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AAverage Cost of Home Insurance in Canada
In Canada, the average cost of home insurance is $1,000.00 annually or around $83 per month. While this is a pretty high cost added to your monthly expense, you may wonder if this is a necessary expense, and the short answer is yes. The long answer is that, with most Canadian mortgage companies, home insurance is required. It is there in case there is significant damage to the home from uncontrollable circumstances like storms or broken hot water tanks. What it covers is really based on your insurance policy, but it can also cover your contents, not just the home itself.
While $960 a year is the average, home insurance can be more or less depending on the type of home you own, the size of the home, and where you live. The location of your home will also depend on what coverage you are covered for. For example, if you live on a flood plain, it is unlikely that your home insurance will cover flooding. For this reason, it is important to take a look at your home insurance policy and speak to different providers before making your decision, to ensure you get the best coverage.
How Home Insurance Companies are Ranked
When home insurance providers are rated, it is based on customer satisfaction. J.D. Power ranks the companies, and they base it on customer satisfaction in a few specific areas. By basing their ratings on customers directly, J.D. Power is getting a more accurate representation of what actually makes customers happy and what areas need improvement. The areas they look at specifically are:
- Interactions that aren’t related to claims
- Policy Pricing
- Types of Policies Offered
- Billing and Payments
- Claims
- Websites
- Local brokers
- Call Center Representatives
Taking these factors into consideration, as well as overall customer satisfaction, you get a list of some of the best home insurance agencies in Canada. Not only are these rated as the best in Canada but they are also broken down into the best per region and/or province/territory. Because these ratings are based on customer satisfaction, they are a great tool when looking into what company is the best fit for you.
Top Rated Home Insurance Companies
While there are plenty of home insurance companies on the Canadian market, let's take a look at the top home insurance companies and what makes them stand out from the others. Before you make any decisions on your home insurance coverage, though, you should compare quotes and go over your coverage options.
Intact Financial Corporation
This company is considered to be the largest provider of home insurance in Canada. They operate as Intact Insurance in Canada but have different subsidiaries throughout the world. They have grown organically over the years to over $20 billion of total annual premiums.
The packages offered by Intact ultimately depend on your situation and where you live. There are different options available for each province, but they are available all over Canada.
In Canada, On Side Restoration is a subsidiary of Intact Insurance as well. This restoration company repairs and restores residential and commercial properties.
Aviva Canada Inc
Just like Intact Insurance, Aviva is available all over Canada, but it is considered to be the best insurance company in Ontario. They offer many different types of insurance, including home and auto insurance. They have also won many awards. In 2021, they were named the Toronto Star’s Readers Choice Best Insurance Company as well as the Best Insurance Company for Home and Auto Insurance. They also were awarded the 2021 P&C Insurer of the Year by the Insurance Business Canada Awards as well as the IBC 5-Star Construction Insurance Award. They are considered to be the top home insurance company in BC.
Desjardins General Insurance Group
Desjardins insurance is another company in Canada that offers multiple different types of insurance. They are considered to be the leading financial co-operative in North America. On top of that, they are one of Canada’s leading property and casualty insurance providers. They have exclusive advantages for their members who are 25 and under and are one of the leading home and auto insurers in Quebec.
RSA Canada Group
RSA Canada Group is not only a reputable home insurance company but they are also a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation. RSA Canada works with many insurance brokers throughout Canada and 90% of Canadian brokers polled in 202 said that RSA’s coverage was either in line with or ahead of their competition. Out of all of the provinces in Canada, RSA is top ranked in Alberta along with Co-Operators.
Co-Operators General Insurance Corp
Co-Operators General Insurance Corporation is another well known insurance company in Canada. They are most popular in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Alberta. According to J.D Power they are rated number one in customer satisfaction and they have competitive rates. Not only do they offer home insurance, they also offer life insurance, farm insurance, car insurance, business insurance and travel insurance.
Economical Insurance
Economical Insurance is a Canadian company established in 1871, and is considered to be one of the oldest insurance companies in Canada. Like most insurance companies they offer many different kinds of policies and are available for claims 24/7. With homeowner’s insurance, they also offer some perks and discounts for homeowners who either don’t have a mortgage or haven’t made a claim before.
CAA
While the CAA is mostly recognized for its auto insurance, it also offers many other types of insurance, such as home and rental insurance. They are also known for being one of the top home insurance companies in Canada. This is because they offer competitive premiums. These premiums include access to a helpline system that can help you with support for all types of things, such as:
- Home maintenance issues
- Health
- Legal matters
This is just an example, there are many other things that this helpline covers as well. On top of that they have discounts for being over 45 years old (10%), having a monitored alarm system (5-15%), and for being mortgage free (5-15%).
Apollo Insurance
A good option for those who would like to get their insurance online is Apollo Insurance. With Apollo, all you have to do is enter your personal information and you’ll get a quote back is less than a minute. From there, you can choose to make monthly payments, or pay the amount in one lump sum. Your documents will then be emailed to you.
