Yes, you need coverage too
Sure, you don’t own the property you live in, but you still need insurance to protect you, your family and your personal belongings. A good policy covers liability, contents and living expenses in the case of a loss.
A price you feel good about
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. When you stop to think about what you’re protecting, monthly premiums don’t look so bad. Tenant insurance in Toronto only costs about a dollar a day.
Protection for what you really need
Buckley Insurance helps you solidify a policy that reflects the coverage you will actually benefit from. Forget about blanket coverages and unnecessary costs – we hone in on your wants, needs, valuable belongings and lifestyle.
Toronto Tenant?
You Need Insurance Too!
Just because you don’t own the property where you eat, sleep and play doesn’t mean you don’t need the insurance for it. House, condo, apartment – whatever you’re renting, even though your landlord has insurance, that’s not going to cover you and your personal belongings in the event that something happens to your property.
But what coverage do you need? How much is enough? What is the monthly cost? Buckley Insurance can provide you with a complete assessment along with specific recommendations to secure a tenant insurance policy that makes sense for you and your home.
What your landlord’s policy covers
Of course your landlord’s policy covers something – but not everything. A landlord’s policy covers the physical building, structure or unit where you live but not the contents inside. In other words, your personal belongings are not protected. And that’s where tenant insurance comes into play.
Fill in the gaps
As a tenant in Toronto, it’s up to you to make sure you’re covered under your own roof. Where your landlord’s policy falls short, you need to solidify a good tenant insurance policy of your own to find those missing puzzle pieces.
Tenant insurance coverage
Did you know that approximately one third of Canadians are renters and that 50% of those renters do not have tenant insurance? This means these home dwellers are not protected in any of the three areas that tenant insurance applies to:
1. Liability. If you ever find yourself sued by another person who visited your home or who lives in another unit of your building, you’re covered.
2. Contents. In other words, coverage for all your stuff – be it in your home, in your car or with you as you travel.
3. Living expenses. If you’re in the midst of a loss that’s covered by your insurance company, you have coverage for hotel accommodations and similar costs when you find yourself displaced from your home.
Protecting your personal liability
Just because you’re not the owner of your home, doesn’t mean you’re not necessarily responsible for damage caused to your house, unit, building or other units in your apartment or condo.
Let’s say there’s a fire in your kitchen and yours isn’t the only unit that suffers damage. Or you leave a faucet running and you end up with serious water damage that also extends into the unit down below. In such events, it’s quite possible that you’re held liable to pay the costs to repair the damages.
Now think of other people and the potential for your personal liability to be exposed because of something that happens to them. For example, someone falls down the stairs in your home and suffers injuries. You could be responsible to pay that person’s medical and rehab bills, and lost income associated with the time they must spend away from work. Needless to say, there are huge financial implications when it comes to your personal liability. It’s not worth the risk to live as an uninsured tenant.
Protecting your contents
Think about all the stuff you own! Clothing, furniture, TV, computer, houseware items, china, silverware, linens, jewellery… Now think about how much it would cost you to replace all of it. Yes, all of it. Because that’s what would likely be the case in a catastrophic event such as a fire.
When you have a tenant insurance policy in place, you have protection for all your personal property items. And that coverage doesn’t just include those things inside your home at the time of a loss – it also applies to items damaged, lost or stolen outside of your home too (in your car, while you’re travelling). Lose your wedding ring on vacation? Laptop stolen out of your car? Your tenant insurance policy has you covered.
Getting coverage for living expenses
If your home suffers a loss covered by your tenant insurance policy, then that policy also covers you for the essential expenses associated with living outside your home while damage repair is underway. For example, you need to stay in a hotel. You’re buying meals at restaurants. You incur moving costs as you relocate from one place to another. All these costs are covered because they’re costs you wouldn’t be burdened with if you still lived in your home. However unlikely they may be, unexpected events do happen. And the question is, when they do, are you covered? It’s a good idea to make sure that whatever tenant insurance policy you secure for yourself, it protects against the most major forms of loss (break-and-enters, fire, sewer backup, hail, burst pipes).
No need to break the bank
What does tenant insurance cost? You might be surprised to learn how inexpensive it actually is, relatively speaking. Of course, monthly costs will vary from insurance company to insurance company. Typically, your premium is calculated according to:
1. The amount of coverage you need (the total value of your belongings and the liability limit you select).
2. Where you live.
3. Preferred deductible.
4. Claims history.
5. Type of building.
In Toronto, you can expect to pay a couple hundred dollars a year (about a dollar a day) for your tenant insurance policy.
Pay only for what you need
So many policies on the market try to provide “blanket coverage” that gives you everything you need – and more. The “and more” is the problem. When you’re shopping around for the right tenant insurance policy, there’s no reason for you to pay for extra coverage you really can’t benefit from. Don’t own fine art? Rare collectible items? Porcelain plates, bowls, cups? Then why pay for such extensive coverage?
Buckley Insurance works with you to, first and foremost, to identify what you own and how much coverage you want to have. We’re here to steer you in the right direction, provide guidance and recommendations, and obtain quotes from the industry’s top tenant insurance providers. The end result is the right policy, for the right person, at the right price.
An efficient and trusted claims process
Don’t let yourself become so fixated on finding the perfect tenant insurance policy at the lowest rate that you forget all about one of the most important parts: filing a claim. The last thing you want is to find yourself with an insurance company that makes the claims process difficult – you’re under enough stress if you have to file a claim in the first place!
Here’s what Buckley Insurance does to ensure top-level service during a tough time:
1. Quick response. Our promise is that you’ll speak to a claims agent directly in 30 minutes or less. We put you at ease right off the bat.
2. Dedicated point of contact. Once you make a claim, a single adjuster is assigned to your file to speed up the process, to guide you every step of the way and to inform you of all required documentation as the claim progresses.
