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Insurance Thread (condo/home/rental)

Take out a separate rider on items that are valuable collectibles such as an old comic book collection, baseball card collection or on things like expensive artwork, jewellery etc.
 
I know this will go against common practice, but if you're in a condo with cement walls that's been built in the past 10 years, I'd skip the insurance. With the exception of group life and disability, it's actually a tremendously poor investment.
 
simuls said:
I know this will go against common practice, but if you're in a condo with cement walls that's been built in the past 10 years, I'd skip the insurance. With the exception of group life and disability, it's actually a tremendously poor investment.
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Gee, I hope you never get flooded or broken into simuls.
My friend and I both use State Faem for our condos and their service is awesome, especially when you have to make a claim. Which my friend has had to do when he got broken into!
 
simuls said:
I know this will go against common practice, but if you're in a condo with cement walls that's been built in the past 10 years, I'd skip the insurance. With the exception of group life and disability, it's actually a tremendously poor investment.
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Not to mention smoke damage should you or someone else have a fire on a neighbouring floor, should your washer or dishwasher flood and do damage to neighbouring suites, to those below or heaven forbid structural damage, should someone trip/fall and sue you etc. If anything bad happens and you have no insurance, say bye-bye to your investment when the the BoD puts a lien on your unit to pay for damages to the building's common areas while neighbours sue you for damages to their suites.

Insurance is a very good investment IMO.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Not to mention smoke damage should you or someone else have a fire on a neighbouring floor, should your washer or dishwasher flood and do damage to neighbouring suites, to those below or heaven forbid structural damage, should someone trip/fall and sue you etc. If anything bad happens and you have no insurance, say bye-bye to your investment when the the BoD puts a lien on your unit to pay for damages to the building's common areas while neighbours sue you for damages to their suites.

Insurance is a very good investment IMO.
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In a condo, the building, common area, etc., are all covered by the building's insurance and the only lien they can put against my condo would be for the amount the deductible, not the costs of repairs. If my condo was to flood another unit, it would be the same and covered by their insurance, not mine - I know this first hand, as this happened to me and I had to file the claim through my insurance company, but just like a car accident they had to pay my deductible. It was exactly because of the above incident that I changed my attitude on insurance. Condo insurance is pretty much contents only with some liability if someone trips/falls, etc.. And honestly, when's the last time you heard of such a thing. Also, the odds of having your condo broken into are next to zero as most new condo's have at least 4 more layers of security than any home with concierge, security guards, cameras, no easy way to escape, plus in suite security, etc.

The insurance industry works on the premise of fear, not sound investment. It is all about risk, however, and how comfortable you are with it. If you'll lose sleep at night, then buy it.
 
If you have car insurance, check if you'll get a discount for also getting condo insurance with the same company.

For some insane reason, my car+condo insurance (from Belairdirect, but TD also offered a similar deal) cost less than car insurance alone.
 
Insurance companies give discounts if you have more than one policy with them. I know for cars, they give like 10% discount overall or something for 2 cars, then 15% for 3 cars (if I remember correctly). If you have home insurance with them, they give discounts too. If your home insurance is only a couple hundred dollars, and your car insurance is a couple grand, a 10% discount can cover the cost of your home insurance.

Plus, insurance is for when something bad happens. Home insurance is cheap (relatively), only a couple hundred or so, especially for condos. The rates reflect the low likelihood your condo will be robbed, flooded, etc.
 
coverage for corporation's deductible

If you own or rent a condo and you somehow start a flood in your unit which affects the common elements in your unit, or the common elements portion of other units, you will be usually be liable for the corporation's insurance deductible. In our building, the deductible for flooding is $10,000 (lots of floods have occurred in this building). Usually the corporation's deductible for flooding is between $500 up to even $10,000.
So our insurance policy covers both the corporation's insurance deductible, and we have zero deductible on any improvements within our own unit.
 
Home Insurance

hi all,

any idea how much is gonna cost for home insurance, as a first time buyer, i need you guys here for my eyes and ears, thanks!
 
Standard Unit By-law, Corp Cert of Insurance

Condo insurance usually costs between $150 and $200 a year. If your corporation has a "Standard Unit Bylaw", ask for it at the management office, that will tell you what is already insured by the corporation as a common element within your unit. What is on that SUB list, the corporation will (eventually) repair or replace at no cost to you, but please realize that you will get standard builder grade repair or replacement, so if you unit has a granite countertop and the SUB says "builder grade" on it, you will have your ruined countertop or cupboards replaced with formica or something equally low-budget. Check and compare what you have in your unit to the SUB. Also ask for the corporation's "Certificate of Insurance", that will tell you what the corporation deductible is for each type of damage, like flood, fire, earthquake, etc. Deductibles vary, in newer buildings they are very low, in "mature" problem-ridden buildings, they can be many thousands of dollars.
Make sure that you get zero deductible on both the corporation's various deductibles for common elements damage within your unit and other units you might damage, and on your own unit owner policy. Your unit policy should cover your personal possessions and any improvements in your unit that are better quality than what is on the Standard Unit Bylaw. Also get third party liability on your unit policy. Also make sure it covers your hotel and food if you have to leave your unit because of damage. Do I sound paranoid? I have seen everything.
Many new buildings do not have the administrative systems in place to give owners the details they need to buy insurance. There is another thread somewhere here about insurance.
 
Eldona said:
Condo insurance usually costs between $150 and $200 a year. If your corporation has a "Standard Unit Bylaw", ask for it at the management office, that will tell you what is already insured by the corporation as a common element within your unit. What is on that SUB list, the corporation will (eventually) repair or replace at no cost to you, but please realize that you will get standard builder grade repair or replacement, so if you unit has a granite countertop and the SUB says "builder grade" on it, you will have your ruined countertop or cupboards replaced with formica or something equally low-budget. Check and compare what you have in your unit to the SUB. Also ask for the corporation's "Certificate of Insurance", that will tell you what the corporation deductible is for each type of damage, like flood, fire, earthquake, etc. Deductibles vary, in newer buildings they are very low, in "mature" problem-ridden buildings, they can be many thousands of dollars.
Make sure that you get zero deductible on both the corporation's various deductibles for common elements damage within your unit and other units you might damage, and on your own unit owner policy. Your unit policy should cover your personal possessions and any improvements in your unit that are better quality than what is on the Standard Unit Bylaw. Also get third party liability on your unit policy. Also make sure it covers your hotel and food if you have to leave your unit because of damage. Do I sound paranoid? I have seen everything.
Many new buildings do not have the administrative systems in place to give owners the details they need to buy insurance. There is another thread somewhere here about insurance.
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thanks for your reply, but i'm tlking about detached house, you have any idea? sorry not mention upfront, but really appreciate your input,maybe in the futire is very useful.
 
I'd think no more than $1,000 a year ... I think I'm about $850 or so on a $450,000 house.

At the rate the insurance is going for a $15,000 car ... I'm over $2,000 with my new renewal ... and I take transit ... the cost of house insurance is relatively cheap!
 
Home insurance is based on many factors.

Things like, postal code or area you live, squarefootage, distance to firehalls and hydrants.

Also things like number of families, age of roof, plumbing, wiring, and furnces

General rule of thumb is between 6-1200 however depending on size and location could be more
 
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