Keeping your home safe with home insurance is a smart move that can save you from financial hardship later if the unexpected happens. Damage to your home or its contents could cost you thousands depending on the extent of the damage.

Home insurance has you covered in cases like this so you can rest easy and get on with your life, no stress!

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Perhaps the biggest purchase in anyone’s life would be the place they live in, their very own home. For this very reason, it becomes almost essential to protect the investment that you’ve made for your house and here is where home insurance plays its part.

Home insurance is a form of financial assistance that is designed to help you in situations in which your house gets damaged, for example, fire or windstorm.

If you’ve purchased your house with a mortgage, then it’s binding on you to get home insurance because it becomes a requirement to protect your loan. Due to this, it also becomes necessary to find the best home insurance in Canada, and while every typical home insurance policy has similar and basic coverages, better home insurance companies also offer comprehensive coverage and additional protection to your loan at much better rates.

When you set out to find the best home insurance company in Canada, you might look for an insurer that provides you with the best yet affordable rates you can find around and also with the best-quality coverage. The decision of choosing the best home insurance company then becomes a very important one and we are here to guide you throughout all of it.

You should always look at the company’s financial ratings, customer service reviews, whether customers have been satisfied or not, policy discounts and finally, if they offer any additional coverage options.

Home insurance in Canada is not mandatory by law, but as mentioned above, if you have a mortgage, then your bank will require the house to be insured. Even if it is not mandatory, it’s probably a very wise decision to get home insurance in Canada because you never know when something bad could happen – and you definitely wouldn’t want to lose your house over it!

Judging by the importance of home insurance and finding out the best home insurance in Canada, we have compiled a list of the best home insurance companies in Canada after reviewing and analyzing them thoroughly.

All of these companies have been reviewed on the basis of average premiums, customer satisfaction rates, coverage options available, and also the discounts that they offer. Using this knowledge as your armor, you may feel confident while you choose the best home insurance company in Canada which suits your needs the best.

The best insurance companies in Canada

When you decide to buy a home insurance in Canada for yourself, you will have to be mindful of many things before making your decision. As mentioned above, you will have to consider their average premiums, customer satisfaction rates, ability to handle claims, so on and so forth.

For you to decide which insurance company is perfect for you, it becomes crucial to consider the company’s policies, how closely does the premium it offers matches with your budgetary needs, and the ways you plan on interacting with your insurer and policies.

Below, we have shortlisted five best insurance companies in Canada that offer a huge variety of coverage, market competitive rates, discount options and also specific features that will allow you to customize a policy out for yourself as well.

Let’s begin talking about them, then.

1. APOLLO Insurance

When writing this APOLLO Insurance, they are rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google My Business based on 181 reviews. Several reviewers remarked on the professional and personable service provided by the insurance advisors.

APOLLO Insurance customers felt confident in their service and appreciated their rapid response time. Advisors were also extremely helpful and responsive, offering valuable advice based on their knowledge of everyone’s situation.

APOLLO Insurance’s coverage is divided into two categories: business insurance and personal insurance. They protect businesses and individuals from personal liability and property damage, amongst other unforeseen situations.

While they sell insurance products, other companies underwrite the insurance policies. Borrowell, Ratehub, and QuadReal are among their partners.

Renter’s Insurance

As a renter, you may face unexpected situations that your landlord’s insurance policy doesn’t cover. This could include incidents like pipes bursting or the theft of your belongings.

With renter’s insurance, you can make a claim for:

• Fire and smoke damage
• Crime and vandalism
• Personal liability
• Water damage and extended water coverage
• Additional living expenses

Homeowner’s Insurance

This type of coverage protects you and your belongings when an unanticipated situation occurs. It applies whether you own a five-bedroom house or a condo. While it may not appear necessary, homeowner’s insurance covers you if your valuables are stolen or damaged.

And if your house becomes uninhabitable. Also, you won’t be burdened with an unmanageable financial expense if you’re found legally liable for someone getting hurt on your property. Your home insurance provider would cover legal and medical costs.

