in private auto insurance outright. Newfoundland and Labrador is the other. Quebec permits credit scoring in the private auto market with the applicant’s consent, as do New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A driver in one of those provinces with a thin or damaged credit file is quoted a higher premium than the same driver with a clean file, on an identical driving record and an identical vehicle.

Home insurance in Ontario may be credit-scored with the customer’s consent, because the Ontario prohibition is specific to automobile insurance. The insurer that scores a household’s credit for the home policy prices that household’s auto policy without ever looking at it.

Occupation and the Group Plan Exception

Occupation is priced in any way, by a route the regulation permits. Membership in an organized group is allowed as a rating element where the group has at least 100 non-associate members and a group marketing plan is in place.

Trade unions and professional associations qualify. So do employee groups and certain non-profits. An organization formed mainly to buy or provide goods and services does not count as a non-profit entity for this purpose.

The occupation item on the prohibited list carves out commercial and public vehicles, plus vehicles used in the course of carrying on a business, and that carve-out reaches no other item on the list.

An Ontario insurer may not charge a bartender and an engineer different rates for the job itself. The engineers’ association can negotiate a group rate for its members. A driver who belongs to no qualifying group is quoted the undiscounted price, the higher of the two numbers. Where a group marketing plan ends, or a person stops being a member, the insurer cannot reclassify them before the next renewal date and cannot terminate the policy because the plan ended.

What Counts as a Coverage Lapse in Ontario

The ordinary version of a lapse is a car parked for a season with the policy allowed to end, and Ontario does not let an insurer charge for that on its own. A gap shortens the record the next insurer is allowed to credit.

When a Coverage Lapse Can Be Charged For

Regulation 664 permits a lapse to be used in four situations only:

driving uninsured during the gap
a policy terminated for failure to pay premiums
a lapse that followed a licence suspension for a driving conviction
an accident or conviction that went undisclosed, where disclosure would likely have meant a higher premium

An insurer may not consider how many years a person has been continuously insured, nor how long a policy has been in force. What it may consider is how long the person has been licensed, along with time spent as a named insured or a listed driver.

The cost of a gap shows up in that last permitted item. A driver returning after four years off the named-insured record is priced with less licensed history to credit, at no charge for the absence itself.

How to Store a Car Without Creating a Gap

Ontario has an endorsement built for exactly this. OPCF 16 suspends the coverages tied to using the vehicle and leaves comprehensive in force. A stored car keeps its cover against fire and theft.

The vehicle cannot be operated at all during the suspension. It cannot be warmed up on a cold morning or backed out of a garage, because liability and accident benefits are suspended for the duration. A private garage or enclosed storage qualifies, as does a driveway, as long as the car does not move.

OPCF 17 reinstates the coverage when the car goes back on the road. Insurers commonly require the suspension to run at least 45 days before the premium refund is worth processing.

How Much Paying Monthly Adds in Ontario

The driver in the tightest position is the one asked for a full year’s premium in a single payment. The annual premium that calculating car insurance arrives at is only the starting figure, and an instalment charge is added on top of it. An insurer is not required to offer monthly instalments to an applicant who has had more than one auto policy terminated for non-payment in the previous 36 months. That termination is one of the four lapses the next insurer is allowed to charge for.

For everyone else, Ontario caps what an insurer may charge for paying in instalments. On a policy of twelve months or more entered into or renewed since June 1, 2016, the maximum is 1.3% of the total premium, with lower caps on shorter terms.

Marital Status and Car Insurance Rates in Canada

Two drivers with identical records and identical cars can be quoted differently on the strength of a marriage certificate. Marital status never appears on Ontario’s list of prohibited factors, which leaves it legal to rate on. Canadian insurers commonly do. Married drivers skew older and more experienced, and couples more often share a vehicle. The size of that gap has never been documented in a dated Canadian source. At the companies applying the adjustment, an unmarried driver is quoted the higher of the two numbers.

Does the Colour of Your Car Affect Insurance?

Colour is not a rating factor anywhere in Canada, appearing nowhere in Ontario’s regulation. Most insurers never ask for it.

Drivers who expect a red car to cost more are picking up something real. Red is a disproportionately common colour on sports cars, and sports cars are expensive to repair and attractive to thieves.

A red hatchback in a driveway costs what a silver one costs. Move that vehicle to a newer model year or onto an insurer’s high-theft list. The premium moves for reasons the paint has nothing to do with.

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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($75) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($400/$1200) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $400/$1200 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.