Toronto Tenant Insurance Broker
Tenant & Renters Insurance Toronto
If you’re renting a house, condo, or apartment in Toronto, it may be tempting to skimp on paying money for rent. It’s no secret living in Toronto is expensive and household expenses are no exception. But many people think that if there is water damage or theft, their landlord will pay for it. Unfortunately, as a renter you’re on the hook for paying if your personal items are stolen or damaged by a fire or flood.
What Does My Tenant Insurance Cover?
There are three main areas that you need to protect as a tenant: your personal items, liability, and living expenses if you need to live elsewhere due to repairs.
For example, if the dishwasher malfunctions and water damages the unit or home and your belongings, you’ll need proper insurance to help you pay for replacing your clothes, electronics, and anything that’s yours. The landlord would be responsible for replacing the hardwood floor.
Coverage on a Renters Insurance Policy:
- Your belongings: this coverage will help you pay for any stolen or damaged goods after an insured loss, such as a fire or flood.
- Personal Liability: this coverage applies if someone at your place has an injury or if their belongings were damaged unintentionally. Expenses covered include lawyer fees and more.
- Additional Living Expenses: this coverage helps pay for hotels, restaurant bills, and more if you must make a temporary move while your rental unit or home is fixed after an insured loss.
Tip:
it’s important to take photos and videos of your clothes, electronics and other personal items in case of a loss to your rental unit, home, or apartment. Keep your receipts of all your belongings.
Do I Need Tenant Insurance in Toronto?
Tenant insurance, also called renters insurance, is not required by law in Toronto – like all cities in Ontario – but it’s recommended if you have contents you want to protect or if someone gets injured in your home. You don’t want to spend your savings or go into debt trying to replace your essential items or to pay lawyer fees. Some lease agreements also require you to buy tenants insurance, so ask your landlord.
What are the different Levels of Tenant Coverage?
The level of tenant insurance protection is important to specify in your policy documents. For example, if you want coverage for overland water coverage, then you’ll need this coverage in your policy documents.
3 Levels of Tenant Coverage
There are three levels of tenant coverage in Toronto: comprehensive, broad, and named perils coverage.
Did you know?
After a loss, your insurer can decide if an item will be replaced or repaired. This will also depend on your policy coverage and the type of insurance coverage you have.
How Do I Get Tenant Insurance in Toronto?
It’s easy to obtain tenant insurance from an insurance company. If you’re not sure which insurers carry full tenant insurance, ask one of our Sharp brokers for help. We work with several major insurance companies in Canada that offer a gamut of insurance products, including renters insurance. Get a quote on the phone or on our website – it’s quick and easy.
How much will it cost for Tenant Insurance?
The cost to insure your life as a renter is just as important as if you own a home. The bonus is rental insurance is less expensive than homeowners insurance, yet the monthly fees still add up. It may help to imagine the worst-case scenario of losing everything you’ve saved up for over the years due to a flood, for example, with no help to replace your things.
Did you know?
On average, the cost to get renters insurance in Toronto is approximately $30 per month. Your personal tenant rate depends on many different elements, though, so it pays to do your homework, shop around, or get one of our skilled brokers to do the work for you.
What Factors Affect the Cost of Tenant Insurance?
Your best friend or neighbor may have a different tenant insurance rate than you. Why? Insurance companies not only have different ways to calculate your rate, but you’re a unique individual. Your age, your insurance history and a host of other factors play into your personal rate.
Top 5 factors that impact your tenant insurance rate.
- Deductible: if you choose a higher deductible amount, your insurance rates will generally be lower. We recommend you find a balance between what you pay for your deductible and to keep your rate low.
- Where you live: like home insurance, tenant insurance rates can be higher in neighbourhoods within minutes from each other. A high claim or crime rate in your chosen community will likely increase your rates. Do your homework or ask a broker for advice.
- Your personal items: the level of coverage you want depends on your personal items and their worth. You may have need to get insurance for a rare collection of watches or love pricey shoes; so, you may take out special content limits under your policy.
- Condition/age of building/home: while your landlord’s insurance covers the building or home you live in, your tenant insurance rates may reflect the condition or age of the structure. An older building or structure, for example, may have an increased risk of claims, so your insurer may price your premium higher.
- Your financial picture: if you’ve missed payments, cancelled your policy or have poor credit, your insurer will see you as a high risk and charge you a higher insurance rate.
Did you know?
