Let Us Do the Shopping for Your Home insurance
Buying a home is a significant investment, and protecting your investment with the right insurance means peace of mind. Let our insurance experts shop over 40 companies to put together a home insurance policy that will make sure you’re covered should the unexpected occur.
Get an Ontario home insurance quote today! 1.800.731.2228
Home Owners
Protect your future with coverage for your home, your valuables, and yourself.
Home Renters
As a tenant, you need protection too. An affordable and wise investment.
Landlords
All the coverage you need to protect your rental property from the unexpected.
What’s Covered By Home Insurance in Ontario?
Your Belongings
Coverage for the contents inside your home, such as furniture, electronics, clothing, and other personal property.
Your Home
Coverage for your home and the detached structures on your property such as your garage, storage shed, and pool house.
Liability Claims
It helps to protect you financially from bodily injuries or property damage to others while they’re on your property.
Living Expenses
It helps cover costs such as hotel rooms, restaurant meals, storage costs, and other living expenses for time away from your home due to an insured loss.
List of all home
insurance coverage options
See All Coverage Details
Learn more about what’s covered by home insurance in Ontario.
How Much is Home Insurance in Ontario?
The average yearly cost of homeowners insurance in Ontario is $1,452, with rates for tenants insurance being approximately one-fourth that amount, at $392/year.
Numerous factors go into determining the cost of your home insurance, such as where you live, the age and replacement value of your home, endorsements you have added to your policy such as flood insurance, and more. For this reason, average home insurance home rates in Ontario aren’t an accurate representation of what you might expect to pay. That being said, the replacement value of your house is one of the primary considerations that can give you an approximate idea of what your home yearly insurance premium will cost you.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Home Insurance in Ontario
- Replacement cost – The cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your contents are the main factors that will impact your home insurance rates.
- Location – You may pay more for home insurance if you live in an area prone to flooding or break-ins.
- Claims history – The frequency of claims on your home insurance policy will usually result in higher premiums, and prevent you from cashing in on a claims-free discount.
- Age of roof – Roofs less than 20 years old are better able to withstand wind, hail, and leaking, and will reduce premiums.
- Credit Score – Insurers in Ontario and other provinces in Canada will often take your credit score into account to determine your home insurance rate.
- Fire Safeguards – Proximity to a fire hydrant or fire department, which will help minimize damage to your home in case of fire.
Learn more about factors that affect the cost of home insurance
Other Questions About Ontario Home Insurance
Is home insurance mandatory Ontario?
No, home insurance is not required by law in Ontario. If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender may require you to maintain home insurance to protect themselves against loss. If you don’t have home insurance and your home is damaged by an event you will have to pay for all repairs yourself.
Do home insurers require a credit check?
Insurance companies have found that customers with good credit scores make fewer claims than customers without good credit scores. As such, most insurance companies offer discounts to people with good credit scores, as they expect to pay out less in claims if you have good credit. Allowing the insurance company to do a soft view of your credit score offers you the opportunity to be rewarded for having a good credit score and paying less for your home insurance.
Does my home insurance cover any kind of water damage?
Your home insurance policy will list the water coverages that are available. Not all home insurance policies are created equal, so it’s important to compare based on coverage as well as price. Be sure to ask your broker about what water coverage is included in your policy so you will know what you have coverage for. Our brokers will be happy to discuss what coverages you would like to have included in your policy and find you a policy that includes those coverages.
Do I need home insurance if I’m renting?
If you are renting a home or an apartment, your landlord will be responsible for maintaining the building, and you will be responsible for your own personal belongings. Purchasing a tenants policy provides you with liability coverage as well as coverage for your personal belongings, up to your policy limit. The price of your tenant’s policy will be influenced by a few factors, such as your claims history, your postal code, and the total value of the contents you would like to insure.
Learn more about tenants insurance
How can I save on home insurance?
The best way to save on your home insurance is to have a Mitchell & Whale insurance broker shop for you. We work with over 40 different insurance companies, so we can find an insurance policy for virtually any person.
After we have found you a great rate you can help us keep your rates low by being claims free, having a good credit score, and keeping your home up to date.
Learn more about how to save on home insurance.
Which home insurance companies are the best?
As we mentioned above, every company offers a variation of a similar product, with minor differences in what is covered. For the most part, the coverages and exclusions are somewhat similar, and for the average homeowner, the differences are often nominal. The way that claims are handled by each insurer is also quite similar, as the same principles are practiced across the industry.
There are however limits and endorsements within a policy that differ from one company to the next. These differences might make a company more appealing if these limits pertain to your specific needs.
For instance, all insurance policies carry a limit for things such as bikes, cash, jewelry, and furs. A jewelry limit can range from $4,000 with some companies, to $10,000 with another. If you have a large number of jewelry items or a few valuable pieces, this limit may be a point of interest for you to discuss with your broker.
Different companies also offer varying endorsements. Home Equipment Breakdown, Cyber Risk, Service Line, and Groundwater are examples of coverages that are not available at every insurance company in the province. Your broker can help you determine if these coverages are available and right for you and your home.
Learn more about the best home insurance companies in Ontario.
Are home insurance premiums taxable?
There is an 8% provincial sales tax on homeowner’s insurance in Ontario.
Who sells the cheapest home insurance?
As a broker, we work with 40+ insurance partners and can certainly attest that rates differ greatly from one company to the next, just as they do from one home to another. There is no one company that offers the lowest rates across the board.
A broker is essential in helping you to find the coverages, limits, and endorsements that best suit you and your home. In doing so, we ensure that you are shopping at all the best companies and for comparable coverages. This way you can ensure you are getting not only the best rate but the best coverage!
Get Your Home Insurance Quote Today!
To get a quote on Ontario home insurance, or to find out more about your coverage options, contact us or call us at 1-800-731-2228. We’ll be happy to help you protect the place you call home.
