Do You Have Enough Coverage for Your Condo?

How much coverage do you need? How much is enough? These are questions every condo owner faces when purchasing condo insurance.

While your condo association will have a master insurance policy that covers the building’s structure and shared spaces (ex. hallways, lobby, parking garage), their coverage generally stops at your unit’s walls. Everything inside, from your furniture and personal belongings to renovations and upgrades, is your responsibility. That’s why it’s essential to ensure your condo insurance provides enough coverage to protect both your property and yourself.

In this article, we’ll explore the types of coverage commonly included in condo insurance policies and how you can customize your policy to meet any requirements while ensuring you’re fully protected against the unexpected risks that come with living in a condo.

Key takeaways

Depending on your condo association’s requirements, the value of your belongings, and the risks specific to your building or location, you may need to adjust your coverage limits or add optional protection to be fully covered. Ultimately, choosing the right amount of insurance comes down to understanding what you own and how much risk you’re comfortable taking.

Minimum coverage condo owners’ policies provide

In Canada, condo owners’ policies provide coverage for the physical structure of your unit, its permanent fixtures, the personal belongings inside it, and any improvements or renovations you make to it. Also, a minimum personal liability coverage limit of $1 million dollars is common, given that in condo buildings, incidents like a kitchen fire or overflowing sink can quickly cause thousands of dollars in damage to neighbouring units or common areas. 

Here is an example of a condo insurance policy from YouSet that includes only the minimum amount of coverage. 

Type of coverage	Minimum coverage limit
Personal belongings	$30,000
Personal liability	$1,000,000
Additional living expenses	$50,000
Physical structure and permanent fixtures	$500,000
Renovations	$500,000
Theft and burglary	$100,000
Fire and smoke	$100,000
Special assessment for property damage	$500,000

Do you have enough? How much coverage for condo insurance to get

While the minimum amount of coverage might work for some condo owners, it won’t work for all. Depending on your condo association’s requirements, the value of your belongings, and the risks unique to your building and/or location, you might not feel it’s enough. 

So, how much coverage for your condo should you get? Since there are typically only certain coverage limits you can change and optional types of coverage you can add, let’s focus on those.   

Personal liability

At YouSet, condo owners can choose between $1 million and $2 million in personal liability coverage. While $1 million is the minimum, $2 million is increasingly recommended, especially for those living in large condo buildings, where accidents can cause extensive and costly damage. It’s also becoming more common for condo associations to require their condo owners to have $2 million in personal liability coverage as part of their insurance rules. 

For reference, among YouSet users, 63% of condo owners in Quebec get a $2 million limit, while 80% of condo owners in Ontario get a $1 million limit.  Also, don’t let these high coverage limits intimidate you. Oftentimes, $2 million in personal liability coverage only increases your premium by a few dollars, making it more manageable than you might have thought.  

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Personal belongings

When it comes to deciding how much coverage for your condo you should get, always look closely at your personal belongings coverage limit.  Many people underestimate the value of their belongings. Think about everything you own, from big-ticket items like electronics and furniture to the contents of your closets, drawers, bins, and storage boxes. Your closet alone could hold thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing that, if destroyed in a fire, would need replacing.

To prevent this from happening and ensure you have enough to cover the personal property in your condo, it’s best to take an inventory of your belongings and calculate how much it would cost to replace them all. Based on your total, select a coverage limit that meets your needs. For example, a young adult with fewer possessions might choose a $30,000 coverage limit, while a family with more items, especially expensive ones, might opt for a higher limit of up to $100,000.  

Water damage

While water damage from burst pipes, sudden plumbing failures, appliance malfunctions, and firefighting efforts are typically covered by condo insurance, there are other ways water can cause significant damage to your unit and belongings. In those cases, you’ll need to have opted into the corresponding optional coverage to qualify for compensation. Your options will typically be: 

• Above-ground water coverage
• Overland water coverage
• Sewer backup coverage

Seeing as water-related claims are the most common insurance claims filed by condo owners in Quebec and Ontario among YouSet users, and typically range between $6,000 and $7,500 on average, these optional coverages are worth seriously considering.   

High-value items

Do you own anything particularly valuable, such as jewellery, high-end electronics, musical instruments, or rare collectibles? If so, it’s important to check if your personal belongings coverage provides enough protection for those items. This type of coverage typically comes with sub-limits, meaning while jewellery or electronics, may be covered, they’re only covered up to a certain amount. 

If that coverage limit isn’t high enough for the item you own, and it’s especially valuable, you may want to consider adding a floater to your policy. This will cover one specific item at its full appraised value if it’s lost, stolen, or damaged due to a covered event.  

Next steps

Once you have an idea of how much coverage you want to get, the next step is to get a condo insurance quote. With YouSet, you can easily add optional coverages and adjust your coverage limits, seeing how each change affects your premium in real-time. Plus, YouSet’s algorithms automatically compare multiple insurers and apply exclusive discounts for you, helping you get the best possible price on condo insurance.