Renter’s insurance in Canada provides the possibility to cover the cost of damage to your property in the house you are renting.
This type of insurance also protects your property against theft. This type of insurance also partially covers damages to people in the rental property. It should be noted that many apartments require you to provide proof of having renter’s insurance before moving in.
Types of tenant insurance policies
Renter insurance protects your property located in a rental property. Personal property, including furniture, household appliances, clothes and electronic equipment, is usually covered by this type of insurance. Minimum renter’s insurance coverage protects this property against fire, damage or theft.
Renter’s liability insurance coverage helps you cover the legal and medical expenses of someone injured in a rental property. You can also use more comprehensive renter’s insurance coverage to cover expensive electronic equipment.
What affects the cost of renter’s insurance?
The renter’s insurance premium you have to pay is calculated based on several factors:
- Location of the property: If you are in an area that is more prone to hurricanes and earthquakes, or if the crime rate in your neighborhood is high, the renter’s insurance premium will be higher.
- Home security level: the presence of window locks, security cameras and burglar alarms will reduce the renter’s insurance premium.
- Insurance coverage level: In general, the more options you choose for insurance coverage, the higher your insurance premium will be. If you are looking for insurance that will give you replacement items instead of damaged and unusable items, the premium will be higher than if only the actual cash value (the value of the item minus depreciation) is requested.
- Value of property: Someone who has more valuable property should pay more insurance premium.
Tenant’s insurance cover
Homeowner’s insurance does not cover the property in the house. This type of insurance also does not cover liability insurance. For example, if someone is injured in your apartment and you have homeowner’s insurance, the insurance will not pay you anything. This is where you should definitely use renter’s insurance.
Be sure to carefully read the terms and conditions of the insurance policy to know what is covered by the insurance. The table also gives explanations about some of the insurance coverage included in the tenant’s insurance.
The most common things covered by renter’s insurance in Canada are as follows:
- Storm: damage caused by wind, hail and other storm-related effects
- Impact: damage to property caused by strong impacts caused by meteorites, falling parts of aircraft or objects thrown from cars.
- Vandalism: Intentional damage to property by someone who does not live in your home.
- Water: Damage to property due to most types of water leaks (not floods).
- Smoke: Damage caused by smoke to property – does not include property burned in a house fire.
- Accidental damages: Accidental damages caused by you to the landlord’s building or your property.
- Property outside the home: includes options for protecting property located outside the property
- Short circuit (electrical connection): burning of electric motors of appliances in some conditions. It usually does not include the damage caused by the change in current due to lightning.
- Spoiled food: In case of electrical problems or mechanical failure of the refrigerator or freezer, the spoiled food will be covered by insurance.
- Temporary accommodation: the cost of temporary accommodation if it is not possible to live in the property.
- Liability: Legal and medical expenses related to injury to someone else (other than residents) in your home
Tenant insurance plan
To choose a suitable renter’s insurance plan, you must consider the following:
- Risk coverage with insurance: It is better to go for an insurance plan that covers your property well. Normally, you don’t need earthquake, flood or similar insurance coverage. But if you live in an area that is prone to such disasters, be sure to ask for the relevant insurance coverage.
- Price commensurate with coverage: Look for a balance between premiums paid and adequate coverage. Find an insurance plan that covers your main concerns and at the same time offers benefits such as discounts on insurance premiums if your home is equipped with security systems.
- Be careful of additional options: options such as liability, food spoilage, as well as coverage for bicycles and other sports equipment are of interest to many people. But be careful that choosing each one means paying more insurance premiums. For this reason, you should choose the best option based on the situation you are in.
What does renter’s insurance cover include?
Depending on which insurance company you go with and the level of coverage purchased, some or all of the following options may be covered:
- Credit card theft
- Failure of household appliances
- Glass shattering
- Liability insurance
- Property outside the house
- Perishable foods
- Portable property
- Temporary residence
- Moving costs
- Responsibility of training animals
Common mistakes in tenant insurance
Three common and big mistakes that some people make in the field of renter’s insurance
- Incomplete coverage: Although fire and theft insurance coverage is expensive, these items will not be full coverage for common risks. Other options such as temporary residence, flood insurance and liability insurance are among the things that are worth paying a higher premium. Always make sure that you choose the important things to be covered by the insurance.
- Excessive insurance coverage: Suppose you bought a comprehensive insurance policy, but you only need theft and fire insurance. In fact, by purchasing a renter’s insurance covering fire and theft, you could pay less for insurance premiums. Insurance premiums gradually increase over time. For this reason, if you think that your premium is too high, check the price of other plans or other companies.
- Failure to update the insurance policy: Always inform the insurance company of the latest changes in your place of residence. Updating your insurance policy before moving will help protect your belongings during the move.
The process of getting tenant insurance and receiving damages
The first step is to determine the equipment and property that must be insured. In the next step, you should see if you want to have liability insurance coverage or not. You also need to think about other insurance coverage.
After purchasing the insurance policy, make a detailed list of your possessions. This list should include the serial number of different products. Also, scan or take photos of sales invoices, and in short, keep any document that shows the value of your property somewhere. Better to store all this information somewhere online.
If you want to make a claim, contact the insurance company and give them the details of the insurance policy as well as the list of items that were damaged, destroyed or stolen. Here, the list of property plays an essential role in confirming the damage.
Is it worth it to buy a renter’s insurance policy?
Suppose there is a fire in your house. In this case, paying for all damages is worth the $10 a month you pay in premiums. In short, renter’s insurance is a very valuable option.