2. Square One Insurance

Square One offers an easy way to get home insurance policies in Canada, trusted by thousands of Canadians. The company allows you to customize your insurance plan as per your budget. They also make sure that they payout 90% of claims.

This home insurance provider aims at making insurance accessible and easy to understand for everyone. They offer responsive customer care service via online chat, email, fax, and phone. Here, customer care executives help you understand your policy and clarify your doubts. And they can send you a quote in less than five minutes.

Square One is a safe and legitimate insurance provider that can help you protect your home and personal belongings. Before deciding on an insurance policy, make sure that you thoroughly read the terms and conditions. To make the policy more accessible, Square One makes sure not to use insurance jargon. Instead, they prepare their policies in easy-to-understand terms.

3. The Co-Operators

The Co-Operators have been in business for about 70-years; it has been a Canadian-owned institution since 1945. You get the option to find out home insurance quotes either online or in person, whichever seems suitable to you, because they will cater to your convenience.

The company offers quite a comprehensive home insurance, and they will also work with optional coverage and claims – you can make these claims through their iPhone application.

The policies offered in their coverage are exceptional and quite attractive if you’re looking for policies that cover unauthorized debit or credit card use, recovery expenses for identity fraud, and it will also include policy coverage for your personal property while you are on the move.

There’s always an option to get more coverage than you already have by purchasing optional coverage on top of your existing coverage.

The Co-Operators also includes a network of Financial Advisors that will guide you throughout the entire process of buying home insurance in Canada. This network will also help you get the exact policy that you are looking for.

4. Allstate Home Insurance

Allstate Home Insurance provides one of the best home insurances in Canada. This is one of the only insurance companies in Canada that provide customers with the option to customize their insurance package according to their needs.

You can personalize the home insurance package that’s being offered to you, and the abundance of packages available at Allstate gives you plenty of choices to make your decision.

The packages at Allstate vary from basic packages, elite and then their VIP package as well. Allstate Home Insurance also provides you with a feature known as ‘myLocker’ through which you can organize the contents of your home on the basis of category or room.

Probably the best thing about Allstate Home Insurance is that you can personalize your insurance package and add/remove policies according to your on preferences. If this is what you are looking for in a home insurance policy, look no further than Allstate.

5. TD Home Insurance

For people who have certain requirements, TD Home Insurance might do the job just well. The company offers you additional and enhanced house insurance coverage and the option to have add-ons in your packages like insurance of personal valuables and identity theft as well.

You can also get coverage for situations in which you have parents living in nursing homes. Not only this, but you can get extra coverage if you are paying for eco-friendly repairs after a covered loss.

Apart from all of that, TD Home Insurance can also provide you with coverage for items such as jewelry, wine, and paintings as well. If you buy a car and home insurance by TD together, then the company also offers you an opportunity to get free advice from their network of home contractors as a compliment.

TD Insurance is settled on helping you find ways to save on your house and auto insurance. The company is inclined on providing you with coverage that fits your needs and the customer service is so advanced that an advisor is always there to help you make your choices.

6. Belairdirect Home Insurance

At Belairdirect Home Insurance, you will get the opportunity to switch and bundle your car and house together in order to save up to 20% on the total amount. This home insurance in Canada works to ensure that their customers receive the coverage that they have been looking for everywhere – they make accommodations for such people as well as have customized packages available.

It does not matter if you are a tenant, a condo owner, or a homeowner, they will have packages available to suit everyone. At Belairdirect Home Insurance, it does not matter what type of home you own because it will offer you the coverage and the discounts that you require.

It’s really an opportunity where you get exactly what you want at the price you’re looking for, and remain protected while putting money back into your own bank.

Belairdirect also offers liability insurance, which means that you would be covered for any type of unexpected expenses that may include someone else being hurt or someone’s property being damaged because of something that happened in your house or something that you did.

