A basic home insurance policy in Calgary will protect the homeowner against a range of perils, threats, and damages to their home, townhouse, or condo. Here’s a list of things you’ll be covered against:

• Weather-related damages (i.e. hail, wind, tornadoes, lightening, earthquakes, severe rain)

• Vandalism and break-and-enters

• Smoke and fire damage

• Protection against explosions

• Civil unrest, rioting, and violent protests

• Freezing pipes

• Collision damage (from aircrafts or vehicles)

• Impact from falling objects

• Coverage for detached structures on your property (i.e. garage, shed, guest house)

• If someone is injured or dies on your property, you could be held financially liable. Basic home insurance policies in Calgary will typically cover you (i.e. the policyholder) against costs associated with these kinds of liabilities.

• If you accidentally cause damage to somebody else’s property — whether outside your city, province, or country — you will be protected against the associated costs.

• Coverage for the cost of temporary living arrangements, while your property is being repaired or replaced (i.e. short-term hotel stay, apartment rental)

Homes are not only the single largest financial investment of our lives, they’re also where we raise our children, store our valuable possessions, form lifelong memories, make friends with our neighbours, and connect with our community. Therefore, it should come as little surprise that many Calgary-based homeowners choose to protect their houses with home insurance. Despite not being a legal requirement, many homeowners still opt to protect their investments with a quality home insurance policy.

What’s the best way to find home insurance? Simply visit Surex.com and compare rates from up to 10 of Canada’s leading home insurance companies at one time to find the cheapest rates available. In only a few minutes, you can find affordable coverage that will protect you against weather-related damages, vandalism, fires, costly repairs, and more. Even if you have high-value jewelry, antiques, or expensive entertainment systems, Surex can cover you for those, too. In order to get a quote online, you’ll need to provide some basic home information, including the year your home was built, the type of home you have, any renovations or upgrades that have been made, and the square footage of your residence. Home insurance can be complicated. Surex makes it easy with a simple online process and a Dedicated Insurance Assistant to help you along the way.

Home insurance in Calgary can be expensive, but luckily there are many ways for homeowners to lower their premiums. Here are a few ways to cut down on costs while staying protected:

• Shop around. One of the most effective strategies to finding a cheap home insurance policy is to visit a rate comparison site like Surex.com. Different home insurance providers provide varying rates and offer different discounts, so it’s important to compare your options before settling on a policy.

• Bundle your policies. Another effective way to lower your home insurance premium is by bundling your existing insurance policies (e.g. auto and home) with the same provider. Bundling your policies can result in savings of up to 10% on home insurance and 15% on auto insurance.

• Raise your deductible. Like with many insurance policies, increasing the amount you need to pay before collecting on a claim (ie. your deductible) can lower your home insurance premiums. Just be prepared to pay a bigger share in the event of a claim.

• Choose a new home. By buying a newly-built home, townhouse, or condo (i.e. less than 10 years old), you may qualify for a home insurance discount. This is because newer dwellings tend to have fewer issues than older homes, thus you’ll be seen as a lower risk to your insurance provider.

Homeowners insurance in Calgary is not legally mandatory, but it is usually required by mortgage lenders. Considering your home is your biggest asset, it only makes sense that most homeowners end up securing home insurance. However, there are rare cases where an insurance company refuses to sell a home insurance policy. This usually occurs if the insurance company deems the neighbourhood too high-risk, the weather threats too severe, the build of the house too unreliable, or the neighbourhood crime rate too high. This is another reason why shopping around on Surex.com is so important: if you are denied by one provider, you can keep looking until you find a company that will cover you.

When selecting home insurance, you need to find the right coverage. Home insurance comes in three main forms: (1) Comprehensive (covers all risks to your property and your belongs, expect for those which are excluded from your policy), (2) Basic or Named Perils (covers only those perils which are explicitly included in the policy), and (3) Broad (covers your home in a ‘Comprehensive’ sense, but your belongings in a ‘Basic’ sense). Be sure you speak with a Dedicated Insurance Assistant about what coverage is right for you. Additionally, you need to know whether you want to insure your belongings at ‘cash value’ (items are replaced at their approximate current value, factoring in depreciation and wear and tear) or ‘actual cost’ (items are replaced at their original value, not factoring in depreciation). As you can imagine, it is more costly to insure belongings at ‘actual cost value’ than at ‘cash value’, as the payouts would be higher.   

A home insurance deductible is the amount that the homeowner (i.e. the policyholder) is responsible for paying out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. The right deductible amount depends on the policyholder’s personal situation, but insurance companies usually offer home insurance deductibles in amounts of $500, $1000, and $1500. Of these options, $1000 tends to be the most common amount selected by homeowners. While opting for a higher deductible can lower your home insurance premium, be sure you’re in a position to afford it if you ever need to file a claim.

If you’re unsure of who your home insurance provider is, the best first step is to call your Dedicated Insurance Assistant and ask for details. If you don’t remember whether or not you purchased home insurance, look at your banking information and see if you’ve been paying installments, or look through your email inbox for any relevant communications. Unfortunately, there is no centralized public database that tracks home insurance policies, so it’s up to you as the policyholder to keep track of your home insurance documents and policy information.

Every homeowner has a unique property and different coverage needs, and therefore will pay different amounts for home insurance premiums. Homeowners in Alberta can expect to pay somewhere in the range of $800 to $1,200 per year to protect their home and its contents. When shopping around on a rate comparison site like Surex.com, use that range as a ballpark, but don’t settle for the first rate you find (even if it’s low). Spend some time speaking with your Dedicated Insurance Assistant to find the right policy for your property needs.