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Compare and purchase the best
home insurance rates in Ontario.
Compare and purchase
the best home insurance
rates in Ontario.
Get free & accurate quotes from Canada’s top insurance providers.
In just a few minutes, our quoter can unlock discounts that can have
you saving hundreds of dollars a year on average.
Get free & accurate quotes from Canada’s top insurance providers. In just a few minutes, our quoter can unlock discounts that can have you saving hundreds of dollars a year on average.
Comparing rates from Canada’s leading Home insurance providers
Wawanesa Insurance
Pembridge Insurance
economical
Intact Insurance
TuGo
travelers
Jevco Insurance
Types of Coverage That Surex Provides Homeowners in Ontario
Home Insurance

This provides coverage for loss and damage to your property and/or any assets.

Liability Coverage

This would provide protection against claims resulting from injuries, and damage to people and/or property.

Deductible

A predetermined amount of money that you must pay towards the cost of the claim. Home insurance has different deductibles for different coverage.

Sewer Backup, Overland/Ground Water

These are optional coverages you can buy that protect you for water damage such as sewer back up and fresh water flooding.

Claims Forgiveness

This allows for the protection of your “claims free discount” in the event of your first claim.

Scheduled Items

Referring to 'special limits' on items like jewellery or art if the value is greater than the special limit you should list the item separately.

Comprehensive Coverage

When you purchase comprehensive home coverage, it means you are covered for anything that is not excluded.

Broad Coverage

When you purchase broad home coverage, it limits your contents coverage to only specific coverages, (ie. theft, fire, water damage, etc.)

Home Insurance in Ontario - What You Need to Know

You will need the following information to ensure quote accuracy:

  • Square footage of your home
  • Year your home was built
  • Details on any upgrades or modifications
  • Your exact address
  • Your personal home insurance claims history

Home insurance prices in Ontario are determined by a few key factors:

  • Insurance data - The home insurance carriers in your area, both city and province, will have compiled data over the years relating to the amount of home insurance claims in your area. If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where there haven't been many claims, then your home insurance rates will be lower, all things equal, compared to someone that lives in an area where there have been frequent home insurance claims.
  • The value of your home - This is important as the company insuring your home will need to know the potential replacement cost of your home. Of course, they and you both hope they’ll never need to replace your home due to a claim.
  • Your home insurance history - Home insurers are interested in your personal, prior home insurance claims history. If applicable, be prepared to share your most recent 10 years of home insurance history. If you don’t have 10 years of home insurance history, you’ll need to disclose however many years you have.

We know a large factor in a person moving their home insurance policy from one company to another is price. Working with multiple Ontario home insurance providers allows us to give Ontarians a marketplace of options to choose from. It also allows us to be able to present clients an array of, potential, home insurance discounts they can be eligible for.

If you’re looking for ways to get affordable home insurance premiums, we have these discounts available through our insurance company partners in Ontario:

  • Good credit discount
  • Bundle discount
  • Mortgage-free discount
  • Gated community discount
  • Alarm/home security discount
  • Renewal discount
  • Claims-free discount
  • Age discount
  • Sewer back-up discount
  • New business discount
  • Flex discount
  • Loyalty discount
  • Smoke-free home discount
  • Household discount
  • Multi-lines discount
  • Occupational discount

If you think you qualify for any of the above, your Surex Personal Assistant will be happy to look into it and see how much we can save you on your home insurance rates in Ontario.

Some home insurance coverages in Ontario are mandated by insurers, depending on where you live and the amount of home insurance claims that have happened recently in that area. Overland flood coverage, in an area close to water or an area susceptible to flood would, likely, be required by a home insurer.

If you’d like to add additional coverages to your home insurance policy, that aren’t required, speak with your Surex Personal Assistant. They’ll be able to advise you on home insurance policy options, as well as how it’d impact your annual home insurance premium amount.  

Best Restaurants in Ontario
  1. Pink's Burgers, Hamilton
  2. Golden Star, Toronto
  3. The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder, Toronto
Best shopping malls in Ontario
  1. Square One Shopping Centre, Mississauga
  2. CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto
  3. Yorkville Village, Toronto
Best golf courses in Ontario
  1. St George's Golf & Country Club
  2. Hamilton Golf & Country Club
  3. National Golf Club of Canada

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Speak to a Dedicated Advisor

Insurance Advisor
Denae

Licensed Insurance Advisor

Do you have questions about home insurance in Ontario?

Home insurance is not, technically, mandatory in Ontario. If you own your home outright – you have no mortgage or home loan associated with it – then you can choose to not purchase home insurance. That said, if you were to choose that route, that’s a horrible idea! Say your home was to, unfortunately, burn down because you left the stove on. Without an active home insurance policy, you’d be solely responsible for replacing your home, if you chose to do so, as well as held liable for any damages caused to other people and/or structures.

If you’re actively paying off a home mortgage or home loan, then there’s a 99% chance it is a legal requirement to have an active home insurance policy on your home, as outlined in your agreed upon contract. This is why you should always take the time to compare online insurance quotes with the best insurance broker in your area.

If you have already paid off your home’s mortgage, or if you didn’t need one in the first place, then it’s not a requirement, by law, to have a home insurance policy. Know that if you don’t have a home insurance policy, you’re 100% liable for any damage caused associated with your home and/or property. This would include if someone fell in your backyard and broke their leg, if your home burned down and did damage to a neighbour’s residence, etc.