Apollo offers more than house insurance. They also offer business insurance, tenant insurance (which covers your belonging and high value items on someone else’s property), and landlord insurance. The provinces where Apollo insurance is available are Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Wawanessa Insurance
Wawanessa Insurance is an insurance agency you can use anywhere in Canada by registering online or in person. While they do offer home insurance, they offer a wide range of other insurances as well, including:
- Auto Insurance
- Condo Insurance
- Tenant Insurance
- Farm Insurance
- Seasonal Residence Insurance
- Commercial Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Group Insurance
With Wawanessa you can also submit a residential claim with your comprehensive home insurance online. These home insurance claims can be made online to help you get a resolution faster. Plus, with Wawanessa, you can get basic home insurance or additional coverage if you need it.
Sonnet Insurance
If you’re in the market for an online insurance company in the insurance industry, than another great choice is Sonnet Insurance. For their home insurance, they offer coverage to those who live in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. Their basic coverage policies covers:
- Liability protection
- Identity theft
- Extra expenses
- Personal belongings
- Dwellings and detached structures
One thing you do have to pay attention to with coverage is the policy limit. Pluse if you are in need of more coverage they do offer additional coverage which includes natural disasters and othes things including:
- Sewer backup
- Overland water
- Earthquake
- Hail
Another advantage to using sonnet is that you can save with multi claims. If you own more than one home or bundle your insurance, this can put you at an advantage. You can also save money based on your insurance history if you haven’t made a home insurance claim in the last 5 years.
On top of offering insurance on personal property, Sonnet also offers insurance on:
- Auto
- Condos
- Contents
- Pets
TD Insurance
If you bank with TD, a good option may be to go with TD insurance. TD offers small business insurance, life insurance, car insurance and home insurace, as well as insurance for condo owners. When you get property insurance with TD, their basic insurance includes:
- Extended water damage coverage
- Rebuilding to code
- Personal liability
- Additional living expenses
- Legal and home assistance
There’s also optional coverage known as enhances home insurance. You can even customize your coverage to fit your needs.
IA Financial Group
IA Financial Group is an insurance company that offers a variety of different insurances including home insurance. For their basic coverage, their home insurance covers personal liability, specified insured perils, and all risks. They also offer additional coverage options to help meet all of your insurance needs.
How to Pick the Best Home Insurance
While there are plenty of top rated insurance companies, there are also plenty of others that don’t even make the ranking. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, it just means they either aren’t well known or didn’t meet the average consumer's specific criteria.
Labeling the worst home insurance company is difficult, this is why it is important for you to do your homework when deciding what home insurance company you wish to deal with.
Know What Coverage You Need
There are three main types of home insurance coverage to choose from: comprehensive, basic and broad. Comprehensive insurance covers everything about your home and its contents. This is the most popular choice for home insurance. Basic insurance covers both your home and its contents as well, but the conditions are more specific. You aren’t covered for everything. Broad insurance, however, covers the home but has specific conditions when it comes to your contents.
The type of home insurance that you choose will make a difference in what the cost will be. This can be a difficult decision to make so discussing it with an insurance broker can help. It is important to keep in mind that just because comprehensive insurance is the most popular, that doesn’t mean that it is the right choice for you.
Maintaining your Home
The more maintained you keep your home, the lower your home insurance premiums are likely to be. This, like new roofs and keeping up on updates, makes you a lower risk to insurance companies. The lower the risk you are, the less your premiums are likely to be.
Use an Insurance Broker
Not only will an insurance broker help you choose the best policy, they can explain it to you and help you save. A broker can also help with things like bundling all of your insurance with one company to save money, as well as any adjustment that you may need to your policy. A broker can also ensure that you are not only getting the best price but also only paying for what you need, and there are no extra fees that you don’t need to pay.
You can also use a broker to help you compare prices. That being said, while a broker can help find you the best price, do your own research as well on customer service and the ease of filing a claim. If you ever have to file a claim, you want to be able to rely on the company as well, not just the low premiums.
Cheapest Home Insurance in Canada
Finding the cheapest home insurance in Canada can be difficult. This is because there are so many to choose from and the price of the insurance is based on your property and it’s value. That said, one of the most recommended by those who purchase home insurance is Aviva. Not only do they have competetive prices, but they’re also a relieble company who can help you out when you’re in need of insurance.
Conclusion
Overall, finding the right home insurance company can be a difficult process unlike auto insurance which tends to be a little easier. There are so many companies to choose from, as well as other factors to consider, such as where you live, what coverage you are looking for and what companies operate in your province or territory. It is also important to keep in mind whether you are going to pay your insurance in installments or pay it upfront. Some companies offer a discount for paying in full; others offer discounts for other reasons.
When choosing the insurance company you are going to use or deciding to switch providers, be sure to look up customer reviews and find companies that offer personalized service, and not just for the lowest premiums. A company with a good reputation and customer service focus can make a huge difference if you ever need to make a claim. Take a look and see if they offer any discounts, these could even be from your mortgage lenders, that may apply to you or any perks that you can take advantage of. No matter which home insurance provider you choose, do your research and make an informed decision on what is best for you and what will give you the best coverage when unexpected events occur. .ke an informed decision on what is best for you.
