The Top 5 Cheapest SUVs to Insure in Ontario

A survey in Quebec suggested that SUVs are more popular than ever. SUVs are increasingly popular in Canada due to their added space, higher ride height, larger seating capacity, and better fuel efficiency. For the average household, choosing an SUV over a sedan is a no-brainer. But, when you’re planning to buy a new vehicle, consider costs – maintenance, repairs, and insurance.

There are a lot of factors that impact your car insurance rates. These can influence how much or how little your SUV will cost to insure. How much is SUV insurance compared to insurance for, say, a sedan?

In this article, we’ll go over some of the cheapest SUVs to insure, as well as an answer to the question of whether or not insuring an SUV is cheaper than insuring a sedan. Let’s get into it.

Are SUVs cheaper to insure than sedans?

SUVs do tend to be cheaper than sedans to insure, with a few minor exceptions. For the most part, SUVs are cheaper to insure due to their higher safety ratings (with more safety features per vehicle), lower cost (for smaller SUVs), and general popularity among drivers in Ontario, making parts for replacements or repairs a bit more accessible than average.

However, depending on your situation and the exact vehicle, the opposite can also be true. It’s simply that, for the most part, SUVs are cheaper to insure than sedans. If you have a particularly expensive SUV with a high theft likelihood and lower safety rating, it might be more expensive to insure than a sedan.

Insuring an SUV

SUV insurance is relatively similar in nature to regular personal auto insurance. Per Ontario’s automobile regulations, your SUV must be insured with the minimum third-party liability insurance, accident benefits insurance, uninsured motorist insurance, and direct compensation-property damage.

And of course, you can add on as much coverage as is applicable to your situation: collision and comprehensive, loss of use, etc. If your SUV has been modified at all, you may also want to discuss its modifications with your insurer to ensure that those additions can be covered.

While SUVs are extremely popular among drivers in Ontario, many SUVs have also topped the list of the most stolen vehicles in Ontario. This can, for some models, impact their overall rates and make them more expensive to insure. What it boils down to is choosing the right SUV. For the most part, it’s been found that smaller, lower-cost SUVs tend to be less expensive to insure.

5 of the Cheapest SUVs to Insure

The list of “cheapest SUVs” to insure is changing everyday, depending on theft ratings, safety ratings, and newer models of vehicles coming out. The list of cheapest SUVs (their 2022 and 2023 models) to insure as detailed below is current as of June 2023.

1. Honda CR-V

The 2023 Honda CR-V is considered a small, 4-door SUV. Its overall safety rating evaluation is G, or “Good.”  The Honda CR-V is priced around $39,000 CAD.

2. Honda HR-V

Coming in a little cheaper, the Honda HR-V comes in at around $28,000 CAD, with typically 5 doors and a sport utility vehicle body style. It has a relatively good safety rating evaluation overall, except for child seat anchors, which were given an acceptable rating.

3. Chevrolet Traverse

Coming in a little more expensive, the Chevrolet Traverse is marked around $41,000 CAD. It features four-wheel drive and is considered a midsize SUV. It has a generally good safety rating, except for a poor rating for its headlights.

4. Mazda CX-5

The Mazda CX-5, also considered a small SUV, has a generally good safety rating, except for its moderate overlap front. It has a marginal rating for its seat belt reminders. It is priced at around $31,000 CAD.

5. Honda Pilot

The Honda Pilot is the most expensive on this list, coming in around $50,000 CAD. It has a middle-of-the-road safety rating, with a generally good score apart from its side and moderate overlap front crash tests receiving a marginal and poor rating, respectively.

Safety ratings are important to note. Safety ratings simulate various kinds of road collisions to determine how the car will fare in those scenarios. We highly advise keeping in mind safety ratings when purchasing an SUV, not only for its insurance costs, but also the safety of your passengers.

Factors that will impact rates for an SUV or a sedan:

Whether your vehicle is an SUV or a sedan, we advise keeping in mind these factors that will ultimately impact your overall costs:

• Cost to repair your vehicle. If your SUV is a popular make, you might find that its repair costs are lower, as more parts are available to fix it.
• Safety record of the vehicle. As is the case with our list of the 5 cheapest SUVs to insure, most SUVs have impeccable safety ratings. We advise keeping these in mind both for your safety and for your insurance costs.
• Theft potential. Some vehicles are more appealing to thieves than others.
• Value of vehicle. The more your vehicle costs, the more it will cost to replace – and therefore the more it will cost to insure.
• Coverage amount. The more coverage that you have, the more your premiums will be. If your vehicle is older, consider dropping some of your coverage to save. Ask your broker if reducing coverage on your older vehicle is the right move.

SUVs are great options to tote around lots of belongings, take your kids (and your friends’ kids!) to school and various activities, and they’ve got generally all-around great safety ratings! For more questions about SUV insurance, call us today. You can get a free SUV insurance quote today by clicking the button below or visiting our auto insurance page.