Contrary to popular belief, home insurance is not a requirement for homeowners in Canada who have purchased their dwelling without financial assistance and who do not have a mortgage on their property. However, it would be a foolhardy decision to leave your home and its contents uninsured when it faces risk of loss or damage from so many common occurrences. It is a large investment and needs to be protected, but what is the best way to ensure you’re receiving the broad coverages you need at a consistently low rate? Try contacting a trusted risk advisor like Marsh Canada. In 2018, 40.11% of individuals asking us for a home insurance quote or car insurance quote followed through and bought their insurance through us. This is a statistic that we’re certainly proud of in an extremely competitive insurance environment and gives you an idea just how many people ask us for home insurance quotes and that we’re able to help protect every year.
WITH MARSH’S PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES, YOU CAN:
GET HOME INSURANCE QUOTES:
1 877 476 6727
Our licensed insurance brokers are ready to assist with your insurance needs.
OR
SUBMIT YOUR EXPIRY DATES ONLINE:
www.marsh.ca/quote
Never miss an opportunity to save — we’ll contact you approximately 30-45 days before your next renewal.
Rates change frequently and vary widely from insurer to insurer. Variable factors such as where you live, the installation of an alarm in your home, the number of previous claims on your own policy, or in your city/territory, and even your age are all part of the insurance rate calculation, however, insurers assign differing rating values to your relevant data. For this reason, it’s important to compare rates often with a current home insurance quote. Let us be your risk advisor of choice and ask us for a home insurance quote today. We only succeed when your house insurance and other risk needs are satisfied.
About Us
Marsh’s Private Client Services (PCS) is a licensed insurance broker with more than 40,000 clients across Canada. PCS is also the administrator of approximately 250 group home and auto insurance programs and an operating practice of Marsh Canada Limited. Marsh Canada has approximately 1,100 colleagues in 13 cities across Canada. Marsh is a global leader in insurance broking and risk management.
With PCS, you have access to a team of knowledgeable and experienced insurance brokers, readily available to help you determine your home and auto coverage requirements.
PCS offers the strength and stability of a national company with a commitment to professional and personalized service — let us help with your next car insurance quote.
Home Insurance Discounts
Insurers all offer home insurance discounts for specific coverage characteristics that they feel will lessen risk. These home insurance discounts are not offered universally by all insurers, nor are identical discount rates provided from insurer-to-insurer. In this case, you are best served by working with an experienced broker who can find you the best rate available that includes all of the premium discounts that you are eligible for, and generates low home insurance quotes. Home insurance discounts available from insurers include, but are not limited to:
- Alarm Discount – Alarm systems increase the possibility of would-be thieves breaking into your home. Insurance discounts are common for adding an alarm.
- Claims Free Discount – Fewer or no claims show your insurer that you are a better risk. Insurers will often reward no claims over a set period of time with an appropriate discount and lower home insurance quotes.
- Group Program Discount – Employees of certain companies and members of some associations are eligible for preferred group rates for auto and house insurance. Call your PCS broker to see if your organization currently participates. Have an organization with more than 250 full-time employees or members? Ask about a group program for your company.
- Stability of Residence Discount – This discount applies if you live at your current dwelling for a set number of years.
- Mature Citizen Discount – To qualify for this discount, you need to reach a certain age. It varies by insurer, so make sure your broker checks which insurer recognizes you as eligible for this discount.
- Mortgage Free Discount – Being debt-free should be reward enough in itself, however some insurers provide insurance discounts for this as well. Remember that debt-free dwellings do not require insurance by law in Canada, but choosing not to purchase home insurance in this instance is never recommended.
- Newer Home Discount – Newer construction statistically results in fewer insurance claims, so insurers will often offer discounts on insuring newer homes and lower home insurance quotes.
- Occupational Discount – This discount may apply depending on your insurer and your chosen profession or career. Remember to choose the most favourable classification for your occupation as it can mean lower home insurance quotes.
- Multi-Policy Discount – This is generally one of the best discounts offered. Insure your home and auto with the same insurer and substantial discounts will be available on each policy. Some insurers will even offer this type of discount in good faith if your expiry dates for home and auto insurance don’t match and you agree to move coverage later in the year.
- Sprinkler Discount For Apartments and Condominiums – Since the installation of sprinklers are proven to lessen the risk and severity of fire damage, insurers will often offer discounts for buildings where they are installed.
- Preferred Postal Code Discount – Insurers rate the risk of house insurance claims by location, with some insurers further breaking down these statistics by postal code. If you happen to live in a certain postal code area, you may be eligible for this type of discount and a lower home insurance quote.
House Insurance Coverage
- Property – This is the primary insurance for your home and usually insures the proper for common perils such as fire, theft, and some weather-related damage. With property insurance, you will usually have a choice of policies insuring for all perils or specified perils. All perils coverage will typically offer broader coverage and only not cover risks specifically listed as excluded on your policy.
- Contents – The clearest explanation of what qualifies as contents is if you could turn the home upside down and shake it, whatever falls is contents, whatever doesn’t is part of the structure and is not covered. In general, there are some items which are excluded, so please read your policy carefully.
- Third-Party Liability – Most people know that third-party liability insurance covers liability for common occurrences such as slips and falls on their property or even if a tree in your yard falls and damages a neighbour’s property. However, it also protects you in cases not relating your property at all. For example, if on vacation anywhere in the world, you are found responsible for injury to persons or damage to another’s property, your third-party liability insurance would likely respond.
