Car Insurance Hamilton

Highway driving: Hamilton is no stranger to highway driving. The ever-busy Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) connects the city to one of the world’s busiest highways — Highway 401 — and to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Whether you’re making your daily commute or embarking on a weekend getaway, give yourself lots of extra time to account for the congested highways that surround the Hamilton area.

Mind the one-ways: Like with many mid-sized Ontario cities, one-way streets are commonplace in the city of Hamilton. Pay careful attention when you’re driving downtown or through residential neighbourhoods, and use a GPS device to help navigate the city if you’re less familiar with the routes around the area.

Local expressways: Hamilton has a number of in-city freeways, including the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, the Red Hill Valley Parkway, and Highway 403. Instead of relying on the city’s slower-moving streets and boulevards, use one of Hamilton’s many expressways to get across town.

Avoid the waterfront: Streets like Burlington Street — which runs alongside the harbour, on the north end of Hamilton — are still fairly industrial, generally poorly maintained, and can be difficult for both local drivers and visitors to navigate. If possible, avoid using streets near the waterfront altogether.

Bundle policies: By bundling multiple types of insurance in Hamilton with the same insurance provider, you can get up to 15% savings on auto insurance and 10% savings on home or condo insurance. The discount applies to tenant (ie. renters) insurance, so even if you don’t own a home, be sure to ask about bundling options.  

Telematics: Certain insurance providers in Ontario offer discounts for participating in telematics programs. Telematics programs — also known as Usage-Based Insurance — automatically track driving behaviour and reward safe driving with discounts of up to 30%. Driving behaviour is tracked through a small digital device that gets installed in the policyholder’s vehicle and that measures factors such as speed, trip distance, braking, fuel consumption, and driving smoothness.

Pay annually: Paying your full annual premium for online car insurance at one time — instead of dividing it in twelve monthly instalments — will usually result in a discount to your auto insurance premiums. This is because it means drivers avoid paying for the service fees that insurance companies typically charge policyholders to process their monthly payments.

Winter tires: By installing four approved winter tires during the winter months (when temperatures fall below 7 degrees Celsius), drivers can typically save up to 5% on their auto insurance premiums. To be sure a winter tire meets the standards set by the Rubber Association of Canada, look for the small mountain-shaped symbol containing a snowflake.

At Surex, our three-step process will ensure that you end up with the best car insurance in Hamilton. Here’s how Surex can help you get insurance online:

Personalized Insurance Quotes: Surex will capture some of your basic information — either by phone or online — and then shop the market for you. In under ten minutes, you’ll have up to ten personalized insurance offers to choose from.

Customize Your Offers:  Once you receive your online car insurance quote, you can edit your information, compare insurance companies and compare quotes to find the best overall value.

Purchase and Manage 24/7: Once you’ve selected an auto insurance quote and reviewed the insurance policy with your insurance broker or advisor, you can electronically sign documents to receive instant proof of insurance. If you’d rather speak with someone we will connect you with a Dedicated Insurance Assistant to walk you through all the options and answer any questions you might have. Once finished, your Ontario automobile insurance documents will arrive in the mail and you can manage your policy 24/7 with our ‘My Surex’ login feature.