How expensive is it to insure one of Canada's top 10 most stolen vehicles?

This article is updated annually. As a result, stolen vehicle rankings may change according to the most recent data available. 

Every year, Équité Association releases a list of the top 10 stolen vehicles in Canada.

To compile the list, actual theft claims data licensed by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is collected from almost every car insurance company in the country.

Data like this can help drivers make an informed choice when shopping for a vehicle, and can also shed light on why you might find you’re paying more for car insurance if you buy one of these vehicles.

How a vehicle’s theft risk can impact your car insurance premium

Theft risk is one of many factors insurance providers consider when they set your premium, among driving history, age, gender, location, and more. Insurance claims for theft can be quite costly. According to the IBC, a car is stolen every six minutes in Canada, on average. For insurance companies paying out theft claims, that translates to a big price tag. 

The top 10 stolen vehicles account for almost 11,000 of the recorded thefts in 2021, most of which occurred in Ontario.

“Ontario is the most populated province in Canada with the most insured vehicles,” says Bryan Gast, vice president of investigative services at Équité Association. “This, coupled with the province’s proximity to the Montreal port, makes Ontario a prime target for vehicle theft.”

No insurance provider wants to pay to replace an entire vehicle. So, if it sees a lot of theft claims with a particular model, it may decide to charge more to insure it to offset the costs associated with those claims. This is just one reason it pays to compare car insurance rates before purchasing a new policy or renewing an existing one.

What it costs to insure one of Canada’s top 10 most stolen cars

We sought to find out how much more expensive it is to insure one of Canada’s most commonly stolen vehicles. Using the LowestRates.ca auto insurance quoter, we generated test quotes for each model on Équité’s list based on a single driver profile with a clean driving record, and compared it against the national average premium of those with clean driving records.

Because we ask LowestRates.ca customers to enter more specific models than what Équité lists for some brands — e.g., it lists the most expensive model as the "Honda CR-V SUV,” but LowestRates.ca has eight variants of this model in our database — we’ve opted to use the model with the most quotes on our site.

One reassuring thing the data revealed: you’re not guaranteed to pay more for insurance if you drive one of Canada’s top 10 stolen vehicles. In fact, five of the 10 most stolen cars are less expensive than the national average — one by almost 45%.

Here’s Équité’s ranked list of Canada’s most stolen cars, and how much more or less expensive each model is to insure than the national average. Each figure is rounded to the nearest whole percentage.

1. 2018 HONDA CR-V EX 4DR AWD: 1% less expensive

This is the third year in a row the Honda CR-V has made Équité’s top 10 stolen vehicles list, according to available archived data. And for the second time, it’s taken the number-one spot as the most stolen vehicle. But why?

“It’s a quality vehicle and it comes down to volume and demand by organized crime networks, both overseas for export and domestically for reVINing and chop shops,” says Gast.

“ReVINing” a vehicle refers to the process of giving a vehicle a new, false vehicle identification number (VIN) and a fabricated ownership history.

“When we look at the total number of insured vehicles, there are more Honda CR-Vs on the road than any other vehicle.
However, out of the 10 vehicles on this list, it’s not necessarily the most expensive to insure when compared to the national average of those with clean driving records. The model with the most quotes on LowestRates.ca that we used for this comparison was the EX, which is one step up from the base model.

2. 2017 LEXUS RX350 4DR AWD: 24% more expensive

It makes sense to see this luxury car on this year’s list, as it has been one of the top stolen vehicles since 2017. Higher-end vehicles are prime targets for thieves, who can reprogram vehicles with push starts by relaying the signal from a person’s key fob. In addition to being the second-most stolen vehicle of 2021, it’s 24% more expensive to insure than the national average.

"The two that top the list are vehicles that can be serviced globally,” says Gast. So, that can also create an incentive based on accessibility once the vehicle is taken.  

3. 2018 FORD F-150 XLT SUPERCREW 4WD: 5% less expensive

Although the Ford F-150 series ranked as the number one stolen vehicle in 2020, “the top 10 will fluctuate each year depending on supply and demand,” notes Gast.

Ford trucks consistently make Équité’s annual top 10 stolen vehicles list, so it’s interesting that it’s actually one of the least expensive vehicles on this list to insure when compared to the national average.