There could also be medical payments and expenses that you’d be covered for, plus lawsuits along with multiple coverage options to pick from.

7. Economical Home Insurance

Being Canada’s leading special risk provider since 1968, Economical Home Insurance in Canada has quite the reputation when it comes to providing secure home insurance policies. Economical Home Insurance understands how there’s no other place like your own home, so protecting you and your property is their job.

This home insurance in Canada offers coverage including property, the contents, identity theft, additional living expenses, detached buildings and sheds, trailers/watercraft, damages to any other people, and home-based businesses as well. You can get the best rates at Economical home insurance by being their smart, safe, and loyal customer.

Other services offered by Economical Home Insurance include claims-free or mortgage-free insurances, having more than one property insured, renewal discounts, installation of security systems, monitored fire alarms, and an opportunity to bundle your car and home insurance together as well.

If you’ve been having troubles getting insurance due to several claims, have gaps in your coverage or don’t have coverage, or have had your policies canceled due to non-repayment – don’t even worry because Economical home insurance has you covered!

What types of home insurance are there?

The types of home insurance are comprehensive, standard, broad, no-frills, and personal liability policies.

Now that you know where to get home insurance in Canada from, it’s time to decide what type of home insurance should you get for yourself. Choosing a home insurance policy is quite important to consider, especially because there will be no policy that will suit every requirement that you have.

Hence, it’s important to decide which one meets your needs in the best possible manner.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a home insurance policy is that money should not make you settle for a lesser policy. Money may be a limitation sometimes but if you are getting a better policy for a slightly higher price, do consider it always.

At least you will have peace of mind afterward! The typical types of policies in Canada are comprehensive, standard, broad, no-frills, and personal liability. Let’s discuss these in detail.

Comprehensive home insurance policy

A comprehensive home insurance policy is exactly what the name suggests it to be; it will include every risk in your house and all of its contents, except for the ones that have been listed as excluded.

If you’re a risk-averse person and would like to remain reassured by the fact that everything in your house is insured, go for comprehensive home insurance because it’s your best bet.

Standard home insurance policy

After Comprehensive home insurance comes the Standard one, which has slightly less coverage than the one offered in Comprehensive. A Standard policy will only include the things and contents that have been specifically mentioned in the terms.

This policy is oftentimes also known as a ‘basic’ or ‘named perils’ policy. You should go for this policy if you don’t want a high amount to pay as the premium, but also if you’ve decided that you have the ability to pay for some of the losses yourself.

Broad home insurance policy

A Broad policy is something that lies between a Comprehensive policy and a Basic policy in the way that it has conditions of both. This policy will include a Comprehensive strategy, meaning that it will cover all the risks in your house except for the ones excluded, and it will also include a Basic policy, meaning that it will cover only the items that are mentioned in the policy.

Choosing a Broad home insurance policy would be best for you if a Comprehensive policy is too expensive, and a Basic policy doesn’t meet your needs – a broad home insurance policy will be a good compromise for you then.

No-frills home insurance policy

A no-frills policy would provide you with only the bare minimum coverage that you require. Basically, it will give you with basic coverage if your house does not meet the typical standards that are set by home insurance companies.

You would have to go for this policy if there are some physical problems in your house, and if these problems avoid you from meeting the normal standards that are set by companies. However, it would be a better option if you fix these problems by investing some money and then go for a better insurance policy.

This might save you some money and would also ensure better protection of your house.

Personal liability home insurance policy

There is always a chance for someone to face bodily damage or damage to their own property because of you or something that has happened in your house. Here is where Personal Liability plays its part; you get coverage in this policy for events that unexpectedly take place and harm others because of your property or on your property.

An example may include a fire that happens in your house and burns your neighbor’s house as well, or any other damage of the same sort. It gets very important to sign up for personal liability home insurance even if you’re on rent, or if you own the house as well.  

What factors affect the cost of home insurance?

The factors that affect the cost of home insurance are the value of your home, its location, how piping and electrical are set up, and more.

