The increased prevalence of severe weather across the province is costing homeowners a lot more in home insurance.
Rates.ca released a study on home insurance rates in Ontario, which said rates increased 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
That's on top of last year's increase of between 9 and 13 per cent.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 2024 was the most expensive year on record for insured weather-related damage. Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and other risks cost $8.55-billion, topping the previous record set in 2016 at $6.2-billion.
Just to put those figures in perspective, damage exceeding $2-billion used to be a rarity, but now it's almost an annual occurrence.
The threat of wildfire is not as great in southern Ontario as it is in the north. Flooding is.
Rates.ca rated insurance premiums in 184 Ontario communities, and some of their findings may surprise some homeowners in southwestern Ontario. For example, Windsor residents pay more than homeowners in Toronto. The average home insurance rate in Windsor is $1,924 compared to $1,523 in Toronto.
The rankings were listed from the lowest in Ontario to the highest. Windsor was ranked 155 out of 184 communities, while Essex scored two spots lower at 157, with an average rate of $1,942. Kingsville had the highest rates in the region at $2,007.
Kingsville was ranked 164th.
The local rates are well above the provincial average of $1,565.
The lowest rate in Ontario could be found in Woodbridge at $1,032, while the highest was in Red Lake at $2,873.