Canadian personal auto insurance premium rates increased 11.1% year-over-year basis in the first quarter of 2026, with Alberta recording an increase nearly twice the national average.
Rates rose 21.3% in Alberta, 11.8% in Ontario, 9.6% in the Atlantic provinces and 4% in Quebec compared with the first quarter of 2025.
Despite the annual increase, the national personal auto premium rate index fell 0.8% from the fourth quarter of 2025.
Alberta was the only region included in the personal auto comparison to record a quarterly increase, at 7.4%. Rates fell 0.2% in Ontario, 1.8% in the Atlantic provinces and 6.5% in Quebec.
The Applied Rating Index tracks changes in quoted premiums rather than the average dollar amount paid by drivers. Researchers calculated the results using more than 30 million anonymized quotes per quarter and the average of the three best final premiums offered for each quoted risk.
The data covers more than 80% of Canada’s brokerage market and 675 insurer rating plans written through brokers.
Ontario’s annual increase slowed from 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2026.
Alberta moved in the opposite direction, rising from 11.1% to 21.3%. Quebec’s annual increase fell from 13.4% to 4%, while the increase in the Atlantic provinces declined from 15.4% to 9.6%.