A renter must buy a separate insurance policy to have adequate coverage after an insured loss, such as a fire or flood. Your landlord’s insurance policy only covers the building and appliances.
How much contents coverage do I need?
Everyone owns different items that they deem precious or worth covering for insurance purposes. Contents coverage details the dollar amount of each item that you own in case of a loss, such as theft or fire. It’s not mandatory to have tenant insurance but it’s always great protection to have for unexpected events. For high value items, such as jewelery and heirlooms, you may have to add-on extra coverage.
How to Get the Cheapest Tenant Insurance Rates
If you can fit all your belongings into a duffel bag, you may think you don’t qualify for tenant insurance. But tenant insurance covers personal item replacement and much more, including lawyer fees if you get sued for unintentional visitor injuries in your flat or home. If you’re worried about that $20 to $40 a month expense, follow these tips below.
3 Tips to Lower your Tenant Insurance Rates:
- Bundle and Save: combine any two policies that you have for a savings to your insurance rate.
- Discounts: there are more discounts that you can take advantage of, including being claims-free and staying with one insurance company for many years.
- Shop Around: our brokers can connect you to one of many of our insurers, so you have a chance to choose which company, and rate, to go with.
What Perils are covered under Tenant Insurance?
A peril is an event that causes damage, such as a fire, break-in/theft, and certain types of water damage. There are three different categories of perils in most standard tenant policies: natural, human, and economical.
What Is Not Covered under Tenant Insurance in Toronto?
There are situations that can happen as a renter that you’d wish you never experience, such as having bed bugs or xxxxx. are not covered under a standard tenant insurance policy. Below are 5 cases where your basic tenant insurance policy won’t apply.
- Mold
- Wear and Tear
- Damage caused by insects (insect, animals)
- Water damage caused by frozen pipes while away
- Your home is vacant for more than 30 days in a row
If you’re not sure if you’ll be covered under your tenant policy, ask one of our experienced brokers or call your insurance company for clarification.
Did you know?
If you’re found responsible for damaging the building you live in, your landlord could sue you, depending on the circumstances. There is liability insurance protection that covers you as a renter.
What is Optional Tenant Insurance Coverage?
Sometimes a renter is caught off guard and their identity is stolen, or a spring storm causes major water damage to their belongings. While this is often a one-time event, the loss could cost you a significant amount of money if you’re not covered. Below are 4 add-ons you can include on your renters insurance policy.
- Water DamageUnder a tenant policy, basic water protection is provided. For protection against sewer back-up and overland water damage for home and belongings – you’ll need added water coverage. Sewer back-up is damage caused by the backup or escape of water or sewage from a sewer, septic system, or sump pump.
- Overland CoverageOverland coverage is an optional coverage that applies when water enters a property from an overflow of lakes and rivers or torrential rainfall or spring thaw. Overland coverage excludes flood water from tsunamis and tidal waves and intentional breaches of water (e.g. dams). Some insurers offer a package including sewer backup and overland water coverage.
- Identity Theft Technology has made it easier for a person to steal your identity through different avenues, including withdrawing money from your bank account or hacking your personal details online. How do you protect yourself? ID theft insurance coverage helps you pay for unauthorized money withdrawals and other money issues associated with identity theft.
- EarthquakeEarthquake coverage helps you replace your belongings in the event of an earthquake with a specific deductible percentage range.
What are Loss Settlement Options for tenant insurance?
A loss settlement option sets the amount that your insurance company will pay you after an insured loss. The two ways to calculate settlement includes replacement cost and actual cost value, as defined below. But how will these options affect my insurance.
How much Tenant Insurance do I need?
The level of renters insurance you need depends on the quantity and value of your content. It’s always a good idea to write down a list of what you have and the dollar amount in your home, apartment, or condo and review the list once a year.
You can also choose whether you want the All Perils or Named Perils options under your tenant policy. A peril is a hazard or unexpected event that caused the loss. The all perils option, the pricier of the two, means your insured items will have adequate insurance for a wide selection of perils. The named perils option details specific perils that are included that you’ll be covered for.
Did you know?
If you upgrade the place you’re renting, then you may be eligible for additional coverage to protect those items. If you add a shelving unit or light fixture, for example, you may get additional coverage.
What is High Risk Tenant insurance?
Like high-risk home insurance, a person who rents could also be deemed a high risk. A renter is considered a high risk due to either missed payments, fraudulent claims or any event that is a risk for their insurer to give them insurance coverage.