Guide to home insurance
Shopping for home insurance can be stressful, but is ultimately a crucial step in securing one of your most important investments – especially as first-time homeowners. Home insurance policies are designed to protect homeowners against the unexpected, and help you avoid unwelcomed surprises down the line.
From insuring your personal belongings to protecting yourself and your loved ones against civil liability, a home insurance policy offers homeowners some much-needed peace of mind and can be personalized according to your needs.
Comparing homeowner’s insurance policies with YouSet rather than going to a direct company offers a unique advantage, helping you compare coverages and prices between several insurers rather than just one, ensuring you get the most suitable coverage for your needs. With YouSet by your side, finding the home insurance coverage you need has never been easier thanks to our automated platform.
Our complete guide has everything you need to know about home insurance policies, including common coverages, ways to save money, and how homeowner’s insurance premiums are calculated.
Guide to home insurance
Shopping for home insurance can be stressful, but is ultimately a crucial step in securing one of your most important investments – especially as first-time homeowners. Home insurance policies are designed to protect homeowners against the unexpected, and help you avoid unwelcomed surprises down the line.
From insuring your personal belongings to protecting yourself and your loved ones against civil liability, a home insurance policy offers homeowners some much-needed peace of mind and can be personalized according to your needs.
Comparing homeowner’s insurance policies with YouSet rather than going to a direct company offers a unique advantage, helping you compare coverages and prices between several insurers rather than just one, ensuring you get the most suitable coverage for your needs. With YouSet by your side, finding the home insurance coverage you need has never been easier thanks to our automated platform.
Our complete guide has everything you need to know about home insurance policies, including common coverages, ways to save money, and how homeowner’s insurance premiums are calculated.
What is home insurance?
Your home represents one of your most significant investments – think of homeowner’s insurance as an additional layer of protection against the unexpected. Simply put, home insurance is a form of property insurance that protects your home against loss and accidental damage.
Home insurance policies protect you against a number of insured events, ranging from water damage to fire and theft. Homeowner’s insurance policies also come with mandatory civil liability coverage, protecting you and your loved ones against lawsuits in the event that you or your property cause damages to a third party.
For example, a visitor gets injured while visiting your property or you accidentally cause a fire while staying in a hotel. Home insurance policies can even be customized with a variety of optional coverages depending on your unique insurance needs.
Homeowner’s insurance policies are typically required by the lender if you have a mortgage, unless your house is fully paid for. Regardless, adding a personalized home insurance policy is the best way to secure your investment and avoid costly expenses. Without a homeowner’s insurance policy, you will be required to pay for any repairs or damage to your home completely out of pocket.
What does home insurance cover?
The first step in shopping for home insurance is understanding the coverages available to you. Certain home insurance coverages are standard across all insurance policies, including condo and tenant insurance policies, while others need to be added. Common home insurance coverages include but are not limited to, liability insurance, personal belongings insurance, and additional living expenses.
Liability insurance
Liability Insurance is mandatory for all homeowner’s insurance policies and protects you against potential lawsuits. Whether an individual gets injured in your home while visiting, or you accidentally cause damage to someone’s property, civil liability insurance covers you.
Personal belongings
Personal Belongings Insurance, also known as content’s insurance, is yet another integral coverage in any home insurance policy. This coverage insures your personal belongings against loss or damage caused by insured events, ranging from water damage, to fire. With personal belongings insurance, your stuff is insured wherever you may be – as long as you are temporarily away from your home.
Additional living cost
Additional Living Expenses can be used to cover the normal cost of living, including food or hotel fees, should you need to relocate due to a claim. Whether you are installing a new roof due to a leak, or are a victim of flooding, additional living expenses insurance has you covered, ensuring your peace of mind while your home is being repaired. This coverage is included in all homeowner’s insurance policies!
Detached structures
Your home is far more than just the house itself, and detached structures coverage takes this into account. With this coverage, any detached structures on your property, including sheds, garages, guest houses, pool houses, are insured up to the amount you set. This coverage can even help cover or pay for a portion of repairs needed to rebuild the structure of your home.
Identity theft
Identity Theft is an optional coverage to your home insurance policy, but is nonetheless a great way to protect yourself against the onrise trend of identity fraud in Canada. On average, victims of identity theft take six months to reclaim their identity with legal fees quickly piling up.
Identity theft coverage can be added to your home insurance policy and can be used to reimburse any legal fees and expenses you pay for replacing legal documents.
Water damages
Water damage represents the leading cause of damage to homes in Canada, and is an important consideration to make when shopping for home insurance. Insurers will typically offer three endorsements for water damage coverage, including sewer backup, overland water, and above ground water coverage.
