House Insurance for your Peace of Mind

We under­stand how impor­tant your prop­erty is to you, whether you’re a ten­ant or homeowner. That’s why our bro­kers take the utmost care to help our clients get the best insur­ance pack­ages for their needs.

We provide insurance coverage for these types of properties/risks in BC:

Our poli­cies are under­writ­ten by a wide range of rep­utable insur­ance com­pa­nies, all of whom have excel­lent track records for cus­tomer and claims ser­vice.

The expe­ri­enced bro­kers at Habi­tat Insur­ance Agen­cies will help guide you through the some­times con­fus­ing world of insur­ance. We aim to give you the peace of mind that you deserve from your insur­ance pol­icy… and always at com­pet­i­tive pre­mi­ums.

TIPS: How you can save money on home insurance

Many dis­counts are avail­able, which can reduce insur­ance pre­mi­ums by up to 60%. These include:

FAQs about home insurance

Why is the value given for my house (or duplex/strata building) in my insurance policy higher than the property tax assessment?

Build­ing insur­ance is cal­cu­lated on the cur­rent replace­ment cost of the dwelling. Replace­ment cost is the esti­mated cost to recon­struct a dwelling based on cur­rent build­ing mate­r­ial and labour costs.

What is guaranteed replacement cost (GRC)?

GRC means that the insur­ance com­pany will pay the cost of repairs or replace­ment — on the same site — even if the cost to rebuild your house exceeds the insured amount shown on your insur­ance pol­icy. This is the best type of house insur­ance cov­er­age to have.

What is the difference between broad and comprehensive insurance coverage?

There is no dif­fer­ence in build­ing cov­er­age: both types pro­vide cov­er­age for “all risks”. Under broad insur­ance cov­er­age, con­tents are insured against “named per­ils”. Com­pre­hen­sive insur­ance pro­vides cov­er­age for con­tents on an “all risks” basis. Please con­tact us if you would like to find out more detailed infor­ma­tion about the dif­fer­ences between broad and com­pre­hen­sive insur­ance cov­er­age.

What are special limits in home insurance policies?

All home insur­ance poli­cies have cov­er­age sub-lim­its for cer­tain classes of items. Sub-lim­its vary from com­pany to com­pany. Below is an exam­ple of typ­i­cal sub-lim­its in a house/condo/tenant’s insur­ance pol­icy:

• Water­craft includ­ing acces­sories & equip­ment $3,000
• Spare auto parts $1,000
• Secu­ri­ties $5,000
• Money, cash cards, bul­lion $500
• Man­u­scripts and stamp col­lec­tions $1,500
• Lawn mow­ers, gar­den­ing equip­ment, snow blow­ers, gar­den trac­tors, etc. $10,000
• Jew­ellery, furs, watches, gems $6,000
• Coin col­lec­tions $500
• Books, tools and instru­ments relat­ing to busi­ness $5,000
• Bikes and their acces­sories $1,000 per bike

You may pur­chase addi­tional insur­ance cov­er­age if you wish to insure per­sonal prop­erty that exceeds the sub-lim­its in your pol­icy.

Is earthquake coverage automatically included in house, condo, and tenant insurance policies?

No. Earthquake insurance is an optional cov­er­age. Rates vary accord­ing to the loca­tion, age, and build­ing con­struc­tion type.

Can I purchase flood insurance for my home?

Yes, since 2016 overland water insurance for homeowners is now being offered by various insurance companies in Canada.  This is an optional coverage, and premiums are dependent on the flood risk for a home’s location.