Montreal condo insurance

The cost for condo insurance is roughly $400 plus tax per year but that price can vary. No two condos are exactly the same age, have the same quality of materials and have the same value of belongings inside. The same goes for Montreal condo owners: No two are exactly the same age, have the same credit score and have the same condo insurance history. Unlike cell phone or internet plans, Montreal condo insurance prices vary from condo to condo and person to person.

Montreal condo insurance works by combining the condo association’s insurance with your personal condo insurance. Your condo association’s insurance covers your base unit (anything about your unit that came standard in the original planning) and the common areas of the condo building. Your personal condo insurance covers:

• Your contents (personal belongings – example: your sofa, television, jewelry, etc.)
• Your civil liability (damage you can cause to others – example: your neighbours, common areas of your condo building, etc.)
• Additional living expense (costs associated with living somewhere else because your condo/condo building is damaged – example: food costs, hotel costs, travel costs, etc.)
• Improvements to your condo (example: renovations, high-end finishings that did not come standard with your condo unit).
• Excess insurance not covered by your condo association (usually associated with common areas of the condo building).

Your Montreal condo association’s insurance covers your base unit (anything about your unit that came standard in the original planning) and the common areas of the condo building (pools, rooftop terraces, lobby, gyms, etc.)

Pro tip: Ask for a copy of the condo association’s insurance policy to know what coverage your condo association has. Don’t forget to verify the deductible – in the event of a claim, each condo owner has to pay out of pocket for repairs to the building to be done.

Almost every Montreal condo insurance broker has a quoting system on its website. Usually, the quoting system asks you 5-6 questions to determine a price. Be conscious that the price you receive may not be 100% accurate, considering it only took 3 minutes to generate. Some companies provide the option for a more detailed quote, which means more questions and will take a bit longer. In both scenarios, you will still need to speak with an insurance professional to finalize the insurance contract.

Civil liability and condo liability are the exact same thing. It protects you from being sued for damage you may cause to others. For example: You accidentally dropped a dumbbell and shattered all the mirrors in the weight lifting room of your condo building. Without Condo liability insurance, you could be sued by your condo association for the damages you caused to the common areas of the condo building. Another example: while waiting in the elevator, your dog bites a child’s hand The child’s parents could sue you because your dog is considered your property and therefore your responsibility. In both scenarios, condo liability insurance could save you from reaching into your own pocket. At KBD insurance, we always suggest having at least $2 million in coverage for your condo liability insurance.

There are 5 main Montreal condo insurance coverages:

1. Your contents (personal belongings – example: your sofa, television, jewelry, etc.)
2. Your civil liability (damage you may cause to others – example: your neighbours, common areas of your condo building, etc.)
3. Additional living expense (costs associated with living somewhere else because your condo or condo building is damaged – example: food costs, hotel costs, travel costs, etc.)
4. Improvements to your condo (example: renovations, high-end finishings that did not come standard with your condo unit)
5. Excess insurance not covered by your condo association (usually associated with common areas of the condo building).

Montreal condo insurance coverage is personal and the protections/amounts needed will vary from person to person. To find out how much condo insurance you need, at KBD we suggest you:

• Write a list of all of your personal belongings and how much it would cost to replace them. This is called taking an inventory and will determine the dollar value of all your belongings.
• Ask for a copy of your condo association’s insurance policy so you can double check that there aren’t any specific coverages missing and find out how much the deductible is. In the event of a claim, the condo association’s deductible is divided evenly among all condo owners.
• Buy $2 Million in civil liability. The standard for a Montreal Condo Insurance company is $1 Million, but for a difference of only about $25 per year, you can insure for an extra $1 million. You never know – it might come in handy.

At KBD, we always insure our Montreal condo insurance clients for $2 million in civil liability.

With today’s technology, there are websites set up to act like a Montreal condo insurance broker – only you get the prices much, much faster. One such example is LowestRates.ca. In less than 5 minutes, you can compare prices from 4-5 different Montreal condo insurance companies. You will still need to speak with an insurance professional to finalize your insurance contract.

Montreal condo insurance policies vary from company to company and person to person. What might be the best choice for you might not be best for your neighbour. The only way to find out which Montreal condo insurance company is right for your needs is by shopping amongst some of the great insurance companies, such as:

• Intact
• Belair
• Desjardins
• All-State
• Promutuel
• La Personnelle
• La Capital
• SSQ
• Wawanesa

At KBD insurance, we place the majority of our Montreal condo insurance clients with Intact because we believe they offer the best product at the most competitive price.

There are 5 main ways you can lower the cost of your Montreal condo insurance policy:

1. Raise your deductible. The more you are willing to pay for repairs done on damage to your condo and/or property, the less you’ll pay for home insurance.
2. Avoid making small claims. Insurance was not designed to be a maintenance package. If the cost to repair the damage is less than twice the amount of your deductible, pay out of pocket instead of making a claim.
3. Install anti-water damage systems, such as:a. Water leak detection sensors
   b. Automatic water shut-off
4. Install both fire and burglary alarms that are connected to a central station.
5. Bundle with your car insurance. The more insurance products you have with an insurance company, the more discounts you will receive.