We’re looking for a used Honda CR-V, but we saw it on a list of vehicles that are frequently stolen. Will it cost a lot more to insure than a vehicle that thieves don’t like as much? – Victoria, Brampton, Ont.

If you like a car that thieves like too, you could pay hundreds extra in insurance every year – and that’s not changing, even though overall car thefts are down from last year.

“We found that on average, insurance premiums cost about 19 per cent more for highly stolen vehicles,” said Matt Hands, vice-president of insurance at Ratehub.ca, a financial comparison site. “On top of that, some companies will add a $500 [to] $1,500 annual surcharge.”

In Ontario, insurance companies are allowed to set your rates using factors including the make, model and year of your car, your driving record, your address, your age and your gender.

Hands looked at rate quotes for the 10 most stolen cars in the first half of 2025 for a fictional 35-year-old male Toronto-area driver with a clean driving record. He compared each model to a rival car that is stolen less.

For example, a 2021 Honda CR-V, which is No. 4 on the list, costs $400 more per year to insure – $2,014 compared to $1,614 – than a 2021 Nissan Rogue. That’s nearly 25 per cent more.

For some cars on the list, the difference was even higher. For instance, the 2022 Lexus RX cost $1,059 (45 per cent) more per year to insure – $3,550 compared to $2,491 – than a 2022 Acura MDX.

If you’re a younger driver or if you have had previous claims or traffic tickets, for instance, those numbers could be a lot higher, he said.

Surcharges and loss of coverage

There are three main types of car insurance coverage: liability, collision and comprehensive. Liability coverage is mandatory everywhere in Canada. In most provinces, the other two are optional.

Liability covers damage and injuries that a driver causes to other people, vehicles or property. Collision covers the cost to repair your own vehicle if you’re in a collision and you’re at fault. Comprehensive covers almost anything else that isn’t a collision, including theft and vandalism.

If you drive a make and model that has seen a lot of theft claims, your insurance company may add an annual surcharge – again, as high as $1,500 – unless you install a vehicle-tracking system such as Tag, Hands said. While the systems can typically cost between $400 and $600 to install, companies may also offer you a discount on comprehensive insurance if you get one.

“I have clients that they don’t want to put the Tag in [and will pay] the surcharge,” said Debbie Arnold, a Toronto-based insurance broker. “They don’t want the vehicle back if it gets stolen because of that feeling of violation.”

Some companies may not offer comprehensive coverage at all on some older models that are frequently stolen, Arnold said.

Thefts down?

While there was a 19.1-per-cent drop in thefts nationally in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, insurance premiums for frequently stolen vehicles generally haven’t gone down.

“The problem remains significantly above historical trends,” Brett Weltman, a spokesman for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said in an e-mail. “A combination of theft, inflation, tariffs, rising repair and vehicle replacement costs, legal pressures and regulatory challenges is driving rates up across Canada … [so] changes in one factor alone may not determine overall premium trends.”

Generally, rates have been rising across the country – over all, rates are up nearly 15 per cent nationally from last year. For some drivers, insurance has become unaffordable, Ratehub’s Hands said.

“It sounds like a cop out to say that it isn’t just because of one thing,” Hands said. “But, unfortunately, that’s [the reality].”

Hands doesn’t think rates will ever go down, but he hopes we’ll eventually see lower annual increases.

“The technology in cars today has driven up the cost of repairs … and vehicles are just more expensive today than they were four or five years ago,” he said.

Ways to pay less?

If you’re considering buying a model that’s a known theft target, compare quotes from multiple insurance companies first – and look at whether a similar car from another carmaker may cost you less to insure. If you’re considering a luxury vehicle, realize that you’ll likely pay a lot more for insurance.

“The cost to repair or replace that vehicle is more significant than your average Honda Civic,” Hands said. “But it shouldn’t necessarily prevent you from buying it. It’s more about just being aware of what you’re getting yourself into and making sure that you can afford it.”

If you’re considering skipping collision and comprehensive coverage to save on insurance, realize that you will be on the hook for the entire cost to repair or replace your car if you’re at-fault in a crash – or if the car is stolen.

For example, if you have a 2021 Toyota Highlander, the most stolen car in Canada in the first half of 2025, that 35-year-old fictional driver would save about $1,749 a year – so he’d pay $1,368 a year for basic insurance instead of $3,170 – by skipping collision and comprehensive. But if it’s stolen, it would cost you nearly $30,000 out of pocket to replace it with a comparable model from that same year – and if you financed your car, you’ll have to pay out the balance of the loan, Hands said. “You need to be aware of the risk.”

Have a driving question? Send it to globedrive@globeandmail.com and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.