Kingston is located in Eastern Ontario and connects Toronto and Montreal. This city is also famous as the ‘Limestone City’ due to many limestone heritage buildings. The 2011 census estimate of the population was 123,363. The major sectors are healthcare, the public sector, and education. Highway 401 gives main access to the city and highway 15 connects the city with Ottawa. Kingston Transit provides public transportation across the city.
We conducted a comparison of car insurance rates provided by major insurance companies in Kingston with a sample profile. We also compared the prices of car insurance in various neighborhoods in Kingston using the same profile.
Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes in Kingston
| Rank | Auto Insurance Company | Annual Rate |
| 1 | Belairdirect | $1,243 |
| 2 | The Cooperators | $1,260 |
| 3 | Travelers (Dominion Product) | $1,271 |
| 4 | Travelers (Chieftain Product) | $1,332 |
| 5 | Gore Mutual | $1,422 |
| 6 | Wawanesa Insurance | $1,430 |
| 7 | Desjardins Insurance | $1,451 |
| 8 | Coachman | $1,523 |
| 9 | Aviva | $1,546 |
| 10 | Economical | $1,592 |
| 11 | Pembridge | $1,606 |
| 12 | Allstate | $1,654 |
| 13 | Intact | $1,682 |
| 14 | CAA | $1,714 |
| 15 | Echelon | $1,965 |
Most Expensive Auto Insurer in Kingston
As per the above table, Echelon Insurance gave the highest quote for car insurance at an annual cost of $1965. The difference between their quote and the lowest quote was $722. Echelon offers insurance to high-risk clients too who were denied coverage by other insurers. CAA had the next highest quote at an annual cost of $1714 which showed a variation in price by almost 13%.
Cheapest Auto Insurer in Kingston
Belairdirect Insurance offered the lowest car insurance quote at an annual cost of $1243. The Co-operators Insurance provided the next lowest quote at an annual rate of $1260 which was a difference of just $17.
Car Insurance in Kingston Neighborhoods
| Neighborhoods | Car Insurance can be as low as* |
| Sunnyside | $918.00 |
| Portsmouth Village | $918.00 |
| Queen’s | $918.00 |
| Williamsville | $918.00 |
| Calvin Park | $918.00 |
| Kingscourt | $918.00 |
| Hillendale | $918.00 |
| Alwington | $918.00 |
| Auden Park | $918.00 |
| Cataraqui Westbrook | $918.00 |
| Grenville Park | $918.00 |
| Polson Park | $918.00 |
| Bayridge East | $918.00 |
| Sydenham | $940.00 |
| Waterloo Village | $1035.00 |
Most Expensive Areas For Car Insurance in Kingston
The above table shows a comparison of car insurance rates in major neighborhoods in Kingston. The Waterloo Village area had the highest rate of car insurance at an annual cost of $1035. This area lies on the west side of Kingston. The next highest quote was for the Sydenham area at a difference of $95. This area is located in the downtown area of Kingston with many business establishments and residential units. Queen’s University is nearby and also has the largest employer Empire Life Financial headquarters based here. All this has been attributed to increased population and traffic in this area.
Least Expensive Areas For Car Insurance in Kingston
As per the comparison of car insurance rates, around 13 areas in Kingston had the same price at an annual cost of $918. The Sunnyside, Williamsville, Calvin Park, Bayridge East, Portsmouth Village, Kingscourt, Queen’s, Hillendale, and Alwington areas belong to either the downtown side or inner suburbs of Kingston. Further, the areas of Auden Park, Cataraqui Westbrook, Polson Park, and Grenville Park are situated on the west side of Kingston.
Road Safety & Tips For Driving In Kingston
The Utility department and the city of Kingston make combined efforts to improve the transportation network of sidewalks, roads, street furniture, bikeway, and bridges.
2015 – 2018 Strategic Plan
The city of Kingston with the help of the Utility sector has aimed at implementing a strategic plan from 2015 to 2018 to make the sidewalks, roads, and transportation network safe for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. The city takes care of the building and maintains 100s of km of roadways and traffic infrastructure.
Master Plan for Kingston Transportation
The city encourages active transportation as an alternative to driving while commuting. This initiative is to support economic causes, health and cut down carbon emissions. The city has conducted a survey that showed that around 40% of residents live near their workplaces within a range of 5 km. However, only about 14% prefer to walk or bike to work. Hence the city had started the ‘Walk ‘n’ Roll Kingston’ campaign aimed at increasing the number of residents who use active transportation to get to work. The target number is around 20% by the year 2034 during peak travel times. This is expected to reduce the number of motorists on the road and cut down traffic congestion and collisions.
As a preparation for this campaign, around 131 km of infrastructure for supporting cycling was added to the roads from 2008 to 2015. There was 74 km of sidewalks created along with 50 street benches aimed at improving accessibility in the city.
Traffic Lights
When the final budget for infrastructure development is approved, the city of Kingston has planned to install traffic signals at the below sites from 2015 to 2018.
- Highway 38 and Unity Road
- Trailhead Place and King Street
- Woodhaven Drive and Princess Street
- Innovation Drive and Highway 15 )
- Country Club and King Street
- Union Street and Division Street
- Sydenham Road and Cataraqui Woods Drive
- Albert Street and King Street
The city has plans to install red-light cameras in the following 10 intersections:
- Montreal Street and Queen Street
- John Counter Boulevard and Division Street
- Unity Road and Perth Road
- Bayridge Drive and Taylor-Kidd Boulevard
- Portsmouth Avenue and Bath Road
- Princess Street and Gardiners Road
- Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard and Princess Street
- Taylor-Kidd/John Counter Boulevard and Princess Street
- Taylor-Kidd Boulevard and Gardiners Road
- Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard and John Counter Boulevard
Road Safety In Winter
In Ontario, Kingston city is one of the municipalities that remove snow from all sidewalks used by the public. The city uses 28 large snowplows for this task continuously during winter and clears around 1800 km of roadways. Around 600 km of sidewalks are cleared of snow using 15 sidewalk plows too. The major arterial, rural, and collector roads are cleared on priority within 4 hours of snowfall. The secondary transit routes and collector roads are cleared within 6 hours of snowfall. The residential areas are cleared of snow within 16 hours of snowfall.
Traffic Calming Policy
The traffic calming policy of Kingston aims at improving traffic control. This will enhance road safety and reduce conflicts between road users. The policy is also formed to cut down traffic speed. Slowing down will reduce the severity and number of motor vehicle collisions by with traffic volumes.
* Methodology
For the survey, we assumed that the auto insurance premiums are for a 35-year-old man. He owns his car Honda Civic model 2012. The credit rating is good and he has basic liability coverage. The annual mileage ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 with no traffic tickets in the last 5 years.
Insurance quotes shown here are examples only. The lowest cost insurance provider depends on numerous factors related to the car, driver, location, and driving conditions. There’s no guarantee that the lowest rate provider in these examples produces the lowest rate for every driver.
About the Author: Ashley Miller
