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Alberta Car Insurance
When it comes to Alberta auto insurance, it is a mandatory requirement for all drivers who travel on Alberta’s roads to have auto insurance coverage that is adequate enough to protect on your own vehicle and a potential motor collision, property damage or another person.
Often regarded as one of the more picturesque provinces in Canada, Alberta offers a diverse range of landscapes making for wonderfully scenic drives. You can travel across beautiful prairies, lush forests or arduous mountains and not forgetting some of Alberta’s larger cities, which are also worth a visit. The province is the fourth most populous within Canada, with a little over 4 million inhabitants, as you’d expect the majority of these reside within the larger metropolitan areas such as the capital, Edmonton and Calgary.
How to Get the Cheapest Auto Insurance in Alberta
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3 Important Things to Know About Car Insurance in Alberta
Insurance is a right: It is illegal for any auto insurance companies to refuse basic coverage to any driver. Regardless of your driving record, area you live in or the car you drive they must provide you with insurance options for basic coverage. The only reason that is acceptable to deny coverage is if you have a history of not paying your premiums.
Premiums are determined by grid levels: Unlike provinces such as Ontario where the prices are determined solely by the company, Alberta uses a grid system that sets caps for how much people can pay for insurance based on multiple factors within their driving history. This way people know what the most will be that they are required to pay. You can see where you may fit using the Alberta grid system calculator. According to the Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB) only about 6% of Alberta residents pay the grid rate while the remaining 94% pay less than the grid rate.
Alberta doesn’t have a no fault auto insurance system: This simply means that insurance companies in Alberta will cover your damages based on who is at fault for the accident. So in a situation where you get into an accident and you are not at fault. Typically your insurance company will cover a portion of your damages and the rest will need to be paid by the insurance company of the person who is at fault.
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Often regarded as one of the more picturesque provinces in Canada, Alberta offers a diverse range of landscapes making for wonderfully scenic drives. You can travel across beautiful prairies, lush forests or arduous mountains and not forgetting some of Alberta’s larger cities, which are also worth a visit. The province is the fourth most populous within Canada, with a little over 4 million inhabitants, as you’d expect the majority of these reside within the larger metropolitan areas such as the capital, Edmonton and Calgary.
When it comes to Alberta auto insurance, this is a mandatory requirement for all drivers who travel on Alberta’s roads and at minimum you are required to have auto insurance coverage that is adequate enough to protect on your own vehicle and a potential motor collision, property damage or another person.
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*Actual Quoting Data. Based On A Clean Driving Record.
How Much Can You Expect to Pay for Your Alberta Auto Insurance
While Alberta uses a grid system to determine the maximum that people will pay for car insurance most people will pay much less than that. Generally if you live in Alberta you can expect to pay around $1,179 annually, which puts you in the third most expensive province within Canada. Admittedly, this isn’t as high as you might expect but it’s still a sizable purchase decision. Ultimately your average premium will come down to the geographic location and given the size of Alberta this may vary considerably.
For example, if you live in the city it’s fair to assume your average car insurance should be fairly aligned to the average or slightly higher. However if you live and spend most of your driving in the wilderness of Alberta the average costs should be lower thanks to a number of beneficial factors. The most obvious one is a smaller amount of cars on the roads, giving you cheaper car insurance.
For the most part, the most expensive car insurance rates anywhere occur in densely populated areas and this coincides with the Edmonton to Calgary corridor being one of the most urbanized areas in Canada, not just Alberta.
If you are looking for more information about auto insurance in Alberta’s cities, check out our detailed pages about Calgary and Edmonton.
How Does Alberta Car Insurance Compare to Other Provinces
Firstly, Alberta is somewhat unique in their pricing for car insurance. While Alberta is a private system the government does include caps on how much a driver will have to pay based on their driving record. In a way you could say that it is a hybrid pricing system because companies have discretion to set prices within certain guidelines.
Second, Alberta doesn’t have a no-fault insurance system. What a no-fault system means is that when a collision occurs rather than you having to deal with the insurance company of the person who is at fault, each person can file a claim with their individual insurance company. The benefit of this is that you typically get money for damages faster under a no-fault system, however you can be limited on recovering some costs such as pain and suffering.
In Alberta, drivers are only compensated for a certain amount from their insurance companies and then they have to go after the other person’s insurance company for the rest of their compensation, this is known as a tort-based insurance system.
9 Ways to Try Get Cheap Alberta Auto Insurance
Alberta has relatively cheap auto insurance rates when compared to other provinces thanks to their grid system. But there are still several things you can do as a driver to get cheap car insurance quotes:
1) Find the cheapest auto insurance company
One of the simplest ways to reduce your car insurance cost in Alberta is to use an insurance quoting service. Companies like My Choice make this easy by showing you all of the auto insurance companies that fit your needs so that you can see what is the most affordable coverage plan for you. You can compare all potential insurers, find the cheapest auto insurance company that meets your needs and see the average cost of auto insurance in Alberta in one place. Making it easy to compare insurance options to find the best deal.
