Home Insurance

What is home insurance?

Home insurance is a package policy covering the structure of a private home, the detached structures on its property, the belongings inside it, and the owner's legal liability to other people. An Ontario homeowner policy also pays additional living expenses while the home is uninhabitable after an insured loss. It is issued to the homeowner and is separate from any coverage a mortgage lender carries on its own interest.

Ontario homeowner policies are written on either a Named Perils Form or a Comprehensive Form. A Named Perils Form responds only to the causes of loss the wording lists; a Comprehensive Form responds to any cause of loss it does not exclude. Which form an insurer offers depends on the dwelling's age, its construction, and the condition of its roof, wiring, plumbing and heating.

How much does home insurance cost in Ontario?

The factors that move an Ontario home insurance premium, in approximate order of influence, and why insurers look at each one.

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Do I need home insurance in Ontario?

Home insurance is not required by Ontario law. Mortgage lenders require proof of property insurance as a condition of advancing funds, which makes it a contractual requirement rather than a statutory one. For most owners the home is their single largest asset, and the cost of rebuilding it after a total loss falls entirely on the owner where no policy is in force. Some subdivision agreements and rural land leases impose the same term. Where a lender requires coverage, proof is provided before closing.

Which policy is arranged, and with which limits and endorsements, depends on circumstances that vary from one household to the next:

• Whether a mortgage is registered on the property, and what the lender's insurance clause specifies.
• The cost to rebuild the dwelling at current Ontario construction prices, which is not the purchase price.
• The age and condition of the roof, electrical service, plumbing and heating systems.
• Whether the property sits near a watercourse or on a sewer system with a history of backup.
• Whether part of the home is rented out, used for a business, or left unoccupied for long periods.
• Whether jewellery, art, bicycles or collections exceed the standard contents sub-limits.

What situations does Ontario home insurance commonly address?

Home policies are arranged for a wide range of ownership circumstances across Ontario, and the coverage available differs in each. The situations below are common among Sutherland Insurance clients in Guelph and across the province, and each one changes which options an insurer will offer on the policy.

• A Guelph family buying a first home and arranging coverage to be in force on the closing date.
• An owner of a century home in a Guelph heritage neighbourhood with knob-and-tube wiring or a 60-amp panel.
• A homeowner whose finished basement sits below the municipal sewer line, where water endorsements are relevant.
• A household renting out a basement unit, which moves part of the exposure outside a standard homeowner form.
• A retired couple wintering away, where the unoccupancy conditions in the wording apply.
• A homeowner with a detached workshop, an in-ground pool or a solar array on the property.

How do I get home insurance from Sutherland Insurance?

A quote is requested online or by calling 519-822-0160. A licensed Sutherland Insurance broker confirms the address, the age and construction of the dwelling, the condition of its systems, and the endorsements under consideration, and compares the available Ontario markets. Coverage is bound once the client confirms.

1. Request a quote online, or call Sutherland Insurance at 519-822-0160.
2. A licensed broker confirms the address, year built, square footage, construction, and the age of the roof, wiring, plumbing and heating.
3. Sutherland Insurance compares the more than 10 personal-lines carriers it holds contracts with.
4. The broker presents the available options and endorsements, and the client selects limits and deductibles.
5. The broker binds coverage and confirms it to the mortgage lender where one is on title.

Why is my rebuild cost higher than my home's market value?

The dwelling limit on an Ontario home policy is the cost to rebuild the house on its existing lot at current labour and material prices. Market value is what a buyer would pay for the whole property, land included. The two figures move independently, and across much of Ontario the rebuild figure is the higher of the two.

A rebuild carries costs a sale price never does: clearing the site, removing debris, and bringing the new structure up to the current Ontario Building Code. Insurers recalculate reconstruction cost at every renewal from regional construction-cost data, which is why a dwelling limit rises in a year when nothing about the house changed.

Does home insurance cover flooding in Ontario?

A standard Ontario home policy excludes overland water. Overland water coverage (for water entering the home from an overflowing lake or river, or from heavy rainfall running across the ground) is sold as an optional endorsement. Sewer backup is a separate optional endorsement. Sudden and accidental escape from indoor plumbing is covered on most standard forms.

Sewer backup and overland water are distinct perils with distinct wordings, and a single storm can produce both at one address. Availability of the overland water endorsement depends on the property's flood-risk zone, and some insurers decline it on properties inside a regulated floodplain.