See the latest version of this post: Canada’s top 10 pickups: How much for insurance in 2023?
If you’re looking for a new pickup truck, how much is it going to cost you in terms of insurance? We compared Canada’s top ten selling pickup trucks for 2020, and found that the Chevy Colorado produced the most affordable premiums, on average 19-24% cheaper than those for the Jeep Gladiator, which had the highest premiums.
Canadians love their pickup trucks. Although more than 80% of Canadians live in cities, the Ford F-Series has been Canada’s best-selling vehicle for more than a decade, and for the last few years, it hasn’t even been close. With the Ram, GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado also making the top five in terms of annual sales, just those four pickups now account for more than 20% of new vehicle sales across the whole country.
So if you love pickups, and you’re looking for your next new ride, we thought we’d give you some food for thought by running quotes for each of Canada’s top ten selling pickups for 2020.
Here’s what we found:
- The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are the cheapest pickups to insure
- The Jeep Gladiator and Ford Ranger produce the most expensive premiums
- Premiums can vary by 20% or more for the same driver
- Generally, it seems the price of the pickup affects the premium. The Colorado has the lowest MSRP on the list and the Gladiator has the highest.
- The above findings were true across a number of age groups, postal codes and driving/insurance records./li>
Sample drivers for the insurance quotes
In order to get quotes that reflect the reality of driving in Ontario, we created four sample drivers that represent different parts of the province, age/gender groups and driving records.
- Ash, 51, married male, clean record, Barrie (L4M)
- Ada, 27, single female, 2 minor tickets, Markham (L6B)
- Rim, 63, widowed female, suspended for non-pay 2 years ago, Kanata (K2M)
- Al, 35, single male, 1 major ticket, Sarnia (N7V)
The quotes below are based on the following assumptions:
- All drivers were licensed the day they turned 16
- No multi-vehicle or multi-line discounts
- All vehicles quoted with winter tires
- Full coverage with:
- $1 million liability coverage
- Zero deductible for direct compensation claims where someone else is at fault for damage to your vehicle
- $1,000 deductible for collision and comprehensive claims
- Accident forgiveness where available
- Waiver of depreciation where available (replacement cost coverage)
- $1,500 coverage for loss of use (rental car)
- $50,000 coverage for damage to unowned vehicle (rental, loaner etc.)
- Family protection endorsement in case you or your family are injured by another driver who’s inadequately insured
The data
For comparison purposes, all rates were quoted based on the least expensive trim for the base model of the truck in question. The vehicles quoted have MSRPs between $26,000 and $48,000. We list the MSRP because it can make a difference in terms of premiums for physical damage (collision and comprehensive).
| 2020 Cdn Sales1 | MSRP | Vehicle height | Vehicle weight | Ash’s rate | Ada’s rate | Rim’s rate | Al’s rate | Avg rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevy Colorado | 6648 | $26,080 | 70.3 inches | 3,831 lbs | $726 | $2,314 | $1,636 | $2,249 | $1,731 |
| GMC Canyon | 5030 | $26,815 | 70.7 inches | 3,980 lbs | $759 | $2,432 | $1,694 | $2,321 | $1,802 |
| Ram Pickup | 83,673 | $38,033 | 77.6 inches | 4,798 lbs | $795 | $2,563 | $1,764 | $2,451 | $1,893 |
| Toyota Tundra | 11,053 | $42,200 | 76.4 inches | 5,640 lbs | $799 | $2,595 | $1,769 | $2,464 | $1,907 |
| Chevy Silverado | 52,767 | $33,018 | 75.6 inches | 4,815 lbs | $815 | $2,641 | $1,798 | $2,468 | $1,931 |
| GMC Sierra | 51,512 | $34,278 | 75.6 inches | 4,835 lbs | $816 | $2,706 | $1,824 | $2,496 | $1,961 |
| Ford F-Series | 128,650 | $35,755 | 75.7 inches | 4,641 lbs | $848 | $2,748 | $1,857 | $2,577 | $2,008 |
| Toyota Tacoma | 16,946 | $41,370 | 70.6 inches | 4,425 lbs | $921 | $2,900 | $1,972 | $2,677 | $2,118 |
| Ford Ranger | 10,840 | $33,767 | 71.5 inches | 4,441 lbs | $949 | $3,014 | $1,981 | $2,925 | $2,217 |
| Jeep Gladiator | 4859 | $47,770 | 75 inches | 4,651 lbs | $983 | $3,045 | $2,014 | $2,989 | $2,258 |
1. Sales figures from https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2020-canada-pickup-truck-sales-figures-by-model/
How do pickups compare to other vehicles?
We’ve run other comparisons and found that pickup trucks, in general, are the most affordable vehicles in Canada in terms of insurance premiums. Our general understanding is that vehicles that are heavier and higher off the ground protect their passengers better in an accident. The reality is that insurance companies don’t rely on this kind of speculation, and base their rates on past claims data, and that data mostly favours pickup trucks over cars, passenger vans and SUVs.
Are larger trucks really safer?
The fact that the shortest and lightest trucks on our top ten list produce the best premiums seems to contradict the theory that taller, heavier vehicles are safer for the passengers inside them. This is mitigated by the fact that they are also the least expensive vehicles on the list. But at Mitch, we’re curious, just like you are, and we will do some more digging to try to better understand how the type of car you drive affects how much you pay for insurance.
The only way to be sure
There’s no sure way to know how much you’re going to pay for insurance just by looking at a particular car or truck and its specifications. We do our best to give you guidelines, but if you’re at the dealership and trying to decide between two or three different models, why not give us a call. Yeah. Right from the dealership. In 5 minutes, we can give you accurate quotes on the any vehicle you’re considering, and help you make a well-informed purchase. No obligation of course, but if you like the quotes, we’d love to have you as part of the Mitch family.
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