Alberta auto insurers awash in red ink, government report shows

Alberta’s auto insurers collectively lost $1.2 billion in 2024, with a majority of the province’s auto insurers reporting financial losses, according to the latest annual report from the province’s Superintendent of Insurance.

“Alberta’s automobile insurance GISR [Gross Insurance Service Ratio] deteriorated from approximately 93% in 2023 to approximately 118% in 2024,” the report states. “This clearly indicates an overall operational loss for the year.”

To calculate the GISR, insurance revenue is divided by insurance service expenses. A result above 100% means insurers are paying out more in claims than they are collecting in premiums.

“The Superintendent notes that a substantial majority of Alberta automobile insurers were unprofitable in 2024, with private passenger automobile insurance seeing the greatest pressure,” the report continues. “The Superintendent expects this pressure on Alberta’s automobile insurance profitability and stability to continue through 2025.

“It is forecast that escalating claims costs due to inflation, bodily injury claims severity growth, vehicle theft rates, and weather-related losses will continue to exceed the Good Driver Rate Cap.”

Alberta’s rate cap on auto insurance premiums has been in place in some form or another since 2023. It started as a year-long “pause” on auto insurance rate filings, followed by a Good Driver Rate Cap of 3.7% in 2024. In 2025, the cap increased to 7.5%, which will remain in place for 2026.

Commenting on the superintendent’s report, IBC notes the province’s auto insurers paid 18% more in claims expenses than they collected in premiums in 2024.

“The Superintendent reports that in 2024, 35 carriers of auto insurance in Alberta suffered a financial loss,” IBC says. “These results have forced a handful of insurers to exit the Alberta market, while others have restricted the sale of coverage. As a result, drivers and insurance brokers increasingly report difficulties in securing appropriate insurance coverage.”

The Top 10 Alberta auto insurers by insurance revenue (premiums) in 2024 reported the following results, as published in the superintendent’s report (numbers rounded to the nearest single digit):

The GSIR isn’t a complete measure of an insurer’s profitability, as the superintendent states in its report.

For example, it does not include an insurer’s premium investment income, reinsurance premiums, reinsurance proceeds, and certain operational costs that are not broken down at the provincial level.

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David Gambrill

David has twice served as Canadian Underwriter’s senior editor, both from 2005 to 2012, and again from 2017 to the present.