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Find how much you’ll pay each month with our British Columbia car insurance calculator.
Visit your province's government-sanctioned insurance website to find a broker offering insurance services in your area.
Get QuoteBasic car insurance in British Columbia is regulated and provided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) through the Crown corporation’s program, Autoplan. Additional, non-mandatory coverage can be purchased from private car insurance companies.
Because B.C. has a public car insurance system, LowestRates.ca can’t provide a car insurance estimator tool for B.C. customers like we do for other provinces. However, the ICBC does have its own car insurance cost calculator for B.C. residents. Additionally, you can find an Autoplan broker by clicking on the ‘Find Broker’ button above.
Keep reading to learn how your B.C. car insurance rate is calculated and what you can do to get the most coverage for the best price under B.C.’s car insurance system.
Even though the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) is the sole provider of car insurance to all drivers in British Columbia, car insurance premiums are calculated roughly the same way they are in other provinces, with a few differences.
As in other provinces with public car insurance systems, B.C. drivers are not rated based on age and gender. By contrast, car insurance companies are allowed to base rates on these criteria in Ontario and Alberta.
And there’s one other crucial difference: in British Columbia, each insurance policy starts with a base premium. The base premium for basic insurance is $1,063 (as of April 2019). The premium increases or decreases depending on the following categories:
We’ll go into detail about each category.
Vehicle information
Here are the kinds of questions you can expect to be asked when you buy an Autoplan insurance policy. It is helpful to have the answers handy beforehand to have the best experience.
Driver information
Next, you’ll be asked questions about yourself and your driving history.
Discount information
The ICBC provides various car insurance discounts. Your Autoplan insurance broker should work with you to help you determine which ones you qualify for. Here are the discounts the ICBC offers B.C. drivers:
Despite an almost entirely government-run insurance market, B.C. drivers pay the highest car insurance rates in the country.
The base premium for basic insurance is $1,063. The base premium either rises or falls depending on your driving and insurance history. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, drivers pay an average of $1,832 a year for car insurance.
As in Ontario, the car insurance industry blames rampant fraud for sky-high B.C. insurance rates. Other factors that contribute to B.C.'s steep premiums include strict mandatory minimum liability regulations and generous accident benefits laws. Some experts also the province's government-dominated insurance market lacks competition, which leads to higher insurance rates.
The following coverage is included in a basic Autoplan policy:
Autoplan covers personal injury and basic property damage costs. But it’s possible to buy extra coverage for your car. Here are the different types of insurance policies that will protect your car:
There are many ways to get cheap auto insurance in B.C.:
The provincial government is the sole provider of third-party liability auto insurance (mandatory for all drivers). This means LowestRates.ca can’t offer our quote comparison service to B.C. residents. But don’t worry. There are still ways to save on your overall insurance costs.
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Alexandra Bosanac
About the Author
Alexandra Bosanac is the Core Content Manager for LowestRates.ca. Her reporting has appeared in Canadian Business, the Toronto Star, the National Post, and the CBC.
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