RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study Toronto, ON (Jan.23, 2025) – The auto insurance industry faced numerous challenges in 2024, with the auto theft crisis, increasing cost of repairs and higher claims payouts pushing premiums ever higher.Auto insurance premiums in Canada have risen more than 12% on average over the past year, with Ontario and Alberta posting the largest increases amongst provinces with private auto insurance markets at approximately 13% and 12%, respectively.* Despite this, overall satisfaction with auto insurance companies is 82%, improving by 2 percentage points YoY, according to the results of the RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study.** The RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study, the largest survey of its kind in Canada, measures drivers of customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies in Ontario and Alberta, the two largest private auto insurance markets in the country.

The study focuses on the entirety of customers’ experience with their current auto insurance company to understand and measure levels of satisfaction in trustworthiness, claims experience, policy documents and billing statements.The results of the study, fielded in the fall of 2024, show that the significant challenges the auto insurance industry and consumers have faced over the past year have not damaged consumer’s perceptions of their insurance companies, with the majority of survey respondents in Ontario and Alberta maintaining high levels of satisfaction and trust in their insurers.“Last year was a very tough year for auto insurers and the consumers they serve,” says Igal Mayer, CEO of RATESDOTCA.

“Inflationary pricing, increasing repair costs and auto theft are all pushing claims costs higher, meaning higher premium prices for many consumers that are already being squeezed by the rising cost of living.More than ever, maintaining consumer trust is imperative for insurance companies.The results of the study show that, on balance, the auto insurance industry is doing a good job of maintaining strong relationships with customers during very difficult times.” “This study illustrates that trust is a cornerstone of the insurer-consumer relationship,” says Craig Worden, President at Pollara Strategic Insights.

“The majority of respondents trust their insurers, and we found that trusting the brand is more important to a customer’s overall satisfaction than how satisfied they are with filing an insurance claim, policy documents and their billing statements.” Key study findings: RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Rankings Best Overall The insurance company that performs the best across several categories.Rankings are weighted based on how important each element is to overall customer satisfaction.1.

CAA Insurance Company 2.Gore Mutual Insurance 3.Intact Insurance Most Trustworthy How trustworthy an insurance company’s brand is perceived by customers is the most important driver of customer satisfaction.

1.CAA 2.Gore Mutual Insurance 3.

Intact Insurance / Wawanesa Insurance (tied) Best Auto Claims Experience This category is based on only customers who have filed a claim in the past year, based on the ratings they provided about their claims experience.1.Northbridge Insurance 2.

CAA 3.Intact Insurance Best Policy Documents Based on customers’ overall satisfaction with the policy documents and perceptions of the documents in terms of being easy to understand coverages, who to contact, and the premium and billing schedule.1.

CAA 2.Gore Mutual Insurance 3.Economical Insurance Best Billing Statements Based on overall satisfaction with the billing statements provided by the insurance company and brokerage and perceptions about payment options provided, easy to understand statements, payment notices and communicating changes.

1.CAA 2.Gore Mutual Insurance 3.

Intact For more insights from the study, click here.Notes * Canadian Underwriter, October 30, 2024, Ref.Applied Ratings Index Q3, 2024 ** RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study *** J.D.

Power 2024 U.S.Claims Digital Experience Study, Dec.3, 2024 The RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study is the largest survey of auto insurance customers in Canada, contacting customers from nine insurance brokerages in Ontario and Alberta – the two largest markets for private auto insurance in the country.

Conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, the survey was completed from September 16 to October 8, 2024, using an online survey methodology, surveying a total of n=12,600 auto insurance customers who take part in decisions regarding insurance for their household.This is a survey dedicated solely to satisfaction with auto insurance, with questions focused on the entirety of experience with one insurance company to understand and measure what drives customer satisfaction.Underwriting carriers were identified by policy, not customer recall, ensuring accuracy in carrier identification.

The study includes brands which are not typically reported in surveys of the general population of insurance consumers due to their relatively small market share.About RATESDOTCA RATESDOTCA is Canada’s leading insurance rate comparison platform, dedicated to providing seamless, digital-first experiences for Canadians.Based in Toronto, Ontario, RATESDOTCA has been a trusted name in the auto insurance industry for over 20 years, serving more than 5 million Canadians annually.

As an industry pioneer, RATESDOTCA revolutionized the market by being the first to introduce online tools that allow users to compare over 50 auto and home insurance quotes instantly.For more information, visit rates.ca.About Pollara Strategic Insights Founded in 1985, Pollara Strategic Insights is a Canadian public opinion and market research firm that provides custom quantitative and qualitative research as well as a suite of proprietary research models and syndicated studies.

Pollara Strategic Insights is a founding, accredited Gold Seal member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC).They are in full compliance with the CRIC Canadian Code of Market, Opinion, and Social Research and Data Analytics, the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements, the CRIC Pledge to Canadians and ISO 20252:2019.Tags: auto insurance, J.D.

Power, RATESDOTCA, satisfaction, survey