Saving on car insurance is no accident: Mayers

Minority governments will bend and twist any which way they must to stay in power, often making promises they can’t keep.

For example: As part of a deal with the provincial New Democrats in the spring of 2013, the minority Liberals promised to lower car insurance in Ontario by 15 per cent within two years. The move ensured NDP support for their budget, and kept the Liberals in office for one more year.

It was a great vote-getting pledge, because Ontario has the highest car insurance rates in Canada at an average $1,455 per cent vehicle, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The GTA is the highest of the high. The number tossed around there is about $1,600 per car, about double what it costs to insure a car in Quebec and the Maritimes.

Two years after that Liberal pledge, our rates have come down by 7 per cent, less than half the promise, according to the provincial insurance regulator. Virtually all that progress came in the first year, when the Liberals were under pressure from the NDP.

In the past year, not much has changed. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) says in the first nine months of 2015, the average rate fell 0.85 per cent.

Provincial finance minister Charles Sousa is no longer offering a timetable for when we’ll get more. There’s work to be done, he said vaguely, reiterating last week that changes to benefit payments, anti-fraud measures and such things as discounts for winter tires are doing the trick.

Instead of waiting for Sousa to deliver, why not help yourself? We cut our annual bill by a third last year, just by asking a few questions.

The big saving came from removing both adult children as occasional drivers. Neither was living at home. Although one was a student, he lived downtown year round.

Anne Marie Thomas from rate comparison web site InsuranceHotline.com says the worst thing you can do when you get your renewal is ignore it. If you do, the new rate kicks in automatically.

“I’d never accept a renewal without shopping around,” she says. “The internet makes it easy to do.”

She says that you can’t assume that companies charge the same price for similar policies, because the price depends on loan losses in your area. Since each company has a different claims experience, rates can vary a lot from one company to the next.

Thomas says a common misconception among consumers using insurance brokers is that their broker will find the best rate out there. Brokers typically represent half a dozen or so companies, so what you’re getting is the best of their bunch, not the best of thewholebunch.

“Ask your broker if they’ve shopped it around,” she says.

If your policy is up for renewal, here are some things to consider:

<bullet>Check out anti-theft devices. Ask your insurer which ones they endorse.

The Liberal car insurance promise was supposed to shave $225 a year from the average annual bill. They haven’t delivered, so why not take matters into your own hands? Chances are good you’ll come out ahead.

More columns by Adam Mayers

Adam Mayers writes about investing and personal finance on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Have a question? Reach him at amayers@thestar.ca .

Average quarterly rate approval in Ontario

Oct.-Dec. 2014: -0.54 per cent

Jan-March 2015: -0.95 per cent

April-June 2015: +0.6 per cent

July-Sept. 2015: -0.5 per cent

Source: Financial Services Commission of Ontario