- Accident Waiver – This coverage option is branded under different names, but essentially it protects your insurance rates from increase due to a claim in exchange for a set premium amount.
- Guaranteed Replacement Cost – This type of insurance covers the replacement cost of a home even if it exceeds the policy limit of your house insurance policy.
- Single Limit Coverage – In the instance that claims amounts exceed the coverage amount for a particular part of an insurance policy, single limit coverage would combine the limits of multiple sections of a policy and in so doing create a higher overall limit.
- Water Escape/Sewer Back-Up Coverage – Water damage is one of the most common types of claims that insurers have to cover. With the increase in frequency of water-related damage claims, many insurers are now only offering this type of coverage for a separate premium, with some insurers even refusing to offer insurance for the risk.
- Identity Theft Coverage – This is being seen as an increasingly important coverage in light of how the internet now is an everyday part of people’s lives. Identity theft coverage is meant to reimburse you for the main costs of restoring your identity in the case of theft. Read more about identity theft risk here.
- Additional Living Expenses – If a home becomes uninhabitable because of an insured loss (such as fire, water damage, or vandalism) the policy will pay the increased expense incurred by the occupant to obtain housing. If the occupant has to move to a hotel for a few days, that additional expense would be covered. This would also include increased food costs for restaurant meals, if required.
- Fine Arts Coverage – Do you have art of high value? Adequately protection your fine art may require additional coverage and a higher home insurance quote, specifically if your home insurance policy has set limits on the amount of coverage for fine art.
- Jewellery Coverage – Similar to fine arts coverage, jewellery coverage is meant to insure jewellery items that exceed the amount of coverage designated in your house insurance policy.
- Home Business Coverage – The insurance requirements of home business are somewhat different from those of a personal home. For example, home businesses may require additional coverage for office equipment or inventory of goods you hold for sale.
- Earthquake Coverage – Most people don’t realize that Canada actually has earthquake prone areas. If you live in an area at risk of earthquake activity, it only makes sense to purchase protection for your home. Read more about earthquake risk here.
Maximizing Home Insurance Discounts
- Check Insurance Rates Often – Before each renewal, shop your home insurance rates around. Services such as the expiry date register from Marsh’s Private Client Services (PCS) at www.marsh.ca/quote allow you to set a call reminder and never miss an opportunity to save. Even if you decide not to buy with PCS, requoting is easy with your relevant information already saved.
- Combine Your Insurance For Multi-Policy Discounts – A large potential discount is offered by most insurers for having your home and auto coverage with the same company. Always look at your combined costs, as individual companies may be lower on either home or auto insurance, but it’s the total amount you pay that matters.
- Enquire About Eligibility For Group/Preferred Insurance Rates – Insurance companies often offer group discounted rates to members of associations and employees of employer groups. These discounts will vary, but it is often worthwhile to explore as group rates are generally lower than retail rates.
- Consider Higher Deductibles – No one wants to pay higher deductibles in the case of an accident, but they do help lower your insurance premiums.
- Avoid Frequent Claims – These are generally flagged by insurers, with some underwriters refusing to renew policies with too many claims against your house insurance. Try to pay for smaller claims out-of-pocket or ignore purely cosmetic damage.
- Make Sure Your Records Are Accurate – Insurers base their insurance quotes on a number of factors including your claims history and credit record (if permitted where you are). More often than we care to speculate, mistakes are made which can affect the quote being provided to you, so it is always in your best interest to check what your records for accuracy. Equifax and TransUnion are credit agencies that you can check your credit scores with.
Desirable Home Insurance Features
- Rewards Programs – Remember to register for any rewards plans when eligible. Since you have to pay your insurance premiums anyways, receiving Air Miles or other loyalty program incentives is a plus.
- No Fee Payment Plan – Some insurers will offer the option of paying for your insurance premiums monthly or at some other interval without additional cost. Take advantage of this feature if it helps you with budgeting. Pre-approved payments will also help avoid late fees and negative credit ratings if a payment is forgotten.
- Flexibility in Payment Options – Some insurers allow you to pay by credit card, debit, money orders, or cheques.
- Claims Service Guarantee – Insurers like to claim that their claims services are superior to those of their competitors. Some insurers go as far as offering a claims service guarantee to their customers. A quick response to requests for claims help is always one of the most desirable home insurance features.
- Single Deductible For Losses – This feature is useful when a loss affects both your home and auto policy. If for example your garage collapsed on your car, you would only be obligated to pay one deductible for both the home and auto repairs.
- Special Limits for Dependents Away From Home – Some insurers allow for contents coverage for dependents living away from home. This protection is especially helpful for children attending school abroad.
- Deductible Waiver – This is usually an option on house insurance losses over a certain amount and will vary by insurer.
- Disappearing Deductible – This is a popular home insurance option meant to reward a good claims history and maintain the loyalty of long-time customers. Over time, certain insurers will gradually reduce insurance deductibles until they eventually disappear.
Ready to save? Please call 1 877 476 6727 to speak with a licensed insurance broker at Marsh’s Private Client Services. Home insurance quotes are always free and no-obligation, so there really is no reason not to call.
Set your reminder – The hardest part about saving on your personal insurance costs is remembering to ask for a quote before your current coverage expires — let Marsh’s Private Client Services remind you. Take a minute to submit your expiry dates online at www.marsh.ca/quote and never miss an opportunity to save.
Marsh’s Private Client Services is the insurance broker of choice of thousands of Canadian clients with the experience and strong market relationships to service your risk coverage needs. Please give us a call at 1 877 476 6727 the next time you want to compare home insurance quotes.