• Lower your kilometres — Lowering the number of kilometres you put on your vehicle each year is a good way to lower your insurance premium in Toronto. Luckily, Toronto has a good public transit system (the TTC), which can provide a convenient alternative to your drive to work. Alternatively, seek out the growing number of bike lanes throughout the city, or try walking to work one day per week.
• Compare insurance companies and quotes — Perhaps the single best way to lower your car insurance rates in Toronto is shopping around online. By using a rate comparison site like Surex, drivers can quickly compare offers from up to ten of the top rated car insurance companies in Canada. So instead of blindly renewing with your current auto insurance company, see what’s out there. Lowering your premium by even a few dollars per month will add up over the course of your full 12-month coverage. And getting an auto insurance quote is free — so shop the market with the best broker each year before renewal. You never know what changes in your situation — or what regulatory changes the province has made — can have an impact on your insurance premiums in Toronto.
• Don’t miss payments — Insurance companies in Toronto generally lower your rates if they view you as low-risk, and raise your rates if they view you as high-risk. The best way to make sure you’re squarely in the former camp is by staying on top of your auto insurance payments in Toronto.  Building a history of accident-free driving and reliable payment-making is one of the strongest ways to signal to your online auto insurance company that you’re the kind of customer they don’t have to worry about and want to keep on their books.
• Bundling discounts — If you have multiple insurance policies (ie. condo insurance and auto insurance), speak to your dedicated insurance assistant about bundling multiple policies with one of the top rated car insurance companies in Ontario. By combining different policies with the same insurance company, customers can typically expect a 15% discount on their car insurance and a 10% discount on their home, condo, or renter’s insurance in Toronto. Bundling your policies not only streamlines your finances, it’s one of the easiest ways to save money on your premiums.

At Surex, our three-step process will ensure that you end up with the best car insurance in Toronto. Here’s how it works:

1. Personalized insurance quotes: Surex will capture some of your basic information — either by phone or online — and then shop the market for you. In under 10 minutes, you’ll have up to 10 quotes for low cost car insurance offers to choose from.
2. Customize your offers. Once you receive the initial quote, you can edit your information and compare quotes from the top rated car insurance companies in Ontario.
3. Purchase and manage 24/7. Once you’ve selected an automobile insurance quote & reviewed the policy with your dedicated assistant, you can electronically sign documents to receive instant proof of insurance. If you’d rather speak with someone we will connect you with a Dedicated Insurance Assistant to walk you through all the options and answer any questions you might have. Once finished, your documents will arrive in the mail and you can manage your policy 24/7 with our ‘My Surex’ login feature.

• Get ready for congestion - Getting around Toronto by car can be frustrating. Even if you avoid rush hour, you may find yourself in a long line of stopped or slow-moving cars. That’s why it’s important to give yourself lots of time to get where you’re going, and when possible, consider using public transit. Toronto has a robust transit system — including subways, regional trains, streetcars, and buses — that can often get you around the city more quickly than with a car, especially if you’re heading downtown.
• Driving with the TTC - Driving in Toronto means driving with the public transit system, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Here are a few things to be mindful of with the TTC: lane-changing buses, passengers getting off and on streetcars, streetcars sharing roads with vehicles (and therefore vehicles needing to stop behind the streetcars, to avoid their opening doors), and large numbers of pedestrians exiting subway stations.
• Be highway smart - Multi-lane highways moving at high speeds is the norm for Toronto and the surrounding area. Before merging onto one of the city’s several highways or expressways such as the  Highway 401, Highway 400, Highway 407, Highway 403, the Don Valley Parkway, the Gardiner Expressway, or the Allen Road Expressway, make sure your vehicle is in good condition, your trip is planned in advance, your GPS navigation device is programmed before you hit the road (if you’re using one), and you’re comfortable driving alongside large semi-trailer trucks.
• Parking issues -  As you’d expect, parking is limited in the city of Toronto, especially the closer you get to the downtown core. If you plan on using on-street parking, look for the road signs informing where you can and cannot park (and for how long). If you don’t mind paying for parking (or if you can't find any street spots available), look for Green P parking lots. If possible, avoid looking for parking space in the downtown Toronto area altogether.

In order to secure auto insurance in Toronto, Ontario, drivers need to produce a number of documents, including a valid driver’s license, proof of driver’s education training (if completed), vehicle registration, license plate number, your driving history (this is obtained through Service Ontario), current auto insurance policy information, details of all drivers who will use the vehicle, and payment information (credit card, void cheque, banking information).

Car insurance in Toronto can be very costly, so it’s critical that drivers shop around for online insurance to find the most affordable car insurance rates possible. Aside from getting a online car insurance quote on a rate comparison site like Surex, drivers should speak to their dedicated insurance assistant about what discounts they qualify for (e.g. Good Student, Claims-Free Driving, Electric Vehicle, Private Parking, Occupational Discounts, Loyalty Discounts, etc.), what price breaks are available if they pay for their premium in full, and what options they have to bundle their various policies.

Yes, drivers in Ontario (including Toronto) are required by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to have valid car insurance. This includes a minimum of $200,000 worth of Third Party Liability Coverage (covers damages caused to a third party), Statutory Accident Benefits Coverage (covers injuries resulting from an at-fault accident), Uninsured Automobile Coverage (covers damages caused to you by an uninsured driver), and Direct Compensation & Property Damage Coverage (covers damages caused by another driver). If additional auto insurance coverage is required or desired — such as Comprehensive or Collision — those can be added to an insurance policy at additional costs.

Car insurance rates in Toronto are determined by a combination of factors. Some of these factors are within the control of the driver (i.e. vehicle make and model, occupation or memberships, driving history, payment arrangement and reliability, winter tire usage, number of drivers on the policy, types of coverages selected, bundled policies), whereas other factors are out of the control of the driver (i.e. age, gender, crime rating of neighbourhood, governmental regulations).

Ontario automobile insurance rates are determined by a combination of factors. Some of these factors are within the control of the driver (i.e. vehicle make and model, occupation or memberships, driving history, payment arrangement and reliability, winter tire usage, number of drivers on the policy, types of coverages selected, bundled policies), whereas other factors are out of the control of the driver (i.e. age, gender, crime rating of neighbourhood, governmental regulations). Talk to a Surex insurance broker to learn more about affordable car insurance.