We all tend to think we're gouged when it comes to car insurance.
But a new study indicates Kelowna has some of the cheapest annual car insurance premiums in the country.
In fact, the 2023 Car Insurance Premiums Barometer, compiled by insurance and financial products comparison website HelloSafe.ca, shows Kelowna to have the 9th lowest car insurance costs in Canada.
What that means is the average annual car insurance premium in Kelowna is $1,413, not as cheap as the $1,171 annual average in The Pas, Manitoba, but certainly a lot less than the priciest city -- Calgary at $3,182.
"We observe very important differences in car insurance premium levels from one Canadian city to another," reads part of the news release issued by HelloSafe.
"Our aim is to decipher certain complex subjects for consumers and to provide everyone with relevant and original data."
Car insurance costs vary widely from province to province and are calculated using a wide array of factors from age, gender, marital and employment status, number of years you've been driving and history of insurance claims and driving convictions to distance of your commute to work, annual kilometres driven and car type and model.
For the barometer, HelloSafe used figures from accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young's Canadian Private Passenger Vehicle Insurance Rate Comparisons report done for the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) and also added in its own methodology to come up with the averages for 33 cities in nine provinces, excluding Quebec.
Averages are just that, averages, and aren't exactly what you pay based on all those factors listed above.
But the averages are good to give a broad idea of how much you're being charged compared to other jurisdictions.
The study also included the two extremes.
An employed, 51-year-old woman living in The Pas who's been driving for 35 years will have the cheapest annual car insurance at $383.
Whereas, an 18-year-old man still in school with a stage 2 learner's drivers license in St. John's will pay the most at $6,828.
It used to be that private car insurance tended to be cheaper than public car insurance, such as the mandatory basic Autoplan provided by provincial crown corporation ICBC.
However, during the pandemic when people were driving less, ICBC rates came down and have stayed lower.
See the entire survey at: https://hellosafe.ca/en/car-
The 10 cities with the cheapest average annual car insurance premiums:
1. The Pas: $1,171
2. Thompson: $1,181
3. Saskatoon: $1,249
4. Esterhazy, Saskatchewan: $1,251
5. Nanaimo: $1,264
6. Brandon: $1,320
7. Prince George: $1,381
8. Winnipeg: $1,381
9. Kelowna: $1,413
10: Gander and Corner Brook: $1,522
The 10 cities with the most expensive average annual car insurance premiums:
1. Calgary: $3,182
2. Edmonton: $3,150
3. Red Deer: $2,971
4. Grande Prairie: $2,770
5. Thunder Bay: $2,770
6. Sydney: $2,561
7. Halifax: $2,490
8. Kitchener: $2,478
9. St. John's: $2,340
10. Toronto: $2,295
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