Compare car insurance in Quebec

What the Quebec figure actually measures

The Groupement des assureurs automobiles (GAA) publishes an average premium of $1,067 for 2025 (GAA Automobile Statistical Plan, passenger automobiles). Read the scope carefully: that figure covers private property-damage insurance only. It excludes bodily-injury coverage entirely, because in Quebec bodily injury is the public SAAQ no-fault plan, funded through licence and registration insurance contributions rather than through a private premium. Setting $1,067 beside an all-in figure from a fully private province is not a like-for-like comparison, and any ranking that does so is measuring two different products.

How the public and private halves fit together

Every licensed Quebec driver contributes to the SAAQ through licence and registration fees; that plan covers bodily injury on a no-fault basis. The private policy sits on top and covers damage to property — your vehicle and other people's. Quebec's mandatory civil-liability minimum for property damage is $50,000 (Automobile Insurance Act, CQLR c. A-25), the lowest statutory liability minimum in the country, precisely because the injury side sits outside the private policy. Direct compensation has been in force in Quebec since May 1, 1978 (A-25 ss. 116 and 173, and the Agreement, CQLR c. A-25, r. 4) — decades before Ontario and Alberta adopted their versions.

Where the public plan stops

The SAAQ plan covers Quebec residents for bodily injury, but a private policy still carries the parts the public plan does not. Driving outside Quebec is the case that catches people: liability for injuries caused in another province or in the United States is not the SAAQ's to settle in the same way, so the private policy's third-party liability limit matters when you leave the province. Physical damage to your own vehicle — collision and comprehensive — is optional private coverage everywhere in Canada, Quebec included.

What Quebec drivers control

Because the public plan is fixed, comparison acts on the private half: liability limits above the statutory minimum, collision and comprehensive, deductibles, and endorsements such as replacement-cost coverage. Compare more than one insurer — companies file their own rates for the private portion. Weigh deductibles against what you could absorb after a claim. And check the liability limit you carry if you drive outside Quebec, where the statutory $50,000 property-damage minimum is not a meaningful ceiling for an at-fault injury claim.

Questions about quebec car insurance

Why is Quebec car insurance cheaper than other provinces?

The published figure covers less. GAA reported an average of $1,067 for 2025, but that is private property-damage insurance only — bodily injury is the public SAAQ plan, paid through licence and registration contributions rather than a private premium. It is a difference in what is being measured, not a like-for-like discount.

Do I still need bodily-injury liability coverage in Quebec?

For injuries arising in Quebec, the SAAQ public plan is the compensation route. Your private policy’s third-party liability still matters when you drive outside the province, where another jurisdiction’s rules apply to an at-fault claim.

What is the minimum auto insurance required in Quebec?

$50,000 in civil liability for property damage (Automobile Insurance Act, CQLR c. A-25) — the lowest statutory liability minimum in Canada, reflecting that bodily injury sits with the public plan rather than the private policy. Most drivers carry considerably more.

Does Quebec have direct compensation?

Yes, and it is the oldest such scheme in the country — in force since May 1, 1978 (A-25 ss. 116 and 173, and the Agreement, CQLR c. A-25, r. 4). You claim from your own insurer for damage you were not at fault for.

Can I keep my policy if I move to another province?

No. Each province requires a policy issued under its own rules, so a move means re-licensing and re-insuring within that province’s deadline. In the public-monopoly provinces — British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan — the mandatory coverage comes from the Crown insurer rather than a private company.