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How does condo insurance work?

Personal condominium insurance works the same as any other home insurance policy. The insurance company assesses the likelihood of you needing to make a claim in the event of theft, property damage or personal injury, and they provide a quote based on that assessment.

Condo insurance typically extends coverage to your possessions, even when you are travelling with them or they are being stored in your storage locker. It also takes into account the fact that you are living in a shared building with multiple other people and the unique risks that accompany that.

You don’t need insurance for the physical structure of your condo building or any common areas. These are covered by condominium corporation insurance (sometimes called strata insurance). You contribute to condo corporation insurance via a portion of your condo fees, but managing the policy is the responsibility of the condo board.

Condominium insurance coverage for unit owner

As the proud owner of a condominium unit, you need personal condo insurance. It provides financial protection against theft or damage to your possessions, covers repair and replacement costs to any upgrades you have made, protects you against lawsuits should someone get hurt in your unit, and will even help with unforeseen living expenses if you have to leave home for a while due to an insurable claim. Here is a summary of the most basic components of condo insurance:

Contents coverage for your possessions, from clothes to electronics, whether they are stolen or damaged. This coverage extends to items in your storage locker too. Limitations may apply if your possessions are particularly valuable (e.g. gemstones, art, antiques), but generally speaking, you tell the insurer the total value of your possessions and thpey provide a quote based on the replacement cost of everything you own. Most insurers insist on a minimum of $30,000 and most Canadians opt for around $50,000 in contents coverage. Don’t forget to include the cost of your kitchen appliances!
Improvements and upgrades you have made to the condo. If you have paid to install marble countertops or hardwood floors, your condo insurance policy can provide coverage for these expensive upgrades. Let your insurer know whenever you make improvements to your unit so you can ensure your renos are covered.
Personal liability insurance will help pay for a lawsuit if someone gets injured while visiting your unit and you are sued. It also protects you against lawsuits resulting from property damage to common areas or neighbouring condo units (e.g. you leave your bathtub running and flood the unit below).
Unexpected living expenses will provide financial assistance if there is insurable damage to your condo (like a flood or fire), which renders it uninhabitable for a period of time. You can use this coverage for temporary accommodation and storage until your condo is repaired.

Optional condo insurance coverage

If you have expensive possessions or have done a lot of work to your unit, a basic condo insurance policy may not provide adequate coverage. Fortunately, there are many optional coverages available to bolster your policy. Here are some of the more popular ones:

Endorsements for high value items. Standard condo insurance provides blanket coverage for your possessions up to a maximum dollar amount, but it will not cover the loss of very expensive items. To insure these items, you need to provide an appraisal or receipt as proof of value, and pay for additional coverage, called an endorsement.
Sewer backup coverage. This coverage protects you against damage from a sewer getting blocked, and the waste water flooding your unit. It covers decontamination costs, and replacements for your fixtures and possessions. This coverage is especially important if you live on a lower floor, where the risk of sewer backup is greatest.
Overland water coverage. Overland water coverage protects you from damage caused by water getting into your condo from outside. If you live near the top of the building, you could be at risk of roof leaks from excessive rain or melting snow. If you live on a lower level, flooding is a serious threat.
Identity theft coverage for condo owners. Identity theft coverage could prove invaluable if you end up a victim of stolen identity. Condo dwellers are particularly susceptible to these types of crimes as it is relatively easy for a criminal to intercept your mail and use it to open a credit card or take out a loan in your name.
Directors’ liability coverage. Directors’ liability coverage provides protection to unit owners who are elected members of the condominium board, specifically protecting you from lawsuits as a result of your corporate position.
Loss assessment. Loss assessment insurance is an important optional coverage. Your condo building is insured under the corporate policy, but sometimes the cost of repairs exceeds the corporate coverage. When this happens, the remaining cost is divided among the condo owners. Loss assessment insurance will step in and prevent you from having to pay out of pocket for these repairs.

Condominium insurance for condo/strata corporations

Corporate condominium insurance, or strata insurance, is the insurance condo management takes out to protect the building structure and communal areas such as the hallways, elevators, swimming pool and other shared amenities.

It also protects corporate assets such as lobby furniture or fitness equipment, and provides liability coverage in the event that somebody is hurt in a common area and sues the condo corporation.

As an individual condo owner, you are not directly responsible for corporate condo insurance, but a portion of your condo fees will go towards the premiums.

