Car insurance in Quebec: sorting out the truth
Much is said about car insurance in Quebec. Let's sort out the truth by looking at the facts.
In Quebec, car insurance is expensive
The average cost of car insurance in Quebec in 2019 was $798 (private and public insurance).1 This represents the lowest premium in the country. By comparison, the cost of car insurance was $1,634 in Ontario and $942 in New Brunswick for the same year.
1 Premium for property damage (private insurer) and bodily injury (SAAQ)
It's just a fender bender; it's easy to repair
In 2020, the average cost insurers paid to repair a vehicle after a collision was $5,400. Whether it's a minor fender bender or a major collision, the increasingly sophisticated technology in vehicles comes at a cost and requires experienced repairers.
Car insurers make good money
From 2015 to 2019, the claims and operating expenses that auto insurers paid exceeded their customer premium income and investment income. For every dollar of premium charged to customers in 2019, insurers paid $0.74 in compensation to repair or replace vehicles and $0.30 in wages and other administrative costs.
We pay for all bad drivers!
This is partly true. The average cost of car insurance in Quebec is $732. The average cost to repair damage from a collision is $5,400. Do the math: To cover the cost of repairs, insurers need the income from the premiums paid by six customers.
That's how insurance works. The compensation paid to a driver after an accident is drawn from the premiums paid by all of a company's policyholders.
Shopping around? That's useless!
And yet, doing so could reap surprising results. It's worth taking the time to shop around. Depending on your profile and the vehicle you want to insure, you may get a better premium.
auto insurance
myth
