Ontario Home Insurance

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.

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.

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.

Learn more about insurance for water damage

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 tenants 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.

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.

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, jewellery and furs. A jewelry limit can range from $4,000 with some companies, to $10,000 with another. If you have a large quantity 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.

There is an 8% provincial sales tax on homeowners insurance in Ontario.

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!