As the name suggests, sewer backup covers you if water backs up into your home from a septic tank, a sewer, a floor drain, or a sump, and helps you avoid sticky situations. Next, overland water coverage is designed to cover any losses or damages caused by fresh water, including excessive rain or melting snow. Lastly, above ground water coverage protects your home from water infiltration stemming from above through roofs, walls, windows, and doors.
Is home insurance mandatory?
Owning a home does not come without its challenges, therefore, home insurance policies are typically recommended in every situation. While not legally required in Canada if your house is fully paid for, having a personalized home insurance policy remains the best way to protect your home and the things you value the most.
If your house is not fully paid off, your lender will require proof of insurance in order to secure the mortgage or line of credit. Home insurance policies offer homeowners peace of mind and coverage where they need it, be it for their personal belongings, against civil liability, or unexpected events such as water damage or fire.
How is home insurance calculated?
Home insurance premiums will differ from person to person based on a number of crucial factors . Before calculating your premium, insurers will take into consideration a number of factors, including the location of your home, the condition and age of your home, your personal claims history, your age, and how you intend on using your home. For example, if you plan on renting it out to tenants, your premium and coverage will be different.
While home insurance quotes will differ based on these factors and coverages you opt for, the logic is simple: The likelier you are to make a claim, the higher your home insurance premium will be. It is important to be aware of these factors before shopping for a homeowner’s insurance policy as they will ultimately dictate the price you will be paying each month. Now, let’s take a look at the different ways you can save money on your home insurance policy.
Ways to save money on home insurance
There are a number of ways to save money on your home insurance policy and find the best rate. From raising your deductible, to bundling insurance products, here are a few tips to save money on your home insurance policy.
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Raising your deductible
One of the ways to save money on your home insurance policy is to raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount you are responsible to pay in the event of a claim. Please note, however, that you should only raise your deductible to an amount that is financially feasible for you and your family.
Deductibles on home insurance policies can range anywhere between $500 to $2000.
Regularly compare insurance prices
When shopping for home insurance prices, don’t settle for the first home insurance quote you receive. YouSet is the best way to compare home insurance premiums from different insurers and will ultimately find you the most affordable coverage. YouSet’s automated platform takes care of this, screening the market for all potential insurers according to your home insurance needs.
Don’t over insure your personal belongings
Before shopping for home insurance, taking a complete inventory of your personal belongings is a great first step. Simply put, why pay for $60,000 of personal belongings insurance when your contents only amount to $45,000
Having an up-to-date list of your personal belongings will best prepare you when shopping for home insurance. Remember that your policy will cover the new replacement value of your belongings unless stated otherwise! Be sure to calculate your personal belongings in the event that you need to buy everything NEW again.
Bundle insurance products
Bundling different insurances together, typically home and auto, is among the most effective ways at saving money on your home insurance policy. By bundling your car and home insurance with YouSet, you can take advantage of multiple discounts and save money on both policies.
Consider potential increases when making a claim
Home insurance policies are designed to cover larger losses, including water, theft, fire damage, and more. As such, before submitting a claim, it is important to consider potential increases to your next homeowner’s insurance policy. Put simply, submitting multiple small claims can impact your upcoming home insurance premium – especially if you are already benefiting from a discount for being claims free.
Update your home
Keeping your home in great condition and proactively updating it can help you avoid unnecessary costs down the road. Whether that means changing an ageing water tank before it gives, or replacing your roof before the winter, regular home improvements can go a long way at keeping your home insurance premiums low and remaining claim-free.
Why is home insurance important?
Whether you are a first-time homeowner, or are planning to add to your rolodex of property investments, home insurance is a must. Home insurance covers you against the unexpected, protecting your home and its contents in the event of theft, loss, or accidental damage to the inside or outside of your property.
Homeowner’s insurance policies also provide protection against potential lawsuits with civil liability protection and all come equipped with additional living expenses coverage. This can act as an additional layer of security should you need to temporarily relocate from your property due to a claim.
Keep in mind that mold, damage caused by pests, and gradual damages are amongst some of the common exclusions in home insurance policies. Getting a home insurance policy is a no-brainer when investing in a home. Ultimately, it protects your largest investment and all your cherished belongings at an affordable price.
Shopping for home insurance
Comparing home insurance quotes manually can become a tedious process quickly. From understanding the different coverage options to reading over your policy for exclusions, shopping for home insurance is time-consuming.
YouSet’s automated platform eliminates the hassle of comparing home insurance quotes, screening the market for the best home insurance policies for you. Our algorithm will immediately find you the insurer that suits your needs with the most affordable price in less than four minutes, saving you an average of 29% on your home and auto insurance policies.
We hope to have answered all your questions about home insurance, including home insurance coverages, ways to save money, the benefits of using YouSet, and more, but if we didn’t, we offer personalized support via chat, SMS, or email!
Shopping for home insurance