When you set out to buy home insurance in Canada, you will have to pay a ‘premium’ for it. A premium usually depends on the circumstances that are given to the company at hand, and these factors are very important to consider when you purchase home insurance for yourself.

The companies would consider things like the replacement cost, the contents, the piping and electrical setup, renovations and upgrades, location and use, claims history, and also deductibles. Let’s discuss these in detail down below.

Replacement cost

This factor is probably the most important one that affects the price of your premium. The size and composition of your house is quite essential to consider because the larger the house, the higher the premium because the cost to repair it would obviously be very high as well.

Not only the square footage is crucial to consider but also the quality of construction and how long your house has been standing up for.

The company will also consider the type of house that you’re living in because premiums will vary for a single-family house, a semi-detached row house, a condo, and also for a property for rent or seasonal residence.

Contents

A starter home with no-frills would obviously have a different price as compared to a mansion with jewels inside and sports cars in the parking. Other than that, many of the appliances that you own would have an impact on the premium too.

For example, if you own a wood stove and if, by chance, it is not well-maintained and also not properly installed, it can cause a huge house fire and poisoning due to leakage of carbon monoxide. Hence, the content of your house will also be inspected before a premium is decided.

Piping and electrical setup

Your company would rather prefer it if your house had upgraded copper or plastic plumbing in the house, because galvanized and lead piping usually means that the plumbing was done quite some time ago. Old plumbing would make your house prone to leakage or cracks as well.

Anything that boosts a fire in your house, like aluminum wiring or knob-and-tube would be a huge red flag for the insurance company and they would consider these things before providing you with a premium estimate.

Renovations and house upgrades

You would have to inform your home insurance company if you’ve had any major renovations done in the house like upgrading a room or creating an addition in the house because these things raise the market price of your house – this will have to be shown in your policy coverage and is very important as well.

Even the smaller installations like replacement of roof, installation of a sump pump or an advanced security system might help you save up on some money in your insurance premium. When it comes to your roof, the home insurance company would prefer it if it was not older than 20 years because otherwise, you would only receive the depreciated cost.

Location of your home

External factors also play a huge role in determining the rates of your premium. If your house is not near the fire department or doesn’t have a fire hydrant nearby, and if the crime rate in your neighborhood is quite high then all of these factors will have quite the impact on your premium cost.

What you use your insured property for also plays an important role. For example, premiums may vary for AirBnBs and home-owned businesses as well.

Claims history and deductibles

Past claims will obviously make a huge impact on future claims and this is also the best predictor of future claims as well. Other than that, deductibles will also have an impact because this is the amount you will agree to pay to the home insurance company before they pay the rest of the amount left.

What does a home insurance policy cover?

If you get a basic policy, only the cost of repairs to the actual home may be covered. But if you purchase additional add-ons like contents insurance, your home insurance policy will cover much more.

We can’t tell you for sure what your home insurance policy will cover because that depends on the type of policy you pick for yourself. The type of coverage that you decide on will tell you the exact details about what is covered for your house and valuables.

There may not be a hard-and-fast rule over the coverage offered by home insurance companies, but they may typically include things like damage/loss of your house or other structures on your property, damage/loss/theft of your personal property, injury to others or even property damage to others because of your property, accidents that take place because of your property, and personal property that gets stolen from a vehicle.

However, there are a number of caveats that you should know about home insurance policies. Home insurance policies, usually and in most cases, will not cover losses that arise due to lack of maintenance such as molding, wear and tear, or other losses that come in these categories.

As in some policies other than Comprehensive home insurance, there will be certain types of exclusions for which you will need to purchase extra coverage. For example, you can get extra coverage for hypothetical situations such as a sewer system backup, earthquakes, thunderstorms, etc.

In the same manner, you can also insure items for a little extra cash that are not typically included in a home insurance policy. For example, if you happen to travel a lot and have a knack for photography plus own expensive camera equipment, you can get this insured as well rather than get an entirely separate travel insurance policy.

