Founded in 1827, Guelph’s name derives from the British monarch at that time, King George IV, and his family, the Hanovers. They in turn descended from the Guelfs, a more distant European dynasty. The Canada Company established the town as a headquarters for operations while developing the Huron Tract of land to the west. The town established its own presence as an industrial center and survived past the days of the Company.

Today, Guelph’s diversified economy embraces manufacturing, education, and life services. North America’s first cable TV system started in the city in 1953 with Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

Consistently at the bottom of urban crime statistics in Canada, the city maintains one of the lowest unemployment rates.

How Much Does Car Insurance Cost in Guelph

The average cost of car insurance in Guelph is $1,295.

*Methodology: We used a sample profile for a male driver aged 30 years with his own vehicle having mandatory coverage. He drives a Honda Civic 2012 car with an average mileage of 5000 – 8000 km per year to commute to work. He has a clean driving record history of 5 years with no accidents or collisions.

We surveyed the car insurance prices in the city of Guelph for the purpose of illustrating the range in quotes based on driving record, location, and other criteria. To get a customized quote, enter your postal code above.

Affordable Car Insurance in Guelph

Ontario’s car insurance system, regulated by the provincial government, requires mandatory coverage on all vehicles using the province’s roads. Private insurance companies underwrite policies for the market while agents, brokers, and direct writers sell these to auto insurance consumers. In this competitive market, every company develops its own formula to balance the factors affecting insurance premium pricing.

Obtaining the best rates on auto insurance requires drivers to shop around, comparing aggressively. Prices between insurance companies frequently vary, sometimes quite dramatically. It’s only through careful comparison that insurers with the lowest rates for each driver become obvious.

While the standard Ontario policy is the same for everyone, optional products and coverage, called endorsements, adapt basic insurance and provide every motorist with customized coverage. Endorsements add additional coverage to the mandatory policy as well as additional products and features. Collision and comprehensive insurance aren’t required by the government, but most motorists add these to reduce their financial exposure. Without these add-ons, a driver would pay all the costs associated with repairing or replacing a car after an accident.

Drivers can lower their premiums in several ways. Increasing deductible amounts puts more of the post-incident load on the driver, but in return, insurance premiums go down. Most insurance companies apply discounts to policies when a driver meets certain requirements and requests a discount. Insurers generally don’t apply discounts automatically.

The city of Guelph has many insurance agents and brokers from which to choose. In addition to those, direct insurance writers market through the Internet, issuing policies to consumers without agents or brokers.

Driving in Guelph

• Guelph sits a few kilometers north of the 401, northeast of Cambridge, and east of Kitchener-Waterloo. Access to the 401 uses Highway 6 south or Gordon Road, Regional Road 46, at the Morriston interchange. Traffic on the sections of the 401 near Guelph can be heavy at times but rarely descends to stop and go speeds without an accident or poor weather conditions.
• There are service centers off the 401 in both directions about halfway between the Highway 6 interchange and Highway 24 in Cambridge.
• Toronto’s Pearson Airport is 74 km from downtown Guelph, about 53 minutes of driving via the 401, depending on traffic.
• Highway 6 is named Hanlon Expressway in town and the Ministry of Transportation has plans to extend the Expressway to Kitchener. Merging with the Conestoga Parkway at the Wellington Street interchange, the Hanlon Expressway will also upgrade to controlled access over its length. As this road turns to the west to the K-W area, it will change from the approximate north-south orientation of Highway 6 to the more east-west direction of Highway 7, which currently connects to Kitchener on the west and Acton to the east.
• The original plan for the townsite used the natural bow in the Speed River to layout a radial grid reminiscent of European towns. These original streets remain and many of them retain Victorian buildings over a century old.
• While some traffic congestion occurs during rush hour in the city itself, it is not particularly heavy or long-lasting compared with other cities in the region.

List of Driving Schools in Guelph Ontario

Road Information for Guelph

• The City of Guelph maintains an informative website that contains resources for drivers as well as information on road construction and closures.
• The MTO reports winter road conditions for Southwestern Ontario including Guelph.
• Guelph is situated in Wellington County, though it remains politically independent. The County’s website includes road closure and maintenance information for the area surrounding the city.
• The Weather Network provides short-term forecasts for Guelph and surrounding areas.
• Guelph has its own DriveTest Centre at 255 Woodlawn Road West. The local ServiceOntario location is at 1 Stone Road West.

Driving Facts for Guelph

• Highway 6 extends from Port Dover on the Lake Erie shore, through Hamilton and Guelph, north to Owen Sound and Tobermory. It resumes on Manitoulin Island and continues to Highway 17 at McKerrow. The MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry connects Tobermory to Manitoulin Island from May to October. Highway 6 is one of only two Ontario highways connected mid-way by a ferry.
• Highway 6 dates back to the first planned highways system in 1920. It wasn’t designated with a number until 1925. It roughly follows the route of a pioneer wagon trail. One section of Highway 6, south of Guelph and the 401, remains two lanes wide due to several small settlements and lack of available land to expand its width to four lanes. This is one of the few places near Guelph that’s regularly prone to traffic tie-ups.
• Highway 7 once spanned Ontario west to east, from Sarnia to Ottawa, a distance of 716 km. Development of Highway 402 from Sarnia to London reduced the load on Highway 7 and it transferred to regional and county jurisdiction. To the east of Guelph, toll Highway 407 caused another transfer of control of parts of Highway 7. LikeHighway 6, Highway 7 dates back to Ontario’s original highway network, laid out in 1920.

List of Insurance Companies and Brokers in Guelph

If you’re living in Guelph and shopping for car insurance, Ratelab’s car insurance calculator is your best tool. Simply enter your residential postal code below and fill out the information that the calculator guides you through. You’ll receive up to 10 quotes, starting with the lowest cost alternative. Armed with these estimates, you’re in a position to arrange the best, most affordable coverage for your car insurance needs.