Average Cost for Insurance in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a province that has a fair amount of people living in it, but the land is quite vast for the number of people that are living there. Due to this reason, Saskatchewan ranks eighth for having the lowest average cost for auto insurance. In Saskatchewan, the average cost for insurance is $882. Seeming as the average cost of insurance in Canada is $965.15, Saskatchewan’s insurance price seems more than fair.
List of Top Saskatchewan Auto Insurance Companies
Ranking | Top Auto Insurance Companies in Saskatchewan | 2015 DIRECT WRITTEN AUTO |
---|---|---|
1 | SGI Canada Group | 159,101,000 |
2 | Co-Operators General Insurance Co | 9,621,000 |
3 | Aviva Canada Inc | 5,118,000 |
4 | Northbridge Financial Corporation | 2,863,000 |
5 | Lloyd's Underwriters | 2,491,000 |
6 | Intact Financial Corporation | 1,522,000 |
7 | Zurich Insurance Company Ltd | 1,448,000 |
8 | Portage La Prairie Mutual | 863,000 |
9 | AIG Insurance Co Of Canada | 616,000 |
10 | RBC General Insurance | 461,000 |
11 | RSA Canada Group | 367,000 |
12 | Travelers Canada | 327,000 |
13 | Chubb Insurance Co of Canada | 182,000 |
14 | Old Republic Insurance Company | 26,000 |
15 | Cumis General Insurance | 17,000 |
16 | Guarantee Company Of North America | 1,000 |
What is Saskatchewan Government Insurance?
When you go in to register a vehicle in Saskatchewan, you must enter the mandatory insurance program. This basic package is a package that includes coverage for vehicle damage, personal injury, and liability. Saskatchewan government insurance operates on a break-even basis and does not pay any money or dividends to the government. Saskatchewan government insurance also known as SGI, offers several extended coverage insurance options. Unlike some other provinces with mandatory government insurance, you can add more protection when you’re traveling, lower your deductibles and get insurance to cover the full value of a new vehicle. Through SGI, you can even opt to get comprehensive insurance coverage where you don’t even have to pay a deductible should something like an environmental disaster occur.
Are there Penalties for Driving With an Unregistered Vehicle or as an Unlicensed Driver in Saskatchewan?
Saskatchewan is not different than the rest of Canada in terms of punishing unregistered and unlicensed drivers. If you are caught within an unregistered vehicle, you may receive a $580 fine. In fact, you can also receive a demerit point. If it so happens that you get caught with an unregistered vehicle more than one, you can have your vehicle impounded. If you get caught without a driver’s license, you may receive a fine of $150 and a demerit point. The second time this occurs, your vehicle will be impounded. In Saskatchewan, they take these driving offenses seriously, so it is important that you do as well.
How do you Submit a Claim to Saskatchewan Government Insurance?
To be able to submit a claim, you first must make sure you have all the information you need. After a collision occurs, make sure you get the name of the driver, the customer number, and the license plate number. There are collision forms that you can print off so that don’t have to remember what to collect if an accident occurs. Remember, it is important to make sure you get the names and addresses of any witnesses to a collision. If there happens to be a crime that was committed, you must make sure that you submit a police report within 24 hours. This is extremely important as an insurance company may deny your claim if you do not do this. Your final step is to file your claim. You can submit your claim online or call a service center. Make sure you keep your personal information handy.
Are Drivers in Saskatchewan Good Drivers?
To decide if Saskatchewan has bad drivers, we will look at the worst-case scenario accidents as well as regular collisions. In Saskatchewan, in 2011, there were a total of 29,675 collisions. Going forward into 2012 there were a total of 30,225 collisions. Even more recently, in 2013 there were 31,741 collisions. As you can see, there has been a slight increase in the overall amount of collisions that occur. However, Saskatchewan doesn’t have all the bad news when it comes to having good drivers. In 2011 per 100 people there were .51 people on average who were in fatal collisions. In 2012, there were .52 people on average who were in fatal collisions. Again, more recently, in 2013, there were .48 people who were in fatal collisions per 100 people. If you average this out, there has been a decrease in the number of deaths in Saskatchewan collisions over time.
How Do Auto Taxes for Saskatchewan Compare to the Rest of Canada?
In Saskatchewan, you must pay the regular Canadian tax rate of 5%. This is a nonnegotiable tax rate as everyone in Canada must pay this rate. On top of this rate, there is also a provincial rate that you must pay depending on where you live. Some provinces have no provincial tax rate while others have as large as a 10% provincial tax rate. In Saskatchewan, you have a very reasonable tax rate of 6%. Altogether, you will pay a total tax rate of 11%. On top of regular taxes, you might also wonder how much Saskatchewan charges for the gasoline tax. In Saskatchewan, there is a gasoline tax of $0.15 per liter and you have to pay a federal excise tax of $0.10 per liter as well. Add this all up and you must pay an extra $0.25 per liter to fill up at the gas tank.
Are the Saskatchewan government insurance rates likely to rise?
To be able to tell if insurance rates are likely to rise, we need to look at previous data. To do this, we thought it would be best if we created a table showing the increases and decreases in the Saskatchewan government’s insurance rates. Here is a table covering the past 10 years:
Year
| Percentage Increase or Decrease in Insurance Rates |
2007 | 7.1% decrease |
2008 | 0% change |
2009 | 4.2% increase |
2010 | 0% change |
2011 | 0% change |
2012 | 1.6% increase |
2013 | 1.03% increase +1.23% surcharge |
2014 | 3.4% increase +1% capital amount |
2015 | 0% change |
2016 | 0% change |
2017 | 0% change |
Judging by this table, since 2009, we have seen no decreases in Saskatchewan government insurance rates. Due to this reason and the fact that the number of collisions in Saskatchewan is continuing to rise every year, we predict that government insurance rates are likely to slowly rise in the future. Although there is no way to be sure, if the previous years have any insight on what’s to come, this is what we expect to happen.
To Conclude
In Saskatchewan, you are forced to get insurance through SGI. However, the best part about this is that you can opt to get additional coverage directly through SGI. Due to this reason, you do not have to go to a third-party insurance company if you don’t want to. Insurance rates in Saskatchewan are more than fair, in fact, many provinces in Canada would call the people of Saskatchewan lucky for having lower rates than the average Canadian.