Whether you live in a house, a condominium or a rental unit, our
property insurance section will help you understand the ins and
outs of choosing a property insurance policy that fits your
needs.
Home insurance
Tenant or renter's insurance
Other things to consider
Condominium insurance
Limitations in property policy coverage
Paying a property insurance deductible
Home insuranceIf you own your own home, then you'll want
to protect not only your physical building, but all the things that
are in your home too. A standard home insurance policy will ensure
that if something like fire, vandalism or theft occurs, then you
will be properly looked after and your valuables will be
replaced. You also need to think about protecting any other structures
that exist on your property, like a detached garage. And, in the
event that your home is damaged, and you need to move out for a
while, you may want to consider investing in insurance that will
help pay for out-of-pocket expenses like hotel rooms and food. As a homeowner, it is possible that you may be held liable for
accidents that people have while on your property. What's more, you
may accidentally damage other people's belongings either in your
own home, or somewhere else. A well-structured home insurance plan
will make sure that you're covered for any of these unforeseeable
events.
Tenant or renter's insuranceIf you're moving into your first apartment,
you might think you don't have anything of real value. A CD player,
computer and some clothes may not look as if it's worth much, but
when you have to replace it with something new, it could break your
budget. Say you've bought a computer on credit and it's destroyed
by fire or stolen. You're still responsible for paying the balance
to your creditor, even though you no longer have the item. As a tenant or renter in someone else's building, it's a wise
decision to take out a tenant insurance policy. It protects both
your contents and your liability exposure. You see, as a tenant,
you're responsible for harm you might cause to any part of the
building you live in, or to others who live or visit there. If you
forgot to turn off the water in the bathtub while you're talking to
your friend, you could flood out your neighbours. You would be
responsible to repair any resulting damages.
Other things to considerTenant's improvements coverage is also
important. If you've made improvements to your rental unit -- like
new broadloom, painting or sound systems -- they might not be
covered in a standard tenant insurance policy. Improvements
coverage would be a smart investment. There are lots of other insurance options, too. As a tenant,
your insurance policy coverage can be either
All Risk or
Named Perils. There's protection against
Sewer Backup and
Earthquake. And you may want to add extra coverage for
specific contents in your home, such as jewellery, furs,
cameras, and bicycles. You'll find more details on all of these
options in this home insurance basics section.
Condominium insuranceWhen you purchase a condominium, you own
your "unit" and own a share in the common areas of
the condominium -- the roof, basement, elevator, heating room,
lobby, swimming pool, parking garage, or garden. As a condominium
owner, you may be held responsible for harm you might cause to any
part of your building, or to others who live or visit the
condominium complex. A condominium insurance policy can remove some
of the financial worries of condominium ownership. You'll need two separate policies to protect your
investment. Your own insurance policy. The insurance policy provides
coverage for your personal property, structural improvements to
your unit and additional living expenses if you are the victim of
fire, theft or other disaster listed in your policy. You will get
liability protection to protect you for harm you might cause to any
part of the building you live in or to others who live in or visit
the condominium complex. An important feature of your own insurance policy is loss
assessment. As a condominium owner, you share responsibility with
others in your building for common property. Loss assessment
protects you from damage to these common areas. See the Loss
Assessment section for more details. A "master
policy" purchased and provided by the condominium board.
This covers the common areas you share with others in your building
like the roof, basement, elevator, heating room, lobby, swimming
pool, parking garage, or garden for both liability and physical
damage. Sometimes the condominium corporation is responsible for
insuring the individual condominium as it was originally built,
including standard fixtures. In this case, you'd only be
responsible for insuring your personal property and any alterations
you or a previous owner have made to the original structure of the
condominium like remodelling the kitchen or bathtub. In other
cases, the condominium corporation is responsible for insuring only
the bare walls, floor and ceiling. You'd be responsible for
insuring your personal property, plus things like the kitchen
cabinets, built-in appliances, plumbing, wiring and bathroom
fixtures. Take the time to find out what's included in the
condominium corporation's policy. You can then decide what to
include in your personal insurance policy.
Limitations in property policy coverageYour standard property policy will have
limitations in theft coverage for jewellery and furs, silverware,
business property, bicycles, money, boat and motor. If you own any
of these special items, it's a good idea to consider adding
additional coverage to your policy.
Paying a property insurance deductibleWhen you make a claim, a small portion of
the claim is always paid by you first, then your insurance company
pays the rest. The portion you pay is called your deductible. The
amount of your deductible affects the price of your insurance
policy. The higher your deductible, the less the cost of your
insurance premium.
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