Home Insurance in Ottawa

Ottawa Home Insurance 

Ottawa is a lovely city to settle down in. It has many beautiful neighbourhoods, including The Glebe, Kanata, Sandy Hill, Westboro, Rockcliffe, Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, and more. Also, being the capital of Canada, it has many beautiful and historic sites that are very accessible to you.

If you are an Ottawa homeowner, there's also one thing in the city that has more value to you than any of these: your home. It's both where you live and, almost certainly, your most valuable asset. This makes protecting it critical for your financial well-being. The financial protection given by Ottawa home insurance will give you peace of mind that you are covered from some of the most damaging things life can throw at you. Our award-winning Ottawa insurance brokers are here to help ensure you get the best insurance coverage. 

What Is Ottawa Home Insurance?

Ottawa home insurance is a type of personal insurance that protects your home. Ottawa home insurance policies protect your home against unexpected events that could cause financial ruin if you had to pay to cover them yourself. This includes acts such as fire, theft and damage caused by a reckless driver. In many situations, Ottawa home insurance coverage can also cover legal costs, including defence fees, settlement claims, and other legal expenses. 

Let's say that despite using a smoke detector, your house and personal property suffer large amounts of heat and smoke damage in a fire. Such repairs would cost you tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. However, with an Ottawa home insurance policy, your insurance plan can cover large amounts of this cost of yours, depending on the level of protection given to you by your insurance policy. 

Do I Need Home Insurance In Ottawa?

Although homeowners insurance is not mandatory by law, it is commonly required by lenders if you have a mortgage. In addition it is highly recommended that you protect yourself from unexpected events with Ottawa home insurance. Although there is plenty that a responsible homeowner can do to help lower the risk of property damage, accidents can happen to anyone, costing the uninsured their life savings and maybe even more. The additional protection provided by Ottawa home insurance will ensure that even in the unfortunate event of a disaster, you can financially cover yourself and avoid life-altering setbacks. 

What Are The Different Types Of Ottawa Home Insurance?

There are plenty of Ottawa home insurance policies available for you. These include a comprehensive policy, a standard policy, a broad-form policy, and a no-frills policy. Each of these provides a different level of protection against various losses. An insurance broker can further explain the differences between these policies to help you determine what is best for you. This allows you to make informed decisions about which of these policy options are suitable for you.

• A comprehensive insurance policy provides the most protection out of any plan, as it includes the most risks. It covers all risks except those outlined in your home insurance policy.
• A standard policy only covers risks mentioned and described in the policy. This is also known as a basic coverage or named perils policy.
• A broad-form policy is in between an all-perils policy and a comprehensive policy.
• A no-frills policy provides limited coverage and is less popular or recommended.

What Is Covered By Ottawa Home Insurance?

Figuring out what is covered by Ottawa home insurance is a complex question to answer, as several factors must be considered. As mentioned earlier, different types of Ottawa home insurance cover different risks. Although insurance providers are consistent in broad aspects, each insurance company will have slight differences in their policies, meaning that you will have several choices when considering what you want to be covered. 

Fire Damage

Fire is a constant threat to any building. Whether it begins from cooking, your electrical wiring, or from a candle, fire is one of the things that nobody is ever immune to. Luckily, the majority of fire damage is generally covered by most Ottawa home insurance policies. It's best to consult with your broker to understand the coverage offered to know what you are covered for.

Water Damage

Water damage is the most common damage to a house, accounting for almost as much damage as all other forms put together. Whether it's overflow from a nearby waterway, roof damage from heavy rainfall, or flooding from poor drainage, water can quickly cause a lot of damage to a home. Whether or not your policy covers water damage depends on the policy details and the type of damage. 

For example, water damage caused by a failure in the local sewer system would be covered by most policies. Still, water damage caused by poor maintenance on behalf of the homeowner typically isn't covered.

Water damage is also impacted a lot based on which policy you choose. Many of the more common types of claims are covered by standard insurance, with additional coverage available for those interested. Many optional add-ons include the following:

• Overland water coverage to protect against financial loss related to flood damage from heavy rain or overflowing lakes and rivers
• Sewer backup coverage for damage caused by wastewater and raw sewage backing up into your house or overflowing
• Groundwater coverage to cover losses related to the sudden underground water damage caused by spring thawing or excessive rainfall that saturates the soil

Contents Coverage

Something that will come as a relief to most homeowners is that many of their personal belongings will be covered by their homeowner's policy. Most policies will cover your components against common threats, including theft, fire, weather damage, and natural disasters. Knowing that your home and many of your most valuable possessions are financially covered in a worst-case scenario will allow you to sleep soundly at night.

Personal Liability

Ottawa home insurance can also cover you if you are held financially liable for third-party bodily injury or property damage. Personal liability coverage will financially protect you by paying for legal fees, settlement costs, medical bills, funeral expenses and repair or replacement of property if you accidentally injure someone or damage their property.

What is Not Covered By Ottawa Home Insurance?

