A new report indicates homeowners in Kingsville are paying the highest home insurance premiums in Windsor-Essex, and climate change is one of the issues driving up rates.

According to the latest Rates.ca Home Insuramap report, Kingsville homeowners pay an estimated average of $2,007, or 28 per cent more than the provincial average.

The average annual home insurance premium in Ontario is $1,565, which is based on the profile of a 45-year-old homeowner living in a 2,500-square-foot home and is indicative of current home insurance premium price trends.

The report also indicates that homeowners in Essex pay $1,942 (+24%), Windsor is at $1,924 (+23%), Leamington stands at $1,920 (+22%), Tecumseh is at $1,908 (+22%), and Amherstburg pays $1,843 (+18%).

Rates.ca insurance expert Daniel Ivans says the biggest contributor to the rate increases is climate change, much like other areas of the country that are at high risk for severe weather events.

Ivans says Windsor-Essex, topographically, is in a low-lying flat plain that’s surrounded by the Detroit River and Lake St.Clair.

“Based on how flat the ground is levelled out across the area and the risk posed by the bodies of water that are around. Naturally we are seeing a lot of basement flooding and sewer backup claims. Again, we’re seeing this across the country but particularly in areas that are vulnerable close to large bodies of water and along flat plains,” he says.

The report also indicates that homeowners in Essex pay $1,942 (+24%), Windsor is at $1,924 (+23%), Leamington stands at $1,920 (+22%), Tecumseh is at $1,908 (+22%), and Amherstburg pays $1,843 (+18%).

Ivans says most insurance companies do significant discounts if homeowners are taking measures to protect themselves or insulate themselves from claims.

“Particularly when it comes to water claims, installing sump pumps, backflow valves, and precautionary measures to take to make sure there aren’t losses, or if there are, those losses are mitigated,” he says.

Ivans says this is something that’s facing the entire country when it comes to areas that are vulnerable to storms.

“Flood implications, fire implications, or otherwise. Tornadoes or windstorms-typically, it is going to be more likely that consumers have more claims in those areas. What we’re doing together is naturally trying to mitigate those as much as possible,” he says.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 2024 was the most expensive year on record for insured losses due to severe weather, costing $8.55 billion in insured damage nationwide. The previous record was in 2016, at $6.2 billion.