What is covered in a home insurance policy varies, depending on the coverage types and options you choose. The two basic types of home insurance coverages are broad home insurance and comprehensive home insurance. Speak with your Surex insurance broker about what affordable home insurance coverages and options will suit you the best for your home insurance needs.

Surex has partnered with the top rated home insurance companies in Ontario, including:

  • Aviva
  • Economical
  • Gore Mutual
  • Intact
  • Pembridge
  • RSA
  • SGI
  • Travelers
  • Wawanesa

The top rated home insurance companies in Ontario don't have a flat fee cost to insure your home in Ontario. Even stats relating to the average home insurance rate in Ontario can be misleading, as multiple factors contribute to your specific home insurance rate. A more expensive home will cost more to get home insurance coverage for than a cheaper home. A home in an area not susceptible to home insurance claims will be cheaper to insure than a home in an area that has experienced frequent claims. A homeowner that has filed multiple home insurance claims within the past 10 years will have higher home insurance rates than a homeowner who hasn’t had to file a home insurance claim in the past decade. All of these contribute to your home insurance rate, which is why it’s hard to state how affordable home insurance in Ontario is.

 

The top rated home insurance companies in Ontario offer several types of home insurance policies you can purchase, including:

Standard policy - also known as 'named perils' this only covers the insured perils, or, the events and occurrences that may pose a risk to your home that are specifically stated in your policy

Broad policy - considered a 'mid-tier' policy - more coverage than the standard, but less than the comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive policy - covers the building, personal liability, and all risks

No Frills policy - coverage for properties that don't meet the typical insurance standards

 

The amount of coverage you need is determined by factors such as the value of your home and contents, the location and age of the home, as well as the risk you pose to the insurer. Home insurance policies in Ontario typically offer three or more types of coverage:  dwelling, contents, and personal liability. Common risks like fire and theft are typically covered by standard policies, but if you have unique needs or valuables that require extra coverage, you should check with the best insurance broker on what extra coverage you may need.

Dwelling: Home insurance covers damage or loss to the dwelling you live in: house, apartment or condo. There are events and occurrences that may put your home at risk and these are known as insured perils, and standard home insurance policies apply these to your dwelling and contents. Insured perils include things like:

  • Fire
  • Lightning strikes
  • Smoke (if caused by malfunctioning cooking devices or heaters, but not fireplaces)
  • Theft
  • Water damage (check to see which types of water damage your insurance policy covers)
  • Wind
  • Aircraft or vehicle impact
  • Explosion
  • Falling objects (except those caused by earthquake or snow slide)

Not all policies cover the same insured perils, so make sure you shop around and compare insurance companies before you get insurance online. They can also be defined differently, for example, "electrical surge" or electrical current", so be sure to check and confirm each one. Also, you should see what insured perils are more likely to occur in your area as these can affect your premiums, so you want to be able to balance your required coverage with your budget.

Contents: This coverage insures your possessions against theft, damage or vandalism, and typically covers all of the items you own such as furniture, furnishings, clothing, electronics, sports equipment, bicycles and toys. Not all the coverage is the same, insurance companies have their own contents coverage limit on specific items, so be sure to shop around for the one that best suits your needs. Also, for more valuable items, you will need to purchase extra coverage to protect things like expensive jewellery, high-end electronic equipment, antiques and valuable art.

Personal liability: This coverage protects you against being held responsible for any legal and medical costs if anyone were to get hurt or injured on your property. It also protects you if you were held responsible for any repair or replacement costs due to property damage. For example, if your condo pipes leak and cause damage to another unit. Again, basic home insurance policies offer this coverage, but the amount and type of coverage can differ and will affect your premiums, so carefully select what coverage best suits your needs.

Uninsured activities, also known as exclusions, are risks that insurance companies will not cover, so you will need to be prepared to get additional coverage:

  • Home-sharing: If you use your home as an Airbnb, this will require separate insurance
  • Criminal activities: If you purposely damage your home to file a claim (fraud) or, intentionally injure someone on your property that is a criminal offense and any would be denied.
  • Moral risk: when your home is not being properly taken care of, or disregarding measures to protect your home and expecting the insurance company to replace stolen or damaged items.
  • Business use: If you are running any type of home-based business, that will require separate coverage, no matter how small it may seem.

Your home insurance policy is designed specifically for you and your situation. When you provide the required information about your home, contents and activities, these are the details that set your home insurance policy conditions. When your situation changes, or you "break the conditions" this can affect your coverage. Here are some things that you should be aware of:

  • Renovations: if you're adding square footage, additions, upgrades or swimming pools, these changes can substantially alter the value and risk of your house.
  • Being away for long periods of time without someone checking on your house: if you’re away for an extended amount of time, make sure you have a friend or family member checking in on your house. And, if you go away during the winter months, you should drain your pipes to make sure they don’t burst while you are away.
  • Not maintaining your house: if you don’t maintain your house and complete repairs as needed, the risk of any resulting damage will not be covered by your insurer. A perfect example of this is if you don’t replace missing roof shingles and get water damage in your walls (as a result of not being replaced) then that damage will not be covered.
  • Starting or running a home business: home insurance is not business insurance, so losses that result from business activities done in your house, as well as any losses to the business itself such as: damaged stock, or the inability to use the workspace, will not be covered under your home insurance policy. It is recommended that you disclose all home business activities, no matter how small the business is, and make sure you have coverage for those activities.

All of these things require you to contact your insurance advisor and make the necessary changes to your policy, or purchase any separate coverage, to ensure your home is still fully protected. They can help advise on what you need to do moving forward and not unintentionally break any conditions.

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