Once you hit the age of 55, 65, or even 70, you usually qualify for some kind of “senior” discount with most businesses. The same is true of car insurance companies! Some of the best car insurance companies in Ontario for older drivers offer great discounts to help you save money as a senior.
Looking for the perfect insurance company as an older driver? With many excellent choices available, it’s helpful to compare them. While factors like reviews, reputation, and history matter, we’ll focus on price comparisons here. Dive into our side-by-side comparison of Ontario’s top car insurance companies for older drivers based on their prices. Don’t forget to check out our 2024 list of the best car insurance companies in Ontario for a broader overview!
Key findings
- We found that CAA was the best insurance company by price for older drivers in Ontario, with the average rate 20% more affordable than the runner-up, Commonwell.
- Along with being the most affordable on average, CAA was the most affordable insurance company for all of our 6 regular market drivers.
- We also found that JEVCO was the most affordable option for our high-risk auto insurance companies, being about 20% more affordable than the runner-up, Coachman.
The rankings
In the two lists below, you can see our rankings for the best standard market and high-risk car insurers based on the affordability of their rates for older drivers.
Best regular market
- CAA
- Commonwell
- Aviva
- SGI
- Zenith
- Wawanesa
- Intact
- Economical
- Pembridge
- Travelers
Best high-risk market
- JEVCO
- Coachman
- Echelon
- Pafco
We couldn’t put these two lists together because high-risk insurers, aka insurers who cover drivers with spotty payment histories, a history of at-fault claims, or numerous convictions, tend to charge twice or three times as much as standard insurers. To give a better sense of how these insurers fare, we separated them into different lists.
How we’ve ranked our insurers for 65+ year-old drivers in Ontario
Below, we’ve created a list of eight fictious drivers over the age of 65. We put these individuals into the system we use to pull quotes and recorded prices we got from several of our partners. To make things fair, we used the same coverages, deductibles, driving distance and annual mileage, parking location, policy limits, etc.
Meet our older drivers
- Ricardo, 82, male, married, Windsor (N9A), clean record
- Drives a 2013 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SE Plus FWD
- Joanna, 68, female, married, Port Dover (N0A), following too closely in 2022
- Drives a 2018 MAZDA MAZDA6 GS-L Sedan FWD
- Damien, 71, male, divorced, Brockville (K6V), clean record
- Drives a 2017 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK LX FWD
- Maureen, 65, female, married, Ottawa (K1B), speeding ticket in 2023
- Drives a 2015 KIA SPORTAGE LX FWD
- Michael, 86, male, widower, Oshawa (L1G), unsafe turn in 2021
- Drives a 2020 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SE FWD
- Jae, 78, female, widowed, Owen Sound (N4K), clean record
- Drives a 2018 TOYOTA CAMRY XSE V6
- Sean, 69, male, married, Orillia (L3V), distracted driving conviction in 2021, speeding tickets in 2021 & 2022
- Drives a 2015 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5i AWD
- Brooke, 70, female, divorced, Newmarket (L3Y), DUI in 2022, speeding ticket in 2024
- Drives a 2015 TOYOTA SIENNA XLE 7-PASSENGER AWD
| Company | Ricardo | Joanna | Damien | Maureen | Michael | Jae | Regular Market Avg. | Sean | Brooke | High Risk Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | $1,411 | $1,927 | $1,356 | $1,494 | $2,189 | $2,118 | $1,749 | |||
| CAA | $1,289 | $1,132 | $961 | $912 | $1,695 | $1,724 | $1,285 | |||
| Commonwell | $1,494 | $1,527 | $1,190 | $1,387 | $1,874 | $1,751 | $1,537 | |||
| Economical | $2,212 | $2,221 | $1,641 | $1,924 | $2,720 | $2,300 | $2,169 | |||
| Intact | $2,064 | $2,217 | $1,698 | $1,820 | $2,487 | $1,987 | $2,045 | |||
| Pembridge | $2,612 | $3,083 | $1,687 | $2,245 | $3,672 | $3,606 | $2,817 | |||
| SGI | $1,725 | $1,920 | $1,345 | $1,649 | $2,008 | $1,895 | $1,755 | |||
| Travelers | $4,464 | $3,792 | $2,784 | $2,940 | $5,304 | $3,324 | $3,768 | |||
| Wawanesa | $1,584 | $2,503 | $1,272 | $1,813 | $2,613 | $1,993 | $1,963 | |||
| Zenith | $1,900 | $1,602 | $1,455 | $1,644 | $2,344 | $2,182 | $1,854 | |||
| Coachman | $3,510 | $5,608 | $4,559 | |||||||
| Echelon | $3,660 | $8,378 | $6,019 | |||||||
| JEVCO | $2,861 | $4,952 | $3,906 | |||||||
| Pafco | $4,167 | $9,396 | $6,781 | |||||||
| 1Data source: Mitch auto insurance quoter | ||||||||||
Overall, CAA ended up having the most affordable rates for our fictious drivers, with Commonwell the runner-up, and JEVCO had the best rates for our high-risk drivers. Keep in mind that just because CAA was the best on average for our drivers, another insurance company might be optimal for you and your budget. Give us a call.
