Pine Cone

There are been loads of comments about how expensive buildings and contents insurance is in Canada, but not really any mention of just how expensive you are talking, whereas I can find loads of threads discussing car insurance. I'm trying to figure out if insurance really is that much more expensive, or whether it is just a case of people being able to afford a bigger property than they would have had in the UK and insurance being scaled up accordingly.

For the GTA in particular, how much do you pay per year for your home insurance and what kind of property do you live in - detatched, semi, terrace? Roughly how big, do you have a basement etc. Is this more expensive that a roughly comparable type of house would cost to insure in the UK?

Also are there any exclusions from your insurance, or insurance in general that new immigrants should be aware of, that would be standard inclusions in a UK policy? The mention of no cover for flood damage is something I find really concerning. In the UK/Australia/NZ you would expect to be fully insured for flood damage unless you made the unfortunately choice of buying a property in a known low-lying floodplain/flood risk area, and you'd be made aware of that by your solicitor before exchanging contracts.

scrubbedexpat091

For owning or renting?

For renting its pretty cheap. We pay 27/month for contents, 2 mil liability and an add on for earthquake cover since the policy excludes those unless you add extra coverage.

Of course when renting there is no buildinf to insure which I am sure why its pretty cheap.

Siouxie

I own a smallish detached bungalow, around 1100sq ft on the main floor plus an unfinished basement. My building and contents insurance, including in-home office, is $108 a month. TD Insurance Meloche Monnex

BristolUK

Can't speak for Toronto but I remember my house here cost a third of what my Bristol house sold for three months earlier and my insurance cost more.

dbd33

I have reason to believe that house insurance policies in the GTA cost, on average, about $1500/year for a package (building+contents+liability) policy. The liability coverage is something one might not expect if coming from the UK, it covers the traditional "postman fell on step" but also other legal costs; for example, Bill Cosby's defence against the sexual assault charges in some States is being covered by his house insurer. The ultimate settlement may also be, depending on the jurisdiction. Note that I'm not suggesting that Canadian insurers eagerly take on the property risks for the Gomeshis of this world, nor that a policy should be chosen for the strength of this feature.

Flood, that is, damage due to above ground water, coverage is new to Canada. Some insurance companies offer public websites which one can use to look for an address and see the flood zone. Most of the GTA is at negligible risk and so the premium is $25/year. Parts of Alberta continue to be uninsurable for flood and some are insurable but it costs almost as much as car insurance. Sewer back up is a different coverage, though claims are difficult to distinguish if they occur during a flood; that coverage you very much want in the GTA, most of those $1500 policies will have it. It should be noted that there are government relief programs for floods, one reason it took so long for flood insurance to offered was that governments had to be persuaded not to exempt insured properties from disaster funding. The owner of a flooded house in an uninsurable zone will be eligible for some form of compensation; once, then the government says "move".

I have to say that the cost of house insurance has never seemed an issue to me. Booze, cauliflowers, petrol, car insurance, dental work, education, taxes, alimony, those are serious costs. House insurance, not so much.

Tangram

UK House Insurance usually carries a liability, sometimes 1 million liability on it ( falling slates and roof tiles hurting people etc ). I know ours looking back on it carried about 2 mill when we were in the Cotswolds

Pine Cone

Even in the UK, we always had liability insurance of about GBP2 million as part of the standard home & buildings insurance. Given all those adverts claming 'You might be entitled to compensation' that existed a decade ago when we were still in the UK, it's not surprising.


I For us, we've been through an earthquake in Christchurch and realised that you pay your fairy standard and relatively comprehensive insurance policy premium thinking you are covered for most things things that could potentially go wrong, only to find your cover does not extend as far as you think. I've seen people financially ruined because of this.
Also insurance is as much as a big deal to me as how much my mortgage would cost each month, and how much tax I'd be paying as it's not a cost you have very much control over and yet it's completely neccesary. You can choose not to drink booze, to buy a more fuel efficient car or use public transport more. You can choose not to buy an overpriced cauliflower and eat seasonal food instead. But you'd be bloody stupid not to have adequate insurance and expose yourself to the risk of financial ruin.
Each country I've lived in has had different insurance 'quirks' that take a while to get your head around. In the UK it was pretty straighforward. Less so down under as there are a lot more exclusions, which you need to arrange extra cover for. I'm trying to work out how it all works in Canada, but online quite generators are not much help when you don't understand the market.

dbd33

Yes, but I don't think it covers legal costs when someone sues the householder over a matter unrelated to the house.

dbd33

I fear that you have Canada confused with somewhere else. The only "seasonal food" in the Canadian winter is clubbed seal.

quiltman

My house and contents insurance including earthquakes and typhoons, plus liability here costs about £120 a year for a house valued at around £90,000. My UK cost in 2013 - the last year I paid any- was about £300 including £2million public liability.

HGerchikov

I live in Oakville, not far from Toronto. Our house insurance has gone up quite a bit since we moved here. We have a 3000 sq foot detached house with 3 full bathrooms, two kitchens (all of which I think affects the premiums) and we pay $2135 a year. When we first bought the house in 2004 premiums were under $1200. Most of that increase came from a change in the way they calculated the rebuild costs. It went from something like $470 to in excess of $700k.

Edited to add: ironic really as the property would be worth more if the house wasn't here.

Tangram

Ah ok

withabix

Try Square One Insurance. We found them to be a lot cheaper than the competition. We pay $97/mo to insure our 3000sq ft house and contents (including earthquake etc)

Menu-pricing (don't insure what you haven't got) and options for different deductables (excesses).

We had a claim in December ($18k basement plumbing flood) and it was dealt with very well. Only held up by Christmas and the fact that the repair company were really busy (as is the case in the Vancouver area).

Flood happened at 9am.
Crew were on site by 12 noon.
Basement stripped out by 5.30pm.

https://www.squareoneinsurance.ca/ref/JYTUGY

Yes - that is an affiliate link. [Mods please delete the last bit if it's not allowed]

You get a $10 Home Depot card for getting a quote.

I only get a $10 Home Depot card if you buy insurance.

Aviator

Go to a broker. They will give you advice and make sure you get the right policy and coverage. We just moved all of our policies, commercial and personal to Barton. A good move.

The property we live in is on acreage, 3000 sq feet custom home +outbuildings, some items specifically scheduled. $1500 a year with earthquake coverage. Liability covers the residents on or off site and pets (multitude thereof small and large).

Contents is included in this figure. Canadian insurers calculate contents on the value of the home. Although in the event of a total loss they don't pay this amount out, as some folks in Kelowna found out a few years ago.

withabix

...except the ones that don't!