The Best Home Insurance Quotes in Toronto

It’s difficult to offer a useful answer to this question because home is uniquely tailored to each individual property. The average lowest home insurance quote for RATESDOTCA users is $1,484.83 per year, but this is not necessarily indicative of how much it will cost to insure your house.

There are numerous factors that contribute to determining the cost of a home insurance policy in Toronto. For example, the replacement cost of your home is a major factor. Home composition, like wiring, roofing, plumbing and heating, also affect your premium.

The best way to ensure you’re paying as little as possible for Toronto house insurance is to compare rates from different providers. While it may be easy to auto-renew every time your policy expires, you’ll almost certainly end up paying more than you need to. And in an expensive market like Toronto, the extra expensive can really add up.

On average, house insurance costs 15.7% more in Toronto than in the rest of Ontario. Toronto house insurance is expensive for a variety of reasons.

Toronto has a lot of old homes, some over a hundred years old. These older houses can have inadequate plumbing and wiring systems, raising the likelihood of a flood or fire, which causes insurance rates to go up.

Another factor is that Toronto is composed of densely packed detached, semidetached and row homes. The proximity of an insured home to other houses affects premiums because if a fire breaks out at your neighbor’s house it could potentially spread to your home.

The market value of a home does not affect the cost required to insure it, so no, crazy Toronto real estate prices have no strong bearing on insurance costs. What insurance companies consider when determining the cost of coverage is the replacement value of your house – i.e. the cost of rebuilding your house if it is destroyed

The cost of home insurance depends on your property, claims history and coverage. Because insurance companies weight each factor differently there is no uniformly cheapest home insurance provider.

The most important thing is to find a policy that best suits your needs, and that is within your budget. Take the time to shop around and compare the different house insurance policies that are available.

Windstorms: Though Toronto doesn’t get too many windstorms, there is precedent. In November, 2020, a windstorm caused millions of dollars in damage in the Greater Toronto area, Hamilton, Niagara, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Freezing temperatures: Cold winters with temperatures reaching -30C means the potential for burst and frozen pipes.

Flooding: Excessive melting snow following the winter months is something to look out for. While Toronto has a decent drainage system, spring time floods are not uncommon. These can be especially worrisome for dwellings with basements.

Typical home insurance in Toronto will cover your personal belongings (appliances, furniture and some electronics), additional living expenses if you need to relocate for a government evacuation, and personal liability if you’re sued by someone injured on your property.

Certain perils are also covered by standard insurance policies, should damage occur to your dwelling and contents. This includes:

• Fire
• Lightning
• Water damage
• Wind
• Sewer back up
• Overland water
• Aircraft or vehicle impact
• Explosion
• Smoke (caused by cooking devices or heaters, but not fireplaces)
• Theft and vandalism (such as broken windows)
• Falling objects (except if caused by an earthquake, landslide or snow slide)

• Generating income from guests; renting part or all of your home requires additional coverage.
• Criminal activity and purposeful damage to property; filing a claim for purposeful damage is considered insurance fraud.
• Intentional injuries to guests are not covered by liability.
• Home-based business assets and injuries suffered by clients/customers.
• Natural disasters, such as earthquakes and landslides.
• Certain water damage, such as sewer backup and flooding from overland water.
• Certain weather issues in winter, such as damage to the outside of your home caused by freezing.
• Damage from insects and rodents.

Though standard home insurance policies may not cover these perils, add-on coverages are available to expand your protection. If your home faces any hazards not included under standard coverage, tacking on additional protection is advised.

• Bundle your home insurance policy with your auto insurance policy.
• Increase your deductible.
• See if your union or alumni is eligible for a discount.
• Equip your home with safety features, such as smoke detectors and intruder alarms.
• Don’t file a claim if the cost of repairs is close to the amount of your deductible, as past claims can cause premiums to increase.