4. 2018 HONDA CIVIC LX 4DR: 16% more expensive

Here’s another Honda, though a different model. This five-seat sedan is roughly 16% more expensive than the national average, so while it clocks in at number four on the list, it may eat up more of your car insurance budget than its predecessors.

5. 2019 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER XLE V6 4DR AWD: 7% more expensive

The Toyota Highlander made the 2020 top 10 stolen vehicles list and in 2021, it made its way up the list by two spots. While its theft rate has increased, its body size (SUV) and therefore safety rating could be keeping it from costing even more to insure than the national average than it already does, at 7%.

6. 2017 DODGE RAM 1500 SLT CREW CAB 4WD: 2% less expensive

The Dodge RAM 1500 pickup is a new addition to the list this year. While the 2020 list featured the Dodge Caravan model in eighth place, no vans made the list in 2021. However, this is the second of three pickups on this year’s list, indicating trucks are almost as common a target as SUVs. But compared to the other pickup models, it can be more expensive to insure.

7. 2006 GMC SIERRA 1500 HD SLE CREW CAB 4WD: 45% less expensive

The GMC SIERRA fell to seventh place from third place in 2020. Despite it making the top 10 list again, a 2006 model is much less likely to yield a higher insurance premium, even with a higher theft rate. And though we opted for collision and comprehensive coverage in our hypothetical quote, it’s not recommended to add this coverage on a vehicle 10 years old or older as the payout for a vehicle this old may not be worth the added cost to your premium.

8. 2018 HONDA ACCORD SPORT 4DR: 12% more expensive

As the third Honda on the list, it’s clear Hondas are notorious for posing a greater theft risk to insurance companies. When compared to the national average, the Accord Sport can be even more expensive to insure than the most stolen Honda model, the CR-V, but less expensive than the Civic.

9. 2016 JEEP CHEROKEE NORTH 4DR 4WD: 10% less expensive

This is the first year that a Jeep model has made the top 10 stolen vehicles list, according to Équité’s archives. The LowestRates.ca auto insurance quoter pegs the 2016 Jeep Cherokee at nearly 10% less expensive to insure than Canada’s average premium, making it the second-most affordable model on the list to insure.

10. 2018 TOYOTA RAV4 LE 4DR AWD: 6% more expensive

New to the list is the Toyota RAV4 model. As the last of five SUVS, the RAV4 sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to SUV insurance affordability of the models on the list. And while it’s the least stolen on the list, it’s still more expensive to insure than five of the other models above it that are more frequently stolen, proving that multiple factors go into determining your car insurance premium beyond theft alone.

How to save on car insurance with a most stolen vehicle

As our data show, five out of 10 vehicles on this list cost more to insure than the national average. That’s something to keep in mind when shopping around for a vehicle. 

That said, theft risk isn’t the only factor that goes into determining your premium. While certain vehicles on this list are more or less expensive to insure than the national average, keep in mind that these figures aren’t set in stone. Your mileage, age, driving history, postal code, etc. all factor into what you’re going to pay for auto insurance. Theft risk is only one piece of that puzzle.

If you decide to purchase one of these vehicles, make every effort to deter thieves and keep this list in mind when shopping for car insurance. Make sure you take the time to compare car insurance rates — especially when you might already be staring down a higher premium. 

Methodology

National average premium from LowestRates.ca data based on:

• Primary driver is 25 or older
• Province is Ontario
• Primary driver does not have any tickets, accidents, suspensions, or cancelations
• Primary driver has full license
• Primary driver is insured

Driver profile for test quotes:

• Number of vehicles: 1
• Number of drivers: 1
• Clean driving record (no collisions, suspensions, or traffic tickets)
• Age: 35
• Gender: Male
• Lives in the M6H 1X1 postal code of Toronto, Ont.
• G licence
• Listed on an insurance policy for 18 years (since he was 16 years old)
• With current insurance company for two years
• Collision and comprehensive coverage
• Third-party liability at $1,000,000
• Vehicle: one year old (financed)
• Parked: private driveway
• Drives five kilometres to and from work daily (10,000 kilometres annually)
• Personal use
• Winter tires
• Did not opt for any discounts related to telematics or bundling

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