Car insurance Fort Erie, ON
Part of a series on car insurance rates in Ontario.
Fast facts about auto insurance in Fort Erie
Average annual car insurance rate
Regular drivers in the city
Collisions per year (approximately)
%
Collision rate for the city
Average age
Average household income
%
Unemployment rate
Population
Understanding car insurance in Fort Erie, Ontario
Sitting across the Niagara River from Buffalo to the east and sitting on Lake Erie’s north-eastern shore, Fort Erie is known for its small-town pace as well as being a hub for tourists in the summer, once the site of the Crystal Beach Amusement Park.
It has an average car insurance rate on the lower-middle end of the spectrum. There just aren’t that many collisions in the region per year, lending itself to a relatively low collision rate compared to the number of regular drivers on the roads.
Balancing out that low collision rate are a few key factors that can affect everyone’s car insurance rate. First, winter can be rough due to the lake effect from Lake Erie. Poor winter driving conditions can cause plenty of collisions, so be extra careful out there.
Fort Erie’s tourism element also inflates the amount of people in the town during peak season, which can affect the rate of reported crimes in tourist hotspots. Still, the municipality has a great average car insurance rate.
Get your bundle on & save!
Want even cheaper insurance? Save up to 50% on home and up to 15% on car insurance when you bundle them.
Get your bundle on & save!
Want even cheaper insurance? Save up to 50% on home and up to 15% on car insurance when you bundle them.
Busting myths about driving and insurance in Fort Erie
Myth: Fort Erie isn’t a safe place to live.
Fort Erie is actually a nice place to live. Maclean’s “Most Dangerous Places to Live in Canada” reported a crime severity index of 56 for St. Catharines and the Niagara Region as a whole, which is quite respectable. There are 147 more dangerous cities and regions in Canada, which is quite a lot. For comparison: Toronto’s CSI was higher at 60 for the same year.
Myth: Crystal Beach isn’t affordable to live anymore.
Not a lot of residents in Crystal Beach were happy when a new gated community development started right where the amusement park used to stand (we miss the Comet, too!). That gated community doesn’t make the entire town unaffordable, though. Who knows—your property could actually increase in value as time goes on, if you own one now.
Myth: Fort Erie is warm all-year ’round.
Fort Erie’s summers are pretty great (especially with that Buffalo skyline in the distance), but things can actually get quite cold in the winter. Living in lakefront communities doesn’t offer much protection against the cold winds soaring across Lake Erie itself. The added moisture from the Lake itself could also add some frozen precipitation to the roads. Bundle up and stay safe!
Myth: Finding jobs inside the town is difficult.
Plenty of people who grow up here find employment in the area, but if you’re moving to Fort Erie for the affordable housing then you might still end up commuting to your current place of work.
Be prepared for a fair bit of commuting to St. Catharines, Welland, Hamilton, or even Burlington. Snow tires, folks!
How Fort Erie’s rates compare to other cities in Ontario
- North York: $4,261
- Etobicoke: $4,199
- Brampton: $4,071
- Scarborough: $3,825
- East York: $3,605
- Woodbridge: $3,603
- Richmond Hill: $3,579
- Mississauga: $3,473
- Markham: $3,389
- Niagara Falls: $3,321
- Bowmanville: $3,308
- Peterborough: $3,259
- Pickering: $ 3,245
- Newmarket: $ 3,216
- Hamilton: $3,201
- Brantford: $ 3,158
- Maple: $3,150
- Whitby: $3,087
- Ajax: $3,053
- York: $2,999
- Toronto: $2,983
- Barrie: $2,924
- Thornhill: $2,871
- Waterloo: $2,867
- Caledon: $2,780
- London: $2,765
- Fort Erie: $2,720
- Oakville: $2,720
- Sault Ste Marie: $ 2,713
- Kitchener: $2,705
- Milton: $2,680
- St Catharines: $ 2,550
- Windsor: $2,536
- Woodstock: $2,513
- Innisfil: $2,505
- Burlington: $2,476
- Kingston: $ 2,360
- Cambridge: $2,297
- Oshawa: $2,295
- Guelph: $2,268
- Gloucester: $2,256
- Stoney Creek: $2,222
- Nepean: $2,196
- Ottawa: $2,195
- Sudbury: $2,005
- Kanata: $2,002
- Thunder Bay: $1,973
- Wasaga Beach: $1,958
Quick tips on car insurance and driving in Fort Erie
Reduce exposure to road risk by cycling to work (if you work in town).
53.43% of Fort Erie’s workforce works within the town, but only 0.48% ride a bicycle to work. Riding your bicycle to work in the summer, fall, parts of spring could significantly reduce your amount of risk on the road.
No one’s suggesting you ride a bike from Shisler Point to Crystal Beach, but making this a habit within reason could significantly reduce your car insurance premium if you’re relatively close to your work.
Move away from areas with higher rates of reported crimes.
Moving to neighbourhoods with fewer reported crimes could help improve your car insurance rates. Check out these areas:
- Buffalo Heights
- Thunder Bay and Wavecrest
- Ridgewood and Oakhill Forest
- The northern half of Cresent Park
- Stevensville
Avoid Fort Erie’s dangerous roads and intersections.
Sider Road is one of the most dangerous roads in the Niagara Region, even making the top list in the St Catharines Standard. More recently there have been concerns about drivers speeding 20 kilometres over the posted limit on Garrison Road.
Working in a different town or city? Invest in snow tires.
Driving in or out of Fort Erie for a work commute means that you’ll have to deal with the winter lake effect, which can add more snow and wind chill than you bargained for. Invest in winter tires for safety (and a modest insurance discount!).
Sources for facts about Fort Erie:
- Statistics Canada, Fort Erie 2016 Census Profile
- Ministry of Transportation, 2016 Road Safety Report
- St. Catharines Standard, “Hunt is on for Niagara’s worst roads”
- Niagara This Week, “Fort Erie man concerned about speeders on Garrison Road”
- The Stand, “Another thing people of Fort Erie don’t talk about”
- Amusement Park Historical Association of Niagara, “Crystal Beach Amusement Park”
- Niagara Regional Police Service, Community Crime Map
- Tami Jeanneret via iHeart Radio, “Snow squall warning now in effect for south Niagara”
- Maclean’s, “Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2019”
- Living in Niagara, “Crime in Niagara”
Source for average insurance rates by city:
- Survey of 2,800 auto insurance policy holders in Ontario
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