Frequently Asked Questions about condo insurance

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about condominium insurance in Canada

Is it a legal requirement to have condo insurance in Canada?

There is no legal requirement for condo insurance. However, if you have a mortgage, the lender will often require that you have it. Even if you are mortgage-free, condo insurance is strongly recommended to protect you and your possessions.

What is residential title insurance?

Residential title insurance protects the buyer (and mortgage lender) against problems that may arise during the transfer of property ownership, including title fraud and losses associated with survey issues. You might need this when buying a new residence, but it is not the same as condo insurance.

Who offers the cheapest condo insurance in Canada?

Nobody can claim to offer the cheapest condo insurance without first knowing a few details about you and your home. We ask the same questions as the insurance companies, and show you accurate quotes based on the information you have provided. Simply pick the cheapest rate and we will connect you with the provider. For additional savings, consider bundling your condo insurance with your car insurance.

How much is the average condo insurance premium in Canada?

If you live in one of Canada’s large cities, you can get annual coverage starting around $25 per month with a basic policy providing $50,000 worth of contents coverage. Increasing your contents coverage, or adding optional endorsements will cause your premiums to rise.

Are condominium and strata coverage the same?

There are two types of condominium insurance, and people often get confused:

1. Corporate condo insurance is the same as strata insurance. This type of policy is taken out by your condo board to protect the physical structure of the building, and any communal areas.

2. Condo or condominium insurance (without the “corporate” bit) is designed for individual condo owners, and it fills in the gaps where your condo’s corporate insurance falls short. It protects you, your personal unit, and the possessions within it.

If my condominium corporation has insurance, why do I need it?

Your condo’s corporation insurance is not intended for the personal protection of condo residents. It protects the condo board against costs associated with damage to the building and its common areas. It may extend to the basic fixtures in your condo unit, such as wiring and plumbing, but it does not normally cover anything within the walls of your unit, including your personal possessions.

This is why it is so important to get a personal condominium insurance policy. It provides essential personal protection, and the corporate policy does not.

What is owner's increased improvement coverage?

Owner’s increased improvement coverage is designed to cover any upgrades you have made to your condo, whether that is installing nicer light fixtures, upgrading the flooring, or anything else that costs money and adds value. Some of these upgrades will be covered by a standard policy, but if you make a lot of expensive improvements or renovations, it is advisable to increase this coverage..

Do I need sewer backup coverage as a condo unit owner?

If you live on the ground floor, or below ground level, sewer backup coverage is extremely important. It only takes one careless unit owner to flush a diaper down the toilet, and suddenly your unit is flooded with sewage and waste.

While strata insurance will cover the cost of clearing the blockage (assuming the pipes are outside of your condo unit), they won’t cover expenses associated with cleaning sewage water from your apartment, or replacing your soiled belongings.

If you live on a high floor, the likelihood of sewage water reaching your unit is small (all drains below your unit would have to be blocked in order for the sewage to reach you), but you are still at risk. Firstly, your storage locker is probably at ground level. Additionally, if the lobby gets flooded with sewage, you will not be able to access your unit, and if you don’t have sewer backup coverage, you would not be eligible for help with temporary living expenses.

Do I need overland water/flood coverage as a condo unit owner?

Overland water is any water that comes into your condo from outside of the building, typically a result of rainfall. If you live on a low floor, especially if you are near a river that could flood, it is advisable to have this coverage. Condo corporation insurance should cover structural repairs following a flood, but it won’t cover flood damage to your furniture, electronics, or anything else in your unit, which is where overland flood protection comes in.

Do I need earthquake coverage as a condo unit owner?

Ontario has never experienced a catastrophic earthquake, and it is not included in standard condo insurance policies for that reason. Periodic tremors, especially in eastern Ontario, have caused some damage in the past, but modern buildings are designed to absorb the shocks without damaging the interior units.

However, if you live on the west coast, earthquakes are a very real threat and you should consider adding this coverage to your policy. In the lower mainland of British Columbia, all property insurance companies require significant earthquake deductibles.

I am renting a condo from the owner. Am I protected by their personal condo insurance policy?

The owner’s personal insurance policy does not extend to you or your belongings. You need tenant insurance, also called renter’s insurance. The good news is you do not need a lease to get tenant insurance, and it is very affordable.

What factors determine my condo insurance premium?