Although many things are covered by Ottawa home insurance, not everything is. Depending on your plan, a standard insurance policy may not cover you in cases of earthquakes, vacant properties, damage from poor upkeep, frozen pipes, wear and tear, and some valuables up to a specified limit. Additional protection for extra coverage may be added for some of these risks to ensure your home and possessions are covered. A Morison Insurance broker would be happy to speak with you to help you better understand your policy and what is and isn't protected.

How Much Does It Cost for House Insurance in Ottawa?

Ottawa home insurance has an extensive range of costs depending on several factors. The cost could vary greatly depending on your insurance provider, the type of insurance you buy, and many more factors. For example, you may be paying anywhere from below $750 to above $1,700 each year if you have a home with a replacement cost between $350,000 and $750,000. You can work with a broker to help you get an insurance package geared toward your needs and budget.

The following chart contains examples of estimated Ottawa home insurance quotes. Premium prices will vary depending on the insurance company, individual circumstances, and coverage that you desire. 

*Each quote was provided with the assumption that the individual has prior insurance history and is claims free.

What Factors Go Into Determining A Quote For Ottawa Home Insurance?

Plenty of factors are taken into account in an Ottawa home insurance quote. These factors include information about you, your situation and your insurance history, and information on the house itself. Many of these factors include:

• Location of the house
• Your credit history and credit score
• Your insurance claim history 
• Replacement cost of the house 
• The cost of any valuables covered by contents insurance
• The materials your house is built with
• Distance between your house and the nearest fire station
• The local crime rate
• The age of your house—older houses built in the early 1900s are more expensive to cover
• Type of Ottawa home insurance you wish to purchase

How Can I Reduce The Premium For My Ottawa Home Insurance? 

Yes, there are plenty of ways to lower your home's insurance premium. These include the following:

Tip #1: Increase Your Deductible 

A deductible is money that you pay upfront, even when making a claim before the insurance company steps in to pay the rest. For example, if you have a $1000 deductible and make a claim worth $10,000, you would pay the $1000, and the insurance company would pay the remaining $9000. Increasing the deducible to $2000 would mean the insurance company would pay the remaining $8000 in this example. When you purchase your Ottawa home insurance plan, you choose the amount on your deductible.

If you want to lower your insurance rate, you can take on a higher deductible. This is because being willing to pay an increased deductible shows the insurance company that you take on an increased risk.

Tip #2: Keep Your Claims Number Low 

As is usually the case with insurance, having fewer and smaller claims will improve your rates. Having no claims at all is the ideal. This means that taking steps to prevent smaller incidents is a huge plus and is something you should be doing anyway. 

Consider not making claims on minimal damages and paying out of pocket instead. Keeping the cost of your coverage down might save more money.

Tip #3: Bundle Your Home And Auto Insurance 

When you buy your Ottawa home insurance and your auto insurance from the same company, you can lower your rates by bundling them together into a package deal. Doing this creates a multi-policy discount and can help you drastically when trying to lower your insurance premium.

Tip # 4: Ottawa Home Insurance Discounts 

Plenty of discounts are available to those who wish to lower their insurance rates. Researching these on your own is very time-consuming; luckily, there is an alternative to doing it alone. You can hire a Morison Insurance broker who has the knowledge needed to help determine which of the many insurance discounts you may be available for.

What Discounts Are There For Ottawa Home Insurance? 

Some of the most common types of discounts are listed below:

• Having a monitored fire alarm
• Having a monitored burglar alarm or other alarm systems
• Having renovations done to your home, including upgraded wiring or plumbing or installing a new roof
• Having your mortgage paid off
• Having no insurance claims
• Having a way of preventing flooding. This includes a sump pump or backflow valve
• Being a non-smoker
• Being retired
• Having a loyalty discount from being with the same insurer long term

Why Should I Use A Broker To Get Ottawa Home Insurance?

Insurance is complicated and a lot of work. As a result, it takes a lot of time to go through all of your options and decide what's best. Furthermore, it takes time to choose what's best for you, even after you've gone through all your options.

This is where an insurance broker comes in. An insurance broker is an expert on this topic. It is their job to shop around, compare quotes for you, and determine the best for you and your current situation. The expertise of a broker allows them to quickly and efficiently compare quotes and which is for a client, allowing you to get the best deal possible for your situation.

How Can I Compare Ottawa Home Insurance Quotes?

The most effective way to compare Ottawa home Insurance quotes is to enlist the help of an expert insurance broker to do much of the work on your behalf. Their expertise ensures that once they shop around with several companies to get you the best set of deals possible, they will let you know each offer's pros and cons. This will help ensure you get the type of coverage best suited to your insurance needs and budget.

Where Can I Get An Ottawa Home Insurance Quote?

If you want an insurance quote with a reasonable price and excellent service, look no further than the brokers at Morison Insurance. Our 5-star insurance brokers will work to get you the best insurance quote possible. Their experience allows them to connect the offers available and what their clients need to find you the right coverage. You can contact us for an Ottawa home insurance quote by calling us at 1-800-463-8074 or filling out the contact form on this page. We look forward to working for you.