Ontarios Winter Tire Discount & What It Means for Your Car Insurance

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Article Contents
By <span>Aren Mirzaian</span>
By Aren Mirzaian

Updated on July 19, 2023

Visit author page
By <span>Aren Mirzaian</span>
By Aren Mirzaian

Updated July 19, 2023

Visit author page

2 minute read

Article Contents

Ontario Winter Tire Discount

Canada is well known for it’s cold weather, this heavy snow and ice can make for some unsafe driving conditions if drivers aren’t prepared.

Provinces like Ontario offer a special incentive for driver’s to prepare their vehicles for the winter weather. Insurance providers across the province offer a discount to all drivers that prove that they have winter tires installed.

Winter tires give users more control of their vehicles even in winter conditions when roads are covered in snow, water and ice, which are highly recommended by both government and private insurance companies. Winter tires are one of the best ways to get the lowest possible car insurance rates in Ontario.

Why are winter tires important?

Ontario is a country that has a lot of snow, ice and hail and these can provide dangerous road hazards. These conditions reduce your tire’s ability to get good traction and can result in skidding, which causes people to lose control of their cars and results in car accidents. Winter tires help to prevent this issue by providing cars with better traction and therefore help to prevent accidents overall.

How much do winter tires reduce insurance?

Regardless of who your provider is you will receive a winter tire discount. All insurance providers in Ontario are required by the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Ontario to provide a winter tire discount. This discount will typically range from 2-5%.

Are all-season tires considered winter tires for insurance?

No all-season tires don’t qualify for the winter tire discount. The reason being is that winter tires provide a greater level of safety when driving in hazardous weather conditions. Winter tires have been shown to decrease the stopping distance of a car by 30-40% in temperatures less than 7C.

Tips for using your winter tires

  • You should always install winter tires in a set of 4. This will allow you to maintain controlled & balanced handling while driving. Installing anything other than 4 will create an imbalance in traction and will have a negative impact on your handling of the car.
  • Keeping good tire pressure. Keeping good tire pressure improves traction and durability of your winter tires.
  • Look for the snowflake symbol. All tires that meet the required snow standards will have a symbol of a snowflake on their sidewall and this helps to distinguish them from other types of tires such as all-season, mud and snow rated tires.

What is considered a winter tire in Ontario?

Winter tires are tires that are specially designed for severe snow conditions. They can be identified by this three-peak mountain snowflake symbol:

snowflake tire

In Conclusion

Winter tires are specially designed tires for helping drivers to keep control of their cars during the winter months. By buying and installing winter tires on your cars you can secure a discount on your car insurance costs by 2-5%. Not only that but you will reduce your chances of getting into a car accident. While snow tires may seem like an unnecessary expense, they almost pay for themselves and they provide you with extra safety when driving in poor weather conditions.

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