Landlord insurance in Canada

We suggest purchasing “all risk” building insurance if you’re a landlord in Canada. “Named perils” insurance policies provide less coverage, which can result in adequate claim settlements. For example, a named perils policy will not cover against water damage.

Landlord insurance can cost anywhere between $1,300 and $100k + per year. Your annual building insurance cost depends on the following factors:

• The total value of your building (s) ?
• Are your tenants residential or commercial? – tenants like restaurants or bars are higher risk, which will usually result in a higher landlord insurance cost.
• Claims history – The fewer claims you have, the less you’ll pay in insurance.
• Building construction – fire resistive buildings are less likely to burn down, therefore their insurance cost is lower.
• Your building location – stand-alone buildings generally pay less for insurance than buildings in congested areas of Montreal.

Most landlord claims are caused by tenants; if they carry their own liability insurance, you can pass the claim onto the renter, which will avoid your annual premium from increasing.

You can receive a quote for your building online or by contacting an insurance company directly. Online insurance quotes are faster to complete, but we always suggest having a professional set of eyes review everything before switching insurance companies. Most customers at KBD start by filling out an online quote and have it finalized over the phone with one of our brokers.

Shopping around and informing yourself is the best way to save money on your landlord insurance. Research landlord insurance companies in Canada like Desjardins or Sonnet, and speak to a business insurance broker like KBD.

One call to us means quotes from multiple insurance companies. Most of our landlord clients are insured with Intact or Lloyd’s.

Landlord insurance works almost exactly like a home insurance policy, and it covers you for the following perils:

• Fire/lightning
• Wind/hail
• Smoke
• Fire
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Water
• Earthquake

The one main difference between a building insurance policy and a homeowners policy is that you’ll need “rental income” protection, which covers the lost rent in the event of a claim.

Yes. If you rent out your building through Airbnb or another short-term rental platform, we can provide you with a policy. Not every building insurance company in Canada provides this service, so it’s important to make sure you pick the right company.

We suggest requiring your renters to carry $2 million in Liability Insurance. The annual cost for a tenant policy with this amount is between $100-150.

• Increase your deductible.
• Avoid making small claims.
• Keep up to date with renovations.
• Make sure your tenants carry their own Liability Insurance.

Yes. Building insurance quotes generally take 3-4 minutes to complete.