Home Insurance

HOME INSURANCE - Feel Better, Live Better

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest investments you will ever make in your lifetime and finding the right protection for this asset can leave homeowners overwhelmed. Make sure your home and its contents are well protected with proper homeowners’ insurance. A comprehensive homeowners policy provides utmost protection against possible cause of a loss.

What kind of policy do you need?

There are different policies that provide varying coverages based on your needs and the characteristics of the home.

• A “no-frills” policy covers homes that are outside of normal insurance standards. This includes homes that were built a long time ago, homes that are perceived to have higher risks (eg. proximity to water has a greater flood risk), or homes that were vacant for a long time.
• A “named perils” policy covers events and occurrences that are specifically mentioned in the policy wording.
• A “broad form” policy offers more coverages than a named perils policy, but less than a comprehensive policy.
• A “comprehensive” policy offers protection from a wide range of possible occurrences. From liability to contents to building protection, a comprehensive policy offers homeowners the peace of mind of being protected from all possible risks.

What does a Home Insurance policy cover?

There are three main components to a homeowner’s policy: the liability coverage, protection for the dwelling, and coverage for your contents.

Liability coverage protects you in the occurrence of unintentional bodily injury to others or damage to their property. For example, if a visitor slips in your bathroom or on your property and you are found legally responsible, your liability coverage would cover for such occurrence loss exposure.

The dwelling portion of your policy covers the actual building you live in. There are a myriad of different events and occurrences that can lead to possible losses, including:

Fire

• Theft & Vandalism
• Water Damage

Hail

• Falling Objects
• Aircraft or vehicle impact

Windstorm

• Explosions

The contents portion of your policy covers your personal possessions ranging from furniture and appliances to bicycles, equipment, and toys. As a homeowner, you should maintain an inventory of your personal belongings at least once a year as we keep collecting stuff all our lifetime.

What affects your Home Insurance premium?

Just like auto insurance, home insurance premiums are determined by various factors including

• Age of home
• Location
• Deductible
• Contents
• Type of Heating Source
• Age of Roof
• Type of Electrical
• Type & age of Plumbing
• Claims History
• Proximity to Fire Hydrant
• Upgrades

What you must examine in Home Insurance Policy?

While we all want to keep our insurance costs low, it equally important that you ensure proper insurance coverage limits to provide utmost protection to your dwelling, contents and liability exposure. When it comes to dwelling, your policy limits should be based on replacement cost as of today for like kind of material and type of construction. If the dwelling is under insured, it may expose you for the shortfall.

Our Licensed Broker would assist you in shopping around coverage that your home needs at the most competitive price to provide best value for the premium. To arrive at replacement cost of the property for like kind of material and type of construction or upgrades, you would be required to provide your property information with regard to

• Type of Dwelling (e.g. Detached, Semi Detached, Town Home)
• Type of material that covers exterior – like Brick, Vinyl, Stucco or Natural Stone
• Age of the home, Type of heating and last update, Plumbing or upgrades
• Type and age of the roof, when was it updated last
• Total area in Sq Ft, basement area finished or unfinished, personal use or rented
• Information about garage or pool

How to save on Home Insurance premium?

There are various discounts that may be applicable to a homeowner’s policy. We recommend you talking to our Licensed Insurance Broker who would guide apply discounts that you could be eligible for. Such as,

• Combining home and auto policies can save you 10%-15% on the annual premium for both policies.
• Installing monitored alarms or home alarms can help you qualify for additional discount.
• A deductible is your out-of-pocket expense in the event of a claim and choosing a higher deductible can also be a way of reducing some of the premium.

Optional coverages to consider

Aside from the standard coverages included in a homeowner’s policy, here are some additional coverages that you should consider adding.

• Overland water (flood) endorsement. This coverage protects you from damage caused by water bodies overflowing onto dryland.
• Sewer back up endorsement. This covers damage caused by backed up toilets, sewers, drains, pipes.
• Scheduled Personal Articles. If you have valuables like fine art or jewelry, in order to have these items scheduled on your homeowner’s policy, you would need to provide an accurate appraisal to ensure that your valuables are insured to right value.

Choosing the right coverage sat lowest premium can seem like a tough task. Speak to our licensed broker. We deal with all leading Canadian Insurance providers. We will guide you through entire process, ease the stress of obtaining a homeowner’s policy while ensuring that you get expert advice and coverages your home deserves. We are here to help and commit best in class service experience.