10 costliest Ontario cities for auto theft claims

Auto theft claims costs in Toronto have surged by nearly 1,000% in the past five years, totalling $371,815,072 in 2023, a new list by the Insurance Bureau of Canada finds. 

Toronto takes first place as the costliest city in Ontario for auto theft claims, according to IBC data. 

Yet it’s Whitby that’s seen the largest overall surge, with an increase of 2,269% over the last five years. 

“As IBC’s numbers reveal, the Greater Toronto Area has been hit particularly hard by the auto theft crisis,” said Amanda Dean, IBC’s Ontario and Atlantic vice president.  

“These claims costs speak to the growing severity of the auto theft crisis in Ontario – a crisis that is having a material impact on auto insurance premiums, to say nothing of the concern and trauma it is causing Ontarians.” 

The top costliest cities in 2023 

Second to Toronto, Brampton clocks in as the next costliest city for auto theft claims at $93,186,518 in 2023. This compares with $11,378,590 in 2018 (a 719% rise). 

The third costliest city is Mississauga at $89,980,735 in 2023 — compared with $14,226,190 in 2018 (a 533% increase).  

The fourth costliest is Vaughan with $62,443,717 in auto theft claims in 2023 — a 789% increase compared to $7,023,115 in 2018. The fifth costliest city is Markham, with $43,633,553 in auto theft claims in 2023 — a 561% increase compared to 2018’s $4,005,428. 

Almost all the cities on the list are in the Greater Toronto Area. 

Departing from the GTA, Ottawa ranks the sixth costliest city for auto theft claims in the province. The nation’s capital totalled $41,304,357 in auto theft claims in 2023. This accounts for a 513% increase from $6,743,194 in 2018. 

Rounding out the Top 10, Oakville ($30,797,587), Richmond Hill ($25,672,053), Hamilton ($19,978,117) and London ($13,823,739) rank as the bottom four costliest Ontario cities for auto theft. 

While these findings show Ontario’s biggest cities — particularly in the GTA — tend to have the highest claims costs, IBC sees even more staggering jumps over the last five years in mid-sized cities.  

Cities with largest increases in claims costs

Whitby saw a 2,269% surge in auto theft claims costs from $512,751 in 2018 to $12,145,932 in 2023. 

Pickering clocks in as the city with the second highest surge (1,228%) from $802,520 in 2018, to $10,653,759 in 2023. 

Milton’s seen the third highest increase (1,010%) to $11,976,316 in 2023, from $1,078,885 in 2018.  

Then, Markham places fourth with a 989% increase over the last five years. It also ranked fifth on the top costliest cities for auto theft list in 2023 ($43,633,553). 

And, Oakville (which ranked seventh on the top costliest cities list), saw a five-year increase of 874%.  

Richmond Hill (812%), Ajax (807%), Vaughan (789%), Clarington (744%) and Brampton (719%), are the remaining cities with the highest claims costs increases over a five-year period. 

Prevention efforts

Nationally, the cost of insurance claims for replacing stolen vehicles in Canada skyrocketed to a record-breaking $1.5 billion, IBC reported earlier this month.  

And 2023 marked the second year in a row that auto theft claims costs topped $1 billion.

That’s why Dean says auto theft is a national emergency. 

“We applaud the Ontario government for the significant investments it has made to help mitigate the crisis. However, more must be done to tighten the vehicle registration process to make it harder for criminals to re-VIN and sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting Ontarians,” she says.  

The federal government recently released its National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft earlier than anticipated.  

“We urge all orders of government — including the province and municipalities — not to delay in working with the federal government to implement the recommendations in the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft,” says Dean.

“This initiative must include measures that make it more difficult to transport and export stolen cars.” 

Feature image by iStock.com/Bilanol