The cost of insurance varies depending on the city and province you live in, but even “identical” units within the same building can yield different quotes. Your condo insurance rate is determined by the likelihood of you needing to make an insurance claim. Here are some factors that insurers consider when calculating your condo insurance premium:

Your location. If you live in a neighbourhood with a high crime rate, your condo insurance will cost more than it would in a safe area. Insurers will consider the odds of break-ins, theft and vandalism when deciding your rate.
Your coverage options. When requesting a condo insurance quote, you will have to decide what types of coverage you need. A basic condo insurance policy might provide enough coverage, but many condo owners opt to pay more for additional protection.
Your deductible. A deductible is the amount of money you pay, out-of-pocket, in the event of a claim. For example, if you make a claim for $2,000 worth of repairs to your condo, and your policy has a $500 deductible, your insurance company will pay $1,500 towards the repair cost. The higher the deductible you are willing to pay, the lower your premiums will be.
Limitations of your policy. Basic condo insurance has strict coverage limitations. For example, contents coverage should extend to your storage locker, but it might not include high-value items. You can pay a higher insurance rate for these limitations to be relaxed, or add a special rider to cover specific items.
Your possessions. Personal condo insurance provides a financial safety net in the event your possessions are lost, but there is always a limit. If you have expensive jewelry or state-of-the-art appliances, and the total value of your belongings exceeds the cap, you can ask for enhanced coverage and pay a higher premium.
Access in the event of a fire. It might sound dramatic, but your unit’s distance to the nearest fire station, even the nearest fire hydrant, is taken into consideration when calculating a condo insurance rate. The closer you are to help, the lower your premium will be.
Your heating system. Does your building offer central heating through electric baseboards, hot water radiators, air vents? Do you use additional heaters? Insurers ask these questions to gauge the likelihood of a fire breaking out. Generally speaking, the more modern your building, the better it will score here.
Your personal info. The insurance company will want to know your age, your marital status and your lifestyle habits (most commonly, whether or not you smoke). Again, this is used to determine risk. A young, single male who smokes will face higher premiums than a middle-aged couple who do not.
Your condo building. Insurers need to know the age of your building, how old the roof is, and the type of construction used to build it (e.g. brick veneer, concrete block). Older buildings and materials typically cost more to insure.
Your claims history. If you have made any property insurance claims in the last eight years, they will be taken into consideration when calculating your premium. If you are a first-time home buyer, you likely won’t have made any claims, but the lowest rates are reserved for those with a long history of property insurance, and still no claims.

Why does condo insurance keep increasing in Canada?

The cost of condo insurance, and any type of property insurance, is closely linked to “catastrophic events” and their impact on insurance claims.

In Canada, an event is catastrophic if it causes more than $25 million of insured damage. Due to climate change, an increasing number of catastrophic storms, floods and wildfires have seen insured losses increase steadily over the last 35+ years.

5-year period	Loss (plus loss adjustment expenses in 2017 dollars)
1983-1988	$0.9 billion
1988-1993	$1.1 billion
1993-1998	$1.8 billion
1998-2003	$3.7 billion
2003-2008	$2.6 billion
2008-2013	$5.7 billion
2013-2017	$11.4 billion

Condo losses 1983-2017

Data taken from IBC Fact Book - 2018

This alarming trend shows no sign of abating, and it has a huge impact on condominium insurance premiums. To highlight this point, take a look at some condo insured losses from Alberta and British Columbia (2018 - most recent complete data):

Region/claim type	Claim amount
BC/Fire	$29,360,000
AB/Fire	$23,508,000
AB/Water	$1,550,000

Insurance companies are losing money due to these claims. In fact, underwriting losses for Canadian condo corporation insurance went from $69 million in 2017, to $564 million in 2018.

These huge losses are unsustainable, and as a result, fewer insurance companies are now willing to provide corporate condo insurance. This lack of supply, coupled with ever increasing demand, is driving premiums up.

Ultimately, these high costs are passed on to condo owners in the form of condo fees and higher personal condo insurance premiums. For this reason, it is more important than ever to compare quotes with RATESDOTCA to ensure you’re finding the best available rates.

Compare condo insurance quotes and save with RATESDOTCA

We understand that your condominium is your safe space, a home to you and the possessions you treasure. Condo insurance will provide peace of mind and financial protection when you need it most. The best way to save on condo insurance is to compare quotes with RATESDOTCA. We compare quotes from more Canadian providers than anyone else to find you the lowest price. Don’t risk your home and everything in it. Compare condo insurance quotes and find the best policy today.