What is condo insurance in Canada?

When it comes to buying a condominium, do you know whether you need condo insurance or whether the condo corporation’s insurance also covers your personal belongings? And did you know that there are differences between condo insurance and home insurance? These are just a few of the points we’ll cover in this article, in addition to sharing our tips for paying less for your condo insurance premium.

Condo insurance and home insurance are similar, but there are important differences. First, by distinguishing between the insurance held by the condo corporation and the condo insurance held by each co-owner. Then, special coverages for condos.

The condo corporation has its own insurance policy for the building and common areas. A condo insurance policy protects the contents of your unit. It generally offers insurance for your personal belongings, liability insurance, additional living expenses if you need to relocate due to a claim and special coverages such as unit improvement coverage and unit contingency coverage. Like home insurance, condo insurance also has optional coverages that can be added: identity theft, water damage, sewer backup, etc.

As mentioned above, the condo corporation’s insurance policy covers the building and common areas. A condo insurance policy covers your unit and personal belongings.

• Condo insurance : This policy protects individual unit owners, including personal effects, liability insurance and unit improvements.
• Condo corporation insurance : This policy protects the building, including interior common areas (lobby, elevator, etc.) and exterior common areas. Examples include elevators, roofs and windows. It also protects residents from situations that could endanger the public, such as falling debris.

Condo insurance protects everything in your unit. First, it offers standard protection, such as coverage for personal effects and liability insurance. Then there are optional protections such as identity theft and water damage.

Here are the standard protections:

• Personal belongings: Your condo insurance covers your personal belongings (furniture, clothing, jewelry, electronics, art, etc.) against loss, theft, vandalism, fire and windstorm. What’s more, your personal belongings are insured even if they’re not inside your condo (e.g., storage unit).
• Liability insurance: Liability insurance protects you from legal action if someone is injured in your condo.
• Additional living expenses: If you need to relocate due to a claim, your insurance covers living expenses such as hotel, food and clothing.
• Improvement insurance : Improvement insurance covers renovations to your unit. Other coverages specific to condos exist, such as coverage for unforeseen expenses in common areas if a special assessment is requested from co-owners. Check the coverage offered by your insurer and your condo corporation.

Here are the optional protections:

• Water damage: This coverage protects you against water damage, such as sewer backup (e.g. sewer and septic tank), surface water (e.g. rain and snow melt) and above-ground water (e.g. seepage through roof, doors and windows). In some cases, condo insurance protects your personal belongings inside your condo and in your storage unit.
• Identity theft: This coverage protects you in the event of identity theft and fraud, covering legal fees and the recovery of your identity.

Of course, condo insurance premiums vary from person to person, depending on a number of factors. But you can save money and reduce your condo insurance premium with the following tips:

• Bundle your insurance: when you combine your condo insurance with your car insurance on the same policy, you can save money. For example, you can save up to 15% when you combine your home and car insurance with our partner YouSet.
• Increase your insurance deductible: you can reduce your insurance premium when you increase your insurance deductible.
• Compare condo insurance rates online: you can use our home insurance comparator to get several condo insurance quotes.
• Pay your insurance premium in one lump sum: when you pay your condo insurance premium for the year in one lump sum, many insurance companies offer a discount.