3. Good protection – from the start. There’s nothing that will make a claim go worse than if you have completely inadequate protection for what you’re trying to get covered. It’s our job to customize your policy to your specific needs so you sail through any claim without a hiccup.
Common policy components
As you shop around and weigh one tenant insurance policy against another, here are the most common elements you’ll see:
Personal belongings and contents
You can specify certain contents and exclude others. And you’ll have the option to select a specific amount of coverage against the contents of your home or what is known as “all perils coverage”, which protects you from the widest range of potential risks (and will only exclude those that are specified in your policy). Special limits coverage is also an option to cover certain personal belongings that are not considered standard such as animals, business property at your home, collectibles, sports equipment and watercrafts.
Non-owned property
If you have other people’s personal belongings in your possession at the time of a loss, it may be covered under your tenant insurance policy as long as those belongings don’t have other insurance coverage.
Personal property somewhere else
All your personal property is protected under your tenant insurance policy even if that property is temporarily out of your home, for example, in your car or during travel.
Additional living expenses
If your home suffers a loss and it’s covered under your tenant insurance policy then you may be entitled to coverage for other expenses associated with living outside your house, apartment or unit during the repair process. The most common additional living expenses covered under any tenant insurance policy are moving costs, storage, hotel accommodations and restaurant meals.
Personal liability
Whether you’re at home or anywhere else in the world, your tenant policy’s personal liability coverage is what gives you financial protection in the event that you unintentionally cause injury or property damage to someone else. If it happens in your home or outside of your home, if you’re sued or there’s never a lawsuit, your tenant insurance policy pays for property damage and medical bills even if you’re not legally responsible, and it pays the legal costs associated with your defense if you’re taken to court. It’s wise to purchase as much personal liability coverage as you can: at least $1 million and up to $2 million if you’re able.
Voluntary medical payments
Some tenant insurance policies will pay reasonable medical expenses for up to one year following an accident on your property, even if you’re not legally liable. These medical expenses might be surgical, dental, nursing or ambulance related.
Voluntary property damage
If you have unintentionally caused direct damage to another property, there are tenant insurance policies that will pay even if you’re not found to be legally responsible.
Extensions of coverage
Every tenant insurance policy must specify precisely what is covered. The “extensions of coverage” section indicates what is automatically included in your policy, unless stated otherwise.
Just a few of these include:
- By-law coverage
- Debris removal
- Frozen food protection
- Charges from the fire department
- Lock replacement
- Personal records recovery (from a computer)
Optional endorsements
There are always additional coverages you can purchase if you feel the need. For example, water coverage isn’t usually covered by standard tenant insurance policies but it’s a common add-on by many Torontonians these days. Or maybe you have particularly valuable items inside your home that you want to protect. Whatever your special needs may be, there is always an added coverage you can purchase to make sure you’re adequately protected from every angle. Here are a few of the most common optional endorsements:
- Sewer backup coverage
- Overland water
- Special personal articles
- Higher coverage for jewellery
- Home business coverage
- Earthquake coverage
- Identity theft coverage
Deductible
This is one of the most important questions you’ll ask right upfront. What am I required to pay out of pocket every time I file a claim? This is your deductible. Before your insurance policy pays a dime, your deductible is the amount you must pay.
Why use a broker for tenant insurance?
Shopping around for the perfect tenant insurance policy can be daunting. The insurance industry is difficult to navigate when so many policies have many of the same elements and yet one tiny variation can be the difference between good coverage and insufficient protection.
Buckley Insurance has been helping tenants just like you for over 55 years. And that amount of experience translates into:
- Excellent partner relationships with all the leading tenant insurance providers
- Invaluable guidance and support before, during and after you secure a policy
- In-depth policy, coverage and pricing knowledge
- Unbiased advice every step of the way
Work with an insurance broker you can trust
Gain access to a large pool of tenant insurance providers with competitive rates. Buckley Insurance obtains industry-best quotes and then negotiates on your behalf to secure the ideal policy for you and your home. Taking into consideration your property, belongings and personal coverage preferences, we customize a tenant insurance policy exclusively to you. And you can count on us for impartial advice and guidance as you make an important decision for the protection of your home and yourself. Your home, your responsibility. Get good and inexpensive tenant insurance coverage.
What we need to know to get you multiple quotes
When you work with an insurance broker, you only give your information once.
Here’s what we gather from you:
1. Background about yourself and basic information.
2. Details about the place you want to insure.
3. Key characteristics and features about your home.
4. Complete coverage profile (answers to underwriting questions specific to your property and how you inhabit it).
5. The items you want to insure.
6. The amount of personal liability you want.
Once we have all of this information, Buckley Insurance acts as your partner behind the scenes as we reach out to the insurance companies that best fit your needs and budget. Within ___ days, you’ll have several tenant insurance policy quotes to view and evaluate.
It isn’t the law, but it’s a smart investment
Tenant insurance isn’t required from a legal perspective but it’s for your own benefit. Remember, the homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover you and your belongings. As the tenant, it’s up to you to make sure you’re protected from all the risks associated with living in a house, apartment or condo unit. And it’s quite possible that your landlord asks you for proof of insurance before renting the property to you. Additionally, if your premium is an issue there are ways to get it down. The easiest way to minimize that pesky monthly insurance cost is to raise your deductible. If it’s at $500, consider boosting it to $1000. You’ll notice a significant reduction in your monthly premium. Just be sure not to commit to the higher deductible unless you’re absolutely sure you’ll be able to fork up the dough if you have to.
Bundle and save!
You don’t need a homeowner or condo insurance policy to reap the benefits of bundling. If you bundle your tenant insurance policy and your car insurance policy, you stand to get a 15% discount on one or possibly even both of your policies.