Why is age such a significant factor in insurance premiums?
Because age tends to equal experience, which usually means a better driver. The more time you spend on the road, the likelier you are to not file a claim, as you’ve had plenty of years’ worth of driving to learn what to/what not to do. 20- to 25-year-olds tend to pay the most for their insurance since they’re usually new drivers, often fresh off their parents’ insurance policies, and are often associated with the highest claims’ frequency.
However, some (not all) insurance companies will rate older folks’ higher after they reach a certain age, with rates increasing by as much as 20% around the ages of 75 to 85. We’ve taken one of our fictious drivers from above, Jae, and re-run quotes for her for ages 99, 85, 75, 65, 60, and 55, to show the difference. See below.
| Company | Jae (99) | Jae (85) | Jae (75) | Jae (65) | Jae (60) | Jae (55) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | $2,159 | $2,121 | $2,084 | $2,088 | $2,142 | $2,191 | ||
| CAA | $1,877 | $1,877 | $1,595 | $1,388 | $1,393 | $1,411 | ||
| Commonwell | $1,751 | $1,751 | $1,751 | $1,751 | $1,751 | $1,751 | ||
| Economical | $2,394 | $2,375 | $2,227 | $2,087 | $2,130 | $2,205 | ||
| Intact | $2,063 | $2,107 | $1,990 | $1,978 | $2,035 | $2,202 | ||
| Pembridge | $3,804 | $3,811 | $3,304 | $3,223 | $3,398 | $3,658 | ||
| SGI | $1,895 | $1,895 | $1,964 | $1,924 | $1,901 | $2,030 | ||
| Travelers | $5,052 | $3,696 | $3,180 | $3,000 | $3,192 | $3,300 | ||
| Wawanesa | $2,145 | $2,061 | $1,938 | $1,996 | $2,095 | $2,214 | ||
| Zenith | $2,977 | $2,359 | $2,136 | $2,183 | $2,228 | $2,294 | ||
| 2Data source: Mitch auto insurance quoter | ||||||||
Notice how some companies barely changed their rates across different ages, while others actually lowered ratings as drivers aged. For instance, SGI offered a more budget-friendly rate for 99-year-old Jae compared to her rate at 60. Then there are companies like Commonwell that don’t adjust rates at all after age 55. It all boils down to each insurer’s history of claims and their database of accidents involving older drivers. While one company might not see much difference between a 55-year-old and a 95-year-old driver, another might see a significant rise in losses around the 95-year-old mark.
Are these rankings reliable?
If you had a similar profile to any of the drivers we’ve listed above, owned a similar car, or lived in a similar city, you might expect to see somewhat of the same rates. However, insurance is not a linear business, and in a single quarter, those rates could change. Insurers may lower rates to win new customers, or they may raise them to combat high claim costs and trends.
These rankings might not change dramatically. Companies do tend to have their specialty markets, whether those are new drivers, males, females, certain areas, experienced drivers, etc., and they’ll largely stay on top of their spot to continue to be competitive.
A broker can help you find your best rate
Choosing the best insurance company as an older driver can be difficult unless you know where to look. And, just because we’ve shown that CAA and Commonwell (and JEVCO, for high-risk drivers!) have the best rates here, doesn’t mean that they’re the best for you.
Call us. A Mitch insurance broker can work with you to help you find the best option, since we work with dozens of different great car insurance companies in Ontario. We’ll find you quotes from some of the best options and then compare, ensuring you get the best price. Because we’re always in the loop, we’ll help you get the best price no matter what the year!
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Speak with a Mitch Insurance broker today to get a quote on Ontario auto insurance.
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