It’s also recommended to get expensive valuables insured in your policy such as artwork, jewelry, or other types of collectibles that would not be insured and may be excluded if they exceed the price of, in most cases, $3,000. There can be so many other scenarios in which getting an add-on with your home insurance policy is preferable.

In a situation, if you’re a homeowner and use your property as an Airbnb, you should get a policy that also covers renters because your house will be open for guests and not just you. While getting this policy may seem a bit over the top, do consider that sometimes guests may end up causing some type of damage to the house that might not be insured.

In that case, any damage caused by the renters will not be paid for by the home insurance company and you might end up with a colossal bill in your pocket. On the other hand, getting a policy for renters might only cost you a few extra bucks each month but you might need that policy soon!

Henceforth, it gets very important to ask yourself what exactly you need to get covered with your home insurance policies. By keeping your affordability and requirements on the same ledge, you would consider your needs and the policy you can get with the money you have in hand.

Your insurer will also have to guide you thoroughly about each and every clause in the policy, do pay attention!

How to save on home insurance

To save on home insurance you can start by applying online for free with Comparewise. We’ll help you compare the market to find a great deal.

We’ve already spoken about how home insurance may be one of the most expensive things you might need to pay for if you own a property, and it’s only natural to think about how you can save up on it too.

All the money that you could be giving out to your insurer just because you haven’t thought very properly about your policy – wouldn’t you rather want to save this money and put it on for retirement, children’s education, or vacation? Let’s discuss how you could do that.

Compare policies with other providers

Decided on a home insurance company? Have you gotten a quote yet? Don’t accept it just yet; use that quote and compare it with the other insurance policies that you get online. Look at the prices that have been quoted for same policies including deductibles and coverages, and make sure that the policies that you are checking match the same terms and conditions which you already have in place.

You may be able to find a quote online that’s being provided on a lesser premium, so switching would be easier as you have made no commitments yet. Otherwise, you can also call your current home insurance provider and tell them about the rates you’ve found online so that they either provide discounts or match the quotes you’ve found.

All because of a few minutes that you’ve spent on research and a phone call!

Bundle different policies together

If you happen to own different types of insurance policies such as auto insurance, then you might be able to score a good amount of discount if you bundle these policies together at the same insurance company.

All you’ll have to do is call your insurance provider and tell them that you’re willing to get coverage for multiple items with your home insurance policy, and see if you end up saving money by insuring the home and your vehicles at the same company.

If you already happen to have your cars, recreational vehicles, and your home insured with the same company then do check if your home insurance policy has a bundled policy discount applied to it. There should be a line item representing this discount on your policy, and if you don’t happen to have that, contact your insurer regarding it!

Improve security of your house

This may not seem like such an important thing to you, but do keep in mind that many home insurance companies offer a discount, up to 15%, if you install a security system in your house and keep it monitored.

These home security systems now cost significantly very less as they did previously, for example cameras and motion sensors, so this means that you can easily install a good Wi-Fi operating security system for yourself in just a few hundred bucks.

If you decide to keep a monitored security system, the one that alarms the police whenever it’s triggered, you may have to pay a monthly fee for this service so it’s essential to weigh the financial benefit of getting a security system before you actually get it installed.

Improve hazard detection in your house

The security systems are not only limited to cameras and motion sensors, but you can also get a hazard detection device for your house in order to mitigate the threats brought by floods and fire. Wired smoke and CO2 detectors as well as sprinklers and fire extinguishers in your house might lower the home insurance premium that you are asked to pay.

Other ways to avoid certain mistakes people make is to install moisture detectors in the house near your washing machine or hot water tub, so that you get notified about the leakage before the water accumulation reaches around 6 inches.

Wrapping it up

The entire article above is based to help you when you set out to purchase home insurance in Canada. It is not a very difficult task, but requires you to keep certain things in mind and pay very close attention before you make a decision. We hope the article enlightened you with information that’s helpful – off on your way to make an educated decision for home insurance policies!