Ontario: car insurance discounts for snow tires

ETOBICOKE, Ontario (Dec. 16, 2016) — The Ontario provincial government has mandated that companies that sell car insurance in Ontario offer their customers discounts for using winter tires.

The winter tire discount mandate — which took effect Jan. 1, 2016 — is one of several ways the province is seeking to help reduce insurance costs for Ontario's 10 million drivers, according to Yvan Baker, the Parliamentary assistant to Minister of Finance Charles Sousa.

On average, Mr. Baker said, drivers who use winter tires can have their auto insurance rates reduced by between 2 and 5 percent.

"Winter tires don't just make you more safe, they protect those around you, including passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians," Mr. Baker said at a press conference in Etobocke. "The winter tire discount doesn't just lower your auto insurance rate by up to 5 percent — it makes everyone on the road safer."

Nearly two-thirds of Ontario drivers use winter tires, up from 56 percent in 2014, according to the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada.

Other reforms include prohibiting auto insurance premium increases for minor at-fault accidents and lowering the maximum interest rate that can be charged on monthly auto insurance premium payments to 1.3 percent from 3 percent.

In its statement on insurance cost reductions, the Ministry of Finance noted that Ontario's roads are among the safest in North America and that fatal collisions in the winter months decreased 52 percent from 2002 to 2013.

The ministry said those considering winter tires should:

• Look for models that carry a logo of a snowflake on a peaked mountain;

• Install them in sets of four;

• Check their air pressure and condition at least once a month; and

• Get new tires if they are worn close to the tread-wear indicators.

Ontario is the second Canadian province to offer winter-tire-related financial aid to its residents. Manitoba has offered low-interest financing through its Manitoba Public Insurance for the purchase of winter tires since 2014.