The Best Home Insurance in Oshawa

Home insurance in Oshawa

Located in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Oshawa has a population of 175,383, according to the 2021 Canadian census. Given the city’s relatively small size and mild weather, it has cheaper home insurance than most cities in Ontario – though it’s not the cheapest when compared to its immediate neighbours, such as Ajax.

Unlike car insurance, home insurance is not mandated by law in Oshawa, or Ontario, in general. However, if you intend to mortgage your home, your lender will most likely ask you to buy home insurance. So, while it’s technically not mandatory, you’ll require it anyway.

Types of home insurance in Oshawa

There are four types of home insurance policy you can get in Oshawa. Though their nomenclature differs from insurer to insurer, they usually boil down to the following:

• Basic: One of the cheapest insurance types available. It protects both your property and possessions, but only from the perils explicitly listed in the policy. If the peril is not listed, then you’re not covered for it. That’s why it’s also known as a ‘named perils’ policy. It offers the least amount of coverage – if you exclude the ‘no-frills’ option, that is.
• Broad: This option is a little more inclusive, and more expensive too. It protects your property from most major perils, aside from those listed under ‘exclusions.’ When it comes to possessions, broad insurance protects only against the perils listed in the policy, just like the basic one.
• Comprehensive: If you want your property and possessions protected from most major perils – other than a few listed exceptions – this coverage type will do the job. With this insurance type, if a peril is listed for either your property or possessions, then you’re not covered for it. And vice versa. Be careful though. ‘Comprehensive’ doesn’t mean you’re protected from everything. Protections for perils like overland floods and earthquakes have to be purchased separately.
• No-frills: Got a home that can’t be covered by typical insurance? Then no-frills coverage may be handy. This option exists for homes that are in such a poor state that they are too risky to insure under normal circumstances. For instance, their electrical system is so out of date it has a very high chance of causing fire. This type of insurance is best only as a temporary solution – usually for securing a mortgage and/or until you get the home all fixed up.

What gets covered

Whether you go with basic, broad or comprehensive coverage, it must cover the following:

• Property: Your property entails the home itself as well as outbuildings and backyard decor, including your shed, barn, detached garage and even your garden. Be sure to check with your insurer as to what is or isn’t covered, just in case.
• Contents: These are your possessions – mainly the ones located inside your property, such as furniture, electronics and clothing. Your insurance should cover everything, aside from some of the more expensive items, like artwork or jewelry. Assess the value of such items and discuss with your insurer if you need additional coverage.
• Additional living expenses: Insurance companies will generally pay for your accommodation, travel and groceries should your home become unlivable due to a covered peril. Chat with your provider to see what’s covered and for how long.

Liability coverage

Your liability coverage would generally include the following:

• Personal liability: This comes into effect if someone gets accidentally injured on your property. The coverage can be between $100,000 and $5,000,000, depending on your financial situation.
• Medical payments: If you injure someone on your property by mistake, this will cover their medical expenses for up to a year from the date of the injury. The coverage may range from $1,000 to $10,000.
• Property damage: If you or a minor in your care under 12 years damages someone else’s property (such as your neighbour’s), then this will cover you. The coverage is between $500 and $6,000.

Note that if any of the above are done intentionally (for instance, you intentionally hurt someone), then your liability coverage will become void.

Commonly covered perils

Here are some of the most commonly covered perils by home insurers in Oshawa:

• Fire: Should your home or possessions catch fire, this will pay for replacing, rebuilding or repairing whatever ends up damaged or lost. Wildfires in particular are becoming a big problem in Canada, especially as of 2023. Check out how wildfires may impact your home insurance.
• Water damage: This one is tricky, since most policies don’t fully cover what some might see as ‘water damage.’ They typically only cover damage to your home or possessions, if caused by water from indoor plumbing, heating, air conditioning, sprinkler or a similar indoor or outdoor appliance. Damage from sewer back-up or overland flooding is normally not covered. Talk to your insurer to make sure you know what’s covered.
• Lightning: If lightning were to strike your home and damage some of your appliances or electronics, this will pay for their replacement or repairs.
• Theft and vandalism: If your home gets robbed or vandalized, your insurance will pay to rebuild, repair or replace whatever has been damaged or stolen. If you want to protect your home from theft altogether, especially while you’re away, check out these steps.
• Hail and wind: Severe wind or hail can damage both your home and possessions. Your insurance will cover the cost of repairing, rebuilding or replacing whatever ends up damaged or lost. It will also cover the damage caused by flying debris or falling trees, if caused by wind or hail.
• Falling objects: If an object falls from the sky onto your property and damages either the home itself or your possessions, this will pay for the necessary repairs and/or repairs. Note that objects moved by landslides or snowslides are usually not considered to be ‘falling objects.’ Consult with your insurer to make sure.

