The Best Home Insurance Quotes in Surrey

Home insurance in Surrey

Surrey, a city directly beside Vancouver, on the southeast side of the Fraser River, is home to more than 568,000, according to the most recent census data (2021).

Residents enjoy all the benefits that Vancouver offers and can often find less expensive housing.

As the cost-of-living increases around the world, homeowners everywhere are keen to reduce living expenses. One way to manage such costs includes securing home insurance coverage and competitively priced premiums.

Here, we breakdown the details that any homeowner in Surrey, BC needs to make an informed decision around what sort of home insurance coverage to purchase.

Most home insurance policies have four key components, including:

• Additional living expenses: Covers expenses that a homeowner assumes when they’re forced to live away from their home while it’s being repaired following a covered peril such as fire.
  
• Contents: Provides financial compensation for belongings that are damaged by a covered peril. Often applies to things like electronics and clothing. Homeowners who have particularly expensive belongings such as jewelry, a fine art collection or specialty sports equipment can add a rider to their policy that names these items and an associated coverage limit. Homeowners in Surrey, BC with expensive ski, snowboard and/or biking and surfing equipment may consider such a rider.
  
• Liability: One important benefit of home insurance coverage is that it includes liability protection. This means that the homeowner will be financially protected if someone is injured at their home and successfully sues them. Liability protection also means that the homeowner will be protected financially if they unintentionally damage someone else’s property.
  
• Property: Protects the home and buildings on the property (such as a garage) in the event of a covered peril.

Homeowners must decide on what home insurance package type they’ll purchase. Though there’s some variation in how different providers market their offerings, they’re typically described in the following terms:

• Comprehensive: This package type, which is often called an ‘all perils policy’, offers the greatest amount of coverage to the home and its contents.
• Broad: Also known as a ‘standard policy’, this package type protects the home against all perils, but only some of its contents.
• Basic: Sometimes referred to as a ‘named perils’ policy, this package type protects the home against common perils like wind damage and fire. It provides the least amount of coverage but also has the benefit of often being the least expensive.
  

Regardless of package type, homeowners looking for more specific forms of protection can also add coverage to their policy. Doing so is an especially good idea for those living in Surrey, BC – a region prone to earthquakes, landslides and rising sea levels that could lead to overland flooding. Each peril is listed as an exclusion in most policies, so needs to be added for the home to be protected against it.

Some of the most popular add-ons include:

• Home-based business: With so many Canadians now working from home more often, some have seized the opportunity to launch their own businesses. Whether they be sales- or service-based, some aspects of a home-based business can be protected with the addition of an endorsement to the home insurance policy. Even if they opt not to get it, we recommend that homeowners with home-based businesses should inform their provider of the business to avoid having a claim denied.
• Earthquake/landslide: Homes in Surrey are located in one of the most active earthquake regions of North America. The nearby mountains also mean that landslides are a possibility. To be protected against each, homeowners in Surrey must add earthquake coverage to their policies. The endorsement also covers damage from landslides.
• Overland flooding: Home insurance providers categorize different types of flooding. On their own, most policies don’t cover any type of flooding. To be protected against damage from water that overflows from a river or lake, the homeowner must add an endorsement for overland water protection.
• Sewer back-up: Similarly, to be protected against water that enters the home from a drain or toilet, the homeowner must add sewer back-up to the policy. When a lot of rain has fallen in a short amount of time, it’s common for municipal sewers to be overwhelmed. As a result, sewer water can back up through drains and toilets.

Though the Canadian government doesn’t require any homeowner in the country to have home insurance coverage, we recommend that they seriously consider getting it to protect their most valuable assets. Replacing the home and its contents is likely going to be more costly than paying a monthly premium – whatever it might be.