A licensed insurance advisor can offer tenant insurance in Toronto. If you contact our advisors they can help you get an online quote from dozens of insurance providers in the city.

Tenant insurance in Toronto (also called renters’ insurance) is meant for people who rent the place where they live, whether home, condo, or apartment. It provides the best insurance coverage against common risks like theft, fire damage, and personal injury that occurs on the property. Tenant insurance is necessary because a landlord’s home insurance policy won’t cover these perils on behalf of the renter.

No, renter's insurance is not mandatory at the city level. However, many property managers won’t lease their units without tenant insurance in place.

Consider what would happen in the event of a tenant's personal property being damaged. The renter might pursue recuperation from the landlord's home insurance provider. Even though they'd have very little actual recourse, it would be time-consuming for the landlord.

When tenants have their own liability coverage, meanwhile, they can simply rely on that policy for coverage.

Tenant insurance coverage generally applies to three things, none of which would be covered by a home insurance policy your landlord took out.

Contents

If your belongings are damaged or stolen while in your rental property, tenant insurance with contents coverage in Toronto will help cover the cost of replacement or repair. 

This is among the most important aspects of tenant insurance since most people don’t have the money to cover the replacement cost of expensive items on their own.

Liability

If an accident on your property causes financial harm to a third party, tenant insurance with personal liability coverage can help cover lawsuit and settlement costs.

For example, if a guest slips, falls, and injures themselves on a wet floor in an apartment you’re renting, tenant insurance coverage will shield you from the financial fallout of a potential lawsuit.

Relocation cost reimbursement

If the property you’re renting is rendered uninhabitable, tenant insurance will help shoulder the costs of relocating.

For example, if you’re forced to stay at a hotel for a few weeks because your rental apartment flooded, tenant insurance may cover your hotel bill along with additional living expenses such as those associated with meals you'd have otherwise cooked at home.

Tenant insurance in Toronto typically won’t cover replacement costs above a certain amount for extraordinarily expensive items (i.e. jewelry). To make sure you’re covered for the items that matter most to you, it’s important that you read the policy thoroughly. Your Surex insurance broker can help you find the exact policy you need.

This depends on your postal code, the value of your total contents, your liability limits. Policies normally start at $300/yr and increase as the content values and liability limits increase.

The cheapest tenant insurance provider depends on how your situation fits into the formula insurance companies create to evaluate policyholders. For example, one insurer might weigh your age more heavily than another. This is why it’s a good idea to compare insurance companies and online insurance quotes with the best insurance broker in Toronto. The cheapest tenant insurance provider isn’t always evident.

Tenant insurance in Toronto typically renews automatically each year. You’ll receive new policy documents detailing any changes to your premium and confirming your coverage. Keep in mind that you do have the option to switch policies before your existing one renews, however.

Tenant insurance is rated based on the type of unit you rent, the number of tenants in the unit, the value of your personal belongings, the physical location of the unit, and your claims history.

You can also lower your rate further by choosing a higher deductible.

No. If you rent the unit you live in you only require tenant insurance which is often more affordable than home insurance. You want to be properly insured, and tenant insurance will do that for renters.

Home insurance only protects landlords against property damage. As a tenant, your landlord's insurance policy offers no value to you in the event of personal property damage or coverage of additional living expenses necessitated by an incident that renders the home uninhabitable. That's why you need tenant insurance rather than home insurance (which is the landlord's responsibility).

A tenant insurance policy is your only hope for recourse in the event that an incident damages your personal belongings.

Tenant insurance policies also cover your personal relocation costs in the event that your rented home suddenly becomes uninhabitable (i.e. due to a fire, flood, or other covered incident).

You can contact your assigned broker/advisor or contact the insurance company directly. Make sure you have your policy # and details of the claim prepare when you call.

It's not dissimilar to filing a car insurance claim!

Many policies hover around the $20 to $30 range. Since there’s no minimum coverage requirement, you can get insurance online at a lower rate by purchasing only the coverage you need.

As a renter, you can also save on insurance if you shop around. Surex helps you compare rates from dozens of providers. We'll help you get the policy you need at a great price.

The law does permit your landlord to include tenant insurance coverage as a lease requirement. Many landlords in Toronto do so as a tenant’s policy serves to reduce their overall risk.

You’ll need to provide basic information about yourself and the property you’re renting, including:

• The address
• Your belongings’ cumulative value
• Who else will be occupying the rental property

At Surex, we make the tenant insurance application process remarkably easy. Fill out your information once then we'll use it to compare quotes from dozens of companies.