Car insurance Guelph, ON
Part of a series on car insurance rates in Ontario.
Fast facts about auto insurance in Guelph
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 Guelph, Ontario
Nestled just east of Kitchener-Waterloo and north of Cambridge, Guelph is a medium city with quick highway access and many commuting options for work. Some residents even commute to Mississauga, Burlington, Hamilton, and Toronto. They tend to live in the south end near Clair and Gordon.
What’s unique about Guelph’s average auto insurance rate is that it’s rather low despite housing so many commuters driving in several different directions. Many people live close enough to their work environments that they don’t need to drive, all of which comes together to offer surprisingly low rates for the city’s residents.
Get your bundle on & save!
Want even cheaper insurance? Save up to 50% on home and up to 18% 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 18% on car insurance when you bundle them.
Busting myths about driving and insurance in Guelph
Myth: Students raise Guelph’s overall car insurance average.
False. As you can see, Guelph’s average auto rate is pretty low. The city’s infrastructure is built to accommodate students, so You don’t see an exaggerated number of student drivers on the road (thus the rates of drivers under 25 don’t skew the average). The students who do drive tend to be concentrated around campus, Kortright, and the residences surrounding Stone Road Mall.
Myth: You’ll have to commute long distances if you live in Guelph.
Wrong, although it’s easy to see why you’d think so. According to Statistics Canada, 37.5% of Guelph’s workforce commutes to work in less than 15 minutes.
The next 33.3% spend 15-30 minutes commuting to work. That means the majority of Guelph’s workforce spends less than 30 minutes getting to work.
Myth: Avoid the “bad” areas of Guelph to lower your rates.
While the rate of claims and reported crimes cold raise home or auto rates for everyone in a given area, Guelph is actually an incredibly safe, accepting, and well-run city.
In addition to hosting quite a bit of housing expansion, Guelph also keeps pretty high standards for housing (including student housing).
Myth: The Hanlon Parkway has the most dangerous intersections.
Nope. The Hanlon’s slow-crawl traffic is just a result of frustrating urban design, not due to collisions. They still happen, but you’ll know the spot the difference that red light stretches from 4 minutes to 7 or 8 minutes in length.
In fact, the Hanlon doesn’t feature in Guelph’s most dangerous intersections. Go figure.
How Guelph’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 insurance and driving in Guelph
Living or working around the downtown core? Walk, bicycle, or bus to work.
Guelph’s downtown core is quite walkable because it’s laid out in a tentative grid pattern. In fact, 5.8% of Guelph’s workforce walks to work. Another 7% takes the bus, and the next 1.6% ride a bicycle. Another 7.2% rides to work as a passenger.
Use this to your advantage when you’re looking for a place near your work! Finding alternative ways to get to work will lower your annual distance driven, which can correlate to lower car insurance rates.
Commuting to Kitchener, Waterloo, or Cambridge? Move to the west end.
Reducing your annual kilometres driven per year has a significant impact on your car insurance rates. That’s why it makes sense to reduce your commuting distance as much as posible.
Moving west of the Hanlon Parkway could save you between 10 and 15 minutes of driving per day (one way!) if you’re driving west, or even south. New developments are going up on that end of town as well, making it a cost-effective commuter hub.
Avoid Guelph’s worst intersections (and rush hour) to protect yourself from collisions.
Be extra vigilant between 3:00 – 5:00 pm on Thursdays, friends, according to the Guelph Police. Also avoid these intersections whenever possible:
- Speedvale Ave. West and Silvercreek Parkway
- Stone Road West and Edinburgh Rd. South
- Edinburgh Rd. South and Gordon Street
- Wellington St. West and Edinburgh Rd. South
- Woodlawn Rd. West and Imperiod Rd. North
Ride a bike to work or for fun? Lock it up and out of sight.
Guelph doesn’t have too many issues, thankfully. One of the more prolific concerns has to do with bicycle theft. Known bicycle thieves can be spotted walking around downtown on a daily basis, and they do make their way into the south end from time to time.
Guelph’s bike thefts actually dropped about one-third between 2017 and 2018, but the city still held a public forum on the issue of bicycle theft in 2019.
Guelph Insurance FAQs
How much is car insurance in Guelph?
According to our friends at My Choice, the average annual car insurance price in Guelph ranges from $1,281 to $1,345. That’s a rate of $107 to $112 a month, significantly lower than the Ontario average.
Which Guelph postal code has the highest average car insurance premiums?
Different neighbourhoods have different potential for location-based savings when insurers calculate your rates. If you live on the outskirts of Guelph, you could save an additional $100 on car insurance.
My Choice reports that those with an L0P postal code and residents of Rockwood have the highest potential for neighbourhood-related discounts in the Guelph area.
Who shops for auto insurance in Guelph?
Smart drivers who want to save as much as possible on car insurance, that’s who. It’s always wise to shop around for auto insurance, no matter where you live in Ontario. Getting a quote from a brokerage that partners with Canada’s top insurance companies, like aha insurance, will ensure you get the best deal for your coverage. Find out if we can help you save with a 3-minute quote.
Vaughn motorists had the most expensive auto insurance rates in Ontario in 2021. The average yearly car insurance premium in Guelph was $898-$834 less than what Vaughn residents paid on average.
In contrast, yearly Guelph auto insurance premiums are slightly higher than the top ten Ontario cities with the lowest rates. The average Kendal Ontario driver paid the least for car insurance in 2021 ($1,271): That’s less than 1%-6% lower than Guelph’s average rates!
What factors determine my car insurance rates in Guelph?
Guelph is outside the Greater Toronto Area. As a result, car insurance rates in Guelph are typically lower than what GTA residents pay, provided you don’t drive to the GTA frequently and maintain a good driving record.
Learn more about what other factors determine car insurance rates by checking out our Ontario guide to lower car insurance.
How do Guelph's car insurance rates compare to other cities in Ontario?
The average annual Ontario car insurance rate in 2021 was $1,555. That means, on average, Guelph drivers pay between $274 and $210 less for auto insurance than the average Ontarian.
Vaughn motorists had the most expensive auto insurance rates in Ontario in 2021. The average yearly car insurance premium in Guelph was $898-$834 less than what Vaughn residents paid on average.
In contrast, yearly Guelph auto insurance premiums are slightly higher than the top ten Ontario cities with the lowest rates. The average Kendal Ontario driver paid the least for car insurance in 2021 ($1,271): That’s less than 1%-6% lower than Guelph’s average rates!
Sources for facts about Guelph:
- Statistics Canada, Guelph 2016 Census Profile
- Ministry of Transportation, 2016 Road Safety Report
- LMS Homes, “First Time Home Buyers Guide”
- Guelph Mercury, “Bike theft forum to be held at Guelph city hall”
- CBC News, “Here are the worst times and intersections for collisions in Guelph”
Source for average insurance rates by city:
- Survey of 2,800 auto insurance policy holders in Ontario
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