Be sure about your insurance

Media Info | Media kit: overview of the property and casualty insurance in Québec | Press releases

Media kit

THE GENERAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN QUÉBEC

Driving the economy

$7 billion in sales in 2005 ¹ ;
23,000 jobs ;
Nearly $10 billion in investments in 2004 ² ;
More than 2% of the autonomous revenue of the Government of Québec in 2005, or $1 billion, came from the tax revenue (taxes and levies) generated by the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry. ³

A highly competitive industry

Auto insurance

Number of motor vehicles in 2005 ⁶

Average premium

Average premium of $715, including $130 in SAAQ contributions for 2005 ⁷ ;
In 2005 (2005 data unavailable), Québec had the second lowest average premium among all Canadian provinces, only $3 higher than first-place Saskatchewan ⁸ ;
In 2005, our Ontario neighbours paid, on average, twice as much for their auto insurance: $1,319 compared to $715 in Québec ⁹ ;
The Autorité des marchés financiers confirms that auto insurance rates in Québec are consistent with the risks associated with insurance-related activities ¹⁰ ;
The Autorité des marchés financiers has observed a drop in rates for the third year in a row ¹¹.

Auto theft

Home insurance

98% of homeowners are insured ;
76% of renters are insured ;
Tenant insurance is available for roughly $200 a year. The premium varies depending on the value of the goods insured.

Fire ¹²

Material losses

10,770 fires were reported in Québec in 2002, of which 9,505 were in multiunit buildings ;
$4.2 billion in material losses were recorded from 1992 to 2002 ;
Between 1998 and 2002, fire-related material losses caused by smoking materials totalled
$77 million ;
From 1992 to 2002, one fire out of two (47%) was attributable to negligent or careless behaviour.

Death

876 insurance-related deaths were recorded from 1992 to 2002 ;
Negligent or careless behaviour was identified as the cause of one death out of three deaths (32%) for the 1998-2002 period ;
Smoking materials were responsible for 56 deaths between 1998 and 2002 ;
From 1998 to 2002, detection systems, including smoke detectors, were absent or defective in 41% of deaths. This rate reached 55% in cases where the source of heat was a smoking accoutrement.

Breaking and entering ¹³

63,866 cases of breaking and entering were reported in Québec in 2004
(homes, businesses and institutions) ;
Of this number, 39,231 incidences occurred in private homes ;
Nearly two out of every three cases (61%) of breaking and entering occur in private homes ;
A home is broken into every 13 minutes.

GENERAL INSURANCE IN CANADA
The information is available only on a country-wide basis rather than province-by-province.

Insurance crime

Insurance crime costs insurers and their clients roughly $3 billion a year ;
Auto theft, false statements and fraudulent claims are the main types of insurance crimes.