Home Insurance - A Thumbnail View

By Theo Danier


The single most valuable possession for most people is their home. Major disasters can and do happen from time to time, like an earthquake or a fire, do you have protection for these circumstances? When was the last time you reviewed your home insurance policy? For a property owner to have peace of mind, they should speak to their insurance agent each year to go over their coverage. Many times, a homeowner has a different situation later than they did when they first got the policy, and each year it should be reviewed.

The two most common types of home insurance policies are:

Named perils: These policies specify the types of loss you're protected against, such as fire, lightning, explosion, smoke, falling objects, impact by aircraft or land vehicle, riot, vandalism, some types of water damage, windstorm, hail, and theft. You are only protected from the types of loss and damage that is specifically named on your insurance policy.

Comprehensive: These comprehensive or "all risk" policies protect you against all types of loss except those specifically excluded. Landslide, snow slides, and damages from war or terrorism are some of the things that usually are not included. For a homeowner that wants to be prepared for any situation, they should go for the best, which are comprehensive policies.

Some important things to look for when reviewing your policy are:

Replacement of building guarantee: This will cover the costs involved with rebuilding the home, and that includes when the costs are more than the limit included in the policy. There are many reasons that the cost to rebuild may be more than the amount that you are insured for, such as market fluctuations and a catastrophe such as an earthquake or a wildfire.

Earthquake coverage: There are usually additions that insurance policies have that will allow for extra protection in case of earthquakes. The possibility of an earthquake is always present no matter where the home is located, so look into protection just in case.

Broad water damage coverage: Some kinds of water damage is generally covered by home insurance policies. There are usually limits to this coverage, but they can be added to the policy to include things like sewer backup.

Building bylaw coverage: In the event of a loss, your home must be rebuilt to comply with today's building codes and bylaws. There are changes that happen over time to bylaws, and if this is the case in your area, it could make the cost of even partially rebuilding the home to be more than expected. Unless this coverage is taken out, the costs from a rebuild such as this will have to be paid by the homeowners. Many people forget to get coverage such as this. Without it, you could be out thousands of dollars.

Specialty property insurance: There is a certain amount of coverage provided for specialty items in most policies, even if the homeowner doesn't have any. Typically, this refers to collectables, computers, sports items, luxury items like furs or jewelry, to name some examples.

Something to keep in mind for condo owners: The strata itself typically has insurance, but there are certain kinds of damage that are not covered, and property deductible assessments, damage assessments, and liability damage assessments can be the responsibility of the condo owners themselves.




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