Kanetix, the online marketplace for insurance quotes, released the results of its Ontario quarterly car insurance premium study. The study identified a 2.8 per cent decrease in the average of the lowest rates quoted for auto insurance in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same time last year.

The decrease appears to be the result of changes in consumer behaviour and demographics, not cheaper car insurance rates. Kanetix said that with a higher youth unemployment rate in the summer of 2009, it is not surprising that fewer under 25-year old drivers completed quotes for auto insurance. This year, 32 per cent of quotes included a driver under the age of 25; last year the number hit 36 per cent.

Kanetix also said that a greater percentage of Ontario drivers this year opted to take advantage of the multi-line discount.