Add-ons to home insurance coverage in Oshawa

If you happen to realize that you need additional coverage, you can purchase it in the form of ‘add-ons’ or ‘endorsements.’ Here are some of the most common ones:

• Overland flooding: If your home gets flooded as a result of overflowing water from a river, stream, lake, thawing snow or another body of water, this add-on will cover you.
• Sewer back-up: This type of flooding occurs due to backed up sewage pipes, toilets, drains or showers. They typically get backed up when too much rainwater or melted snow enters the sewer system at once. If sewer back-ups are a concern in your area, be sure to talk to your insurance provider about them.
• Earthquake: Though they don’t happen often, earthquakes do occur in Oshawa. So, if you’re worried about them, talk to your provider to buy yourself extra coverage. That said, it’s probably not necessary in this part of Canada.
• Windstorm: A strong enough windstorm can damage your home’s structure, possessions and windows, in addition to showering your property in debris. Depending on your provider and policy, you may have this covered without needing the add-on, but it’s worth inquiring your provider about it all the same.
• Mass evacuations: Should a major peril like flooding or wildfires result in mass evacuations, this will protect your accommodations and food, while you’re away from home.
• Expensive items: If you own pricy things like jewelry, collectibles and/or artwork, then you may need extra coverage for them. Do an inventory of all your possessions, while assigning monetary value to them. After that, talk to your provider to find out if you need extra coverage.

What is not covered under your Oshawa home insurance

Though home insurance can be extensive, it won’t protect you from everything. That’s because some things are strictly the responsibility of the owner, including these:

• Mold: Given that mold occurs slowly, as a result of pre-existing conditions such as extreme humidity – there is usually enough time for you to prevent it. Home insurance is mostly meant to cover sudden and largely unforeseen events, such as fires, floods and robberies. Mold isn’t one of them.
• Pest infestations: Like mold, pest infestations, including mice, bedbugs, cockroaches and termites, are not sudden. So, if they cause any damage, it’s highly unlikely that your home insurance will cover it. That’s why, as soon as you notice an infestation, you should contact the appropriate service to help you resolve the issue (this service shouldn’t be your insurer).
• Deliberate damage or injuries: If you purposely damage your own property or possessions, your insurance company will not cover the costs. In fact, if you attempt filing a claim for that, you may be accused of insurance fraud, which is illegal. The same applies to your liability coverage if you decide to intentionally injure someone on your property.

How RATESDOTCA finds the best home insurance in Oshawa

We are partnered with over 50 home insurance agencies and brokerages in Ontario, with the goal of offering our customers a wide selection of quotes. You can compare our quotes side by side from just about anywhere on this website. This incentivizes our partners to give you the cheapest rates they can afford to secure your business. The competition between various insurers is what makes quotes cheap.

What’s great is that the comparison process is both fast and free. You can give it a try today, if you want. This would give you a good idea of where the market is now and perhaps even prompt you to buy coverage right on the spot.

How to get the cheapest home insurance in Oshawa

If you’re looking for a way to lower your home insurance premiums, here are some of the steps that you can take:

• Bundle multiple policies: Bundle your home insurance with your car insurance under one provider. This will not only get you a good discount but streamline your payments.
• Increase your deductible: Though increasing your deductible means you’ll have to pay more out of pocket should your home get damaged, you can save a lot more – enough to repair your home in case of a disaster.
• Install a burglar alarm system: A burglar alarm system will deter potential break-ins and vandalism, reducing the risk to your home and lowering your premiums. This is especially valuable in high-crime neighbourhoods, like the ones you can find in parts of Oshawa.
• Update your plumbing and electrical systems: If your home is a bit older, then it may have outdated plumbing and electrical systems. To reduce the risk of flooding and fire and to lower your premiums, consider upgrading them if you have the means.
• Protect your home from floods: As climate change makes weather-related floods more frequent, it’s not a bad idea to protect your home from them. We recommend adding sump dumps, reinforcing your basement walls and renovating your roof to reduce water damage. This will lower your premiums in the long term.
• Ger a loyalty discount: If you’ve stuck with the same insurance provider for a while, ask them for a loyalty discount when renewing your policy.
• Avoid monthly payments: Paying your insurance monthly increases your premiums, as they usually translate into higher administrative costs for the insurer. By paying annually, you can save on those costs, and in turn, lower your premiums.
• Don’t over-insure your home: Be careful not to purchase more coverage than you need. It will cost you more than necessary and may not even protect your home from the next peril to befall it. Your best bet is to analyze the risks and buy only the coverage that will actually benefit you.
• Agree to a credit score check: By going through a soft credit score check, you can lower your home insurance premiums – as long as your credit score is high. That’s because people with good credit scores are statistically less likely to file a claim than those with poor scores. What's great about this is that in Ontario, insurance companies can’t use your credit score to increase your premium, so agreeing to this has no adverse effects.
• Comparison shop: Don’t settle for one insurer when there are so many options you can choose from. Use websites like RATESDOTCA to compare quotes from over 50 providers in Oshawa and secure the cheapest home insurance quote available. It’s fast and it’s free.