Richmond Hill has long held a reputation as an affluent suburb of Toronto. As with many towns and cities in Ontario, settlement started around mills, focal points of agricultural regions. Today, Mill Pond on Mill Street, belie these quaint origins in Richmond Hill. As a community on Yonge Street, the early thoroughfare between Toronto and Barrie, the city has a central place in the Greater Toronto Area, one that attracted early waves of suburban residents.

With the Oak Ridges Moraine taking up about 1/3 of the northern portion of the city, Richmond Hill is home to much biodiversity. While development has blown both hot and cold in the city, much of its area now sits under Ontario Greenbelt legislation, making new land use assignments more complex.

When Yonge Street expanded from two lanes to four in the early 1970s, relief from traffic congestion was popular. Growth throughout the GTA since then has seen the return of the issue. The proximity to Toronto as well as its other suburbs ensures high traffic volumes, and resulting from that is the common problem of high car insurance premiums.

How Much Does Car Insurance Cost in Richmond Hill

The average cost of car insurance in Richmond Hill is $1,974.

*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 Richmond Hill 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 Richmond Hill

Understanding car insurance for Richmond Hill requires knowledge of the Ontario auto insurance market. Regulated heavily and overseen by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, auto insurance is a mix of no-fault as well as tort-based insurance. Some benefits get paid by a driver’s insurer, regardless of accident fault, while injured parties retain the right to sue at-fault drivers after incidents.

Insurance policies themselves are written by private companies operating in a competitive market. Underwriting rules, as well as operating procedures, remain unique to each company. For motorists, this means that no two insurers charge exactly the same for similar policies. It could mean hundreds of dollars in savings for some drivers without substantial changes in coverage.

The key to pinpointing savings is first finding the providers with the lowest prices for the coverage needed, then fine-tuning a policy with the features and benefits important to the motorist. While every option added above the province’s required minimum adds to a policy’s cost, customizing coverage permits every driver to balance protection against premiums.

Customizing Car Insurance Coverage

Once a motorist locates a low-cost insurer, matching policy features and options to insurance needs is next. This generally comprises three steps.

• Topping up statutory coverage: Both liability and accident benefits coverage have supplemental enhancement with additional amounts if a driver chooses. Most Ontario auto insurance consumers add liability coverage beyond the minimum, and recent legislative changes may have more motorists upgrading accident benefits coverage as well.
• Adding insurance options: The major additions are usually collision and comprehensive insurance. Some motorists are surprised to find that these aren’t required by the Ontario government. They may, however, be mandated by lending agencies as a condition of car purchase financing. Most insurance companies have a list of further options a driver can choose.
• Money-saving options: Adjusting deductible levels up saves money on monthly premiums. Insurers each have a range of discounts or packages featuring a number of options at reduced prices. Drivers can learn of these from their agent or broker and request the addition of those for which they qualify.

Driving in Richmond Hill

• Bounded in the east by Highway 404, convenient high-volume north-south access to downtown Toronto follows this highway as it converts to the Don Valley Parkway as it crosses Highway 401.
• Toll Highway 407ETR runs along Richmond Hill’s southern border.
• Major Mackenzie Drive, as well as 16th Avenue, provides access west to Highway 400.
• Yonge Street remains a major four-line north-south route through Richmond Hill.
• Richmond Hill’s commercial and industrial regions either follow Yonge Street or the area near the 404/407 intersection on the city’s border with Markham.

List of Driving Schools in Richmond Hill Ontario

Road Information for Richmond Hill

• The City of Richmond Hill features a listing of road closures and lane restrictions on its website.
• York Region maintains similar road closure information for streets and roads in the area surrounding Richmond Hill.
• The Weather Network provides area forecasts for Richmond Hill on its website.
• The nearest DriveTest center serving Richmond Hill is in Newmarket at 320 Harry Walker Parkway South.
• ServiceOntario has an outlet at Unit 4, 10909 Yonge Street in Richmond Hill.
• Broadcast media throughout the GTA include traffic information and current conditions for Richmond Hill through news and traffic reports on-air and online.

Driving Facts for Richmond Hill

• Yonge Street, one of the oldest roads in Canada, follows the path of a trail between lakes Ontario and Simcoe. Early development of the road was done by settlers. They were granted land along the route on the condition that they clear 33 feet of frontage along the road.
• Hotels and taverns built the early economy of Richmond Hill, serving the horse-drawn coach traffic along the Yonge Street route.
• The intersection of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive was traditionally the main crossroads of the area. Today, the downtown area runs from Major Mackenzie Drive to just north of Elgin Mills Drive.
• Early train routes by-passes Richmond Hill and it wasn’t until the late 1800s that an electric trolley route came to town to connect with Toronto. The new form of transportation quickly changed life in the town as stagecoach companies went out of business after the electric train’s introduction.
• Today, York Regional Transit runs bus service, including bus rapid transit routes. Two GO commuter train stops serve the city.
• The Toronto Transit Commission has plans to extend the Yonge/University subway line to Richmond Hill. Transit planning organization Metrolinx received funding in 2016 to coordinate the subway extension with the TTC and York Region.

List of Car Richmond Hill Insurance Brokers, Agents, and Companies

Finding the best rates on car insurance in Richmond Hill means comparison shopping. The best way to search through the widest number of insurance companies is through Ratelab’s car insurance calculator. With just a few minutes of time, a motorist receives the best quotes from dozens of Ratelab’s insurance industry partners. Enter your home postal code below to try it for yourself.