Car insurance Pickering, ON
Part of a series on car insurance rates in Ontario.

Fast facts about auto insurance in Pickering
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 Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a classing GTA bedroom community that checks all the boxes for young professionals and established families. It’s far enough outside of Toronto to provide more affordable housing, but it doesn’t sit at the edge of the GTA’s limits.
Crime rates are reasonably low, and the average age of its residents just spills over 40, speaking to plenty of driving experience. It’s a good place to call home.
Low crime rates, great driving records, and safe vehicles go a long way toward lower auto insurance rates, but road exposure also counts for a lot—and that’s where Pickering sees its average auto rate slide into the upper-middle end of the spectrum.
Commuting for hours per day increases your risk of a collision substantially, especially during rush hour (and who isn’t commuting during rush hour?).
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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 Pickering
Myth: If you move to Pickering then you can expect to work in Toronto.
With 33.46% of Pickering’s entire population commuting outside of the city itself for work on a daily basis, it’s very likely that you’ll end up working in Toronto if you live in Pickering. This one is definitely true.
Myth: Improvements to the 401 will improve the commute into Toronto.
Don’t bet on it any time soon. While the provincial government does have plans to improve the stretch of Highway 401 between Scarborough and Pickering, it won’t be completed until 2023 at the earliest. It also won’t reduce your annual commuting distance driven, so your car insurance rate won’t improve from this, either.
Myth: If you just leave earlier for work then you can skip the 401’s congestion.
Data from Statistics Canada shows that 27.28% of Pickering’s work force already leaves for work between 7:00 am and 7:59 am, which is more popular than any other departure time. Leave any earlier and you could find the office doors locked.
Myth: GO Transit stations are too crowded for you to use them.
You might just be in luck! GO Stations have parking spots reserved for car pool vehicles (with free permits), and Durham Region owns various parking lots specifically for car poolers, too. The region has also created dedicaed parking lots for car pool vehicles in various spots, so you don’t necessarily need to live right by the GO station to make it work.
How Pickering’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 Pickering
Live near the Pickering GO Station.
You can reduce your auto premiums significantly by reducing your annual commuting distance. That reduces your exposure to risk on the road, which is why should lower your rates (relative to every other factor on your car insurance policy.
In this case, taking the GO train into Toronto instead of driving on the 401 or Kingston Road will go a long way.
Avoid Pickering’s most dangerous intersections.
There are two intersections in Pickering that are simply more dangerous than the rest:
- Pickering Parkway and Brock Road
- Whites Road and Whites Road
Avoiding these two places will reduce your odds of a collision, helping to keep your driving record claims-free for as long as possible.
Carpool and use HOV lanes if you can’t take the GO train.
Driving instead of lounging on a train is the reality for most of us on our morning commute. More road exposure is a major factor in calculating an auto premium, making that more expensive for a city of long-distance commuters.
However, you can reduce your road exposure by carpooling with a friend or coworker, alternating days as the driver.
Sources for facts about Pickering:
- Statistics Canada, Pickering 2016 Census Profile
- Ministry of Transportation, 2016 Road Safety Report
- DurhamRegion.com, “Durham’s top 10 most dangerous intersections”
- Ontario.ca, “Ontario is Improving Highway 401 in Scarborough and Pickering”
- CBC News, “Life in the HOV lane: video shows driver pass by 800 vehicles from Toronto to Oakville”
- GO Transit, “Carpool Parking”
- Durham.ca, “Carpooling”
Source for average insurance rates by city:
- Survey of 2,800 auto insurance policy holders in Ontario

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