2) Bundle up your insurance packages
Adding other types of insurance such as house or condo insurance to your car insurance plan will typically lower your rates and give you the cheapest insurance possible.
3) Drive safely
Your driving record impacts the rate you get as a driver. In Alberta, a traffic ticket will stay on your record for 3 years. If you can go without a convocation for 3 years you will see a decrease in your car insurance costs. Also, The more times you file a claim due to an accident, the more likely your insurance rate increases. If you are in an accident, keep in mind that after three years you can get that accident removed from your driving record just like a traffic ticket.
4) Choose the right type of vehicle
Cars with high crash-test scores, low theft ratings and less powerful engines tend to have cheaper insurance rates. So keep this in mind when deciding on the type of car that you are
going to buy.
5) Hybrid vehicle discount
Having an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle that has a gasoline and electric motor you can get a good discount.
6) Install Winter Tires
In a province like Alberta where heavy snow and ice can make the roads much more dangerous, having safety features like winter tires can reduce your auto insurance premium.
7) Autonomous emergency braking discount
This applies for any vehicle that was equipped by the manufacturer to detect and automatically apply braking when getting too close to vehicles.
6) Install anti-theft devices
Compared to other provinces Alberta ranks high in car thefts and that increased risk will have an effect on the cost of your car insurance. By installing an anti-theft device you can prove to your insurer that you are a lower risk and pay less in car insurance.
7) Take a driver’s education course
If you want cheap auto insurance quotes, one of the best things you can do, especially as a young driver, is to take a driving course. As an inexperienced driver your lack of experience is seen as a high risk for auto insurance providers. By taking a formal driver’s course you can reduce your car insurance by making yourself less of a risk in the eye’s of insurers.
8) Have a good credit score
Your insurance premiums will be affected by your credit score. Auto insurance companies want to be sure that they will be paid on time and they will often look at your credit score to see how likely you are to pay your bills on time. If you have a good credit score you will be seen as low risk and you will be more likely to get cheap car insurance quotes.
9) Professional Occupation Discount
If you have certain eligible occupations and you have a university degree, you may receive a discount for insuring that vehicle.
Alberta’s Laws on Car Insurance
In Alberta, auto insurance is split into 3 sections:
- Claims related to any injuries and damages to other people and their property.
- Claims related medical expenses for anyone that was involved in an incident including the policy holder.
- Claims concerning the damage to your vehicle.
Mandatory Auto Insurance Coverage in Alberta
To drive legally in Alberta, you are required to have the following as two minimum requirements for car insurance coverage, they are accident benefits and third-party liability. Accident benefits coverage is the sort that protects you or your family if somebody is injured and killed during a collision, and it doesn’t matter who is at fault for the incident. For third-party liability, you are required to have at minimum coverage for $200,000 in Alberta, this type of coverage will ensure you are protected if you’re involved in an accident whereby someone’s property is damaged or if you kill, injure someone.
Optional Extras for Car Insurance in Alberta
There are two main optional car insurance coverages you can receive in Alberta:
– Collision Coverage
– Comprehensive Coverage
Collision Coverage: This type of coverage protects you in the event that you need repairs or a full replacement following an accident that you are involved in. This includes more than just other vehicles and covers accidents with objects like animals, trees, single-vehicle rollovers and hit and runs.
Comprehensive Coverage: This type of coverage protects you against many other things that may damage your car outside of a collision. Some examples include:
– Hail
– Fire
– Vandalism and theft
– Falling Objects
Additional Optional Auto Insurance Coverages
Alternate Transportation: This helps to cover the cost of a rental car in the event that your vehicle is unusable while it is being repaired or replaced due to a covered risk.
Financial security for your family: Having family protection coverage gives your family extra financial support in the event of injury or death caused by a driver that had insufficient coverage.
Deductible reduction over time: This reduces your deductible by as much as 20% each year if your vehicle is claims free, which can save you a lot of money in the long run if you’re a safe driver.
What Cities Have the Cheapest Auto Insurance in Alberta
In Alberta prices can vary greatly depending on the city that you are living in. The cheapest cities in Alberta are Lacombe, Devon and Vegreville.
Area | Average Rate |
---|---|
Lacombe | $753 |
Devon | $781 |
Vegreville | $833 |
Medicine Hat | $901 |
Canmore | $934 |
Banff | $937 |
Okotoks | $952 |
Aldersyde | $961 |
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Alberta Car Insurance FAQs
Reportable Collisions in Alberta, 2016 – 2020
Source: Alberta Traffic Collision Statistics 2020