Home insurance broker

According to the Insurance Services Office (ISO), the most common residential claim by frequency (in Canada) is the water-related claim. Next, you have wind & hail, fire, and theft.

In terms of paid out claims, fire- and water-related claims often battle it out for the ‘title’.

It’s a no-brainer.

For the vast majority of Canadians, a home is the biggest asset one can own. Protecting that asset financially just makes sense. If your home happened to burn to the ground one day and you didn’t have insurance, you would have no way to recoup your monetary losses, plus you would have to pay any reconstruction costs out of pocket.

Besides, the decision isn’t always yours to make. If you plan on securing a mortgage, the lending bank or financial institution will require you to carry insurance. Factor the cost of home insurance into your budget — because it’s worth it every time.

You should always turn off your home’s water supply if you are leaving it vacant for an extended period of time. If your home sits vacant for 30 days or more, it will be considered vacant and will require additional coverage. On vacant homes, insurance companies expect you shut off the water supply in order to prevent water damage resulting from a burst pipe.

The following factors are among those that determine your home insurance premium:

• Location
• Construction material
• Year of construction
• Distance to a fire hydrant + fire station
• Age of hot water tank
• Renovations (how recent are they)
• Your credit score
• Your claims history
• Bundling (discounts for insuring your car with the same company)

More can go wrong!

Older homes tend to be of greater risk to fire-related damage.

Homes were not built to the same standards 50 or 100 years ago as they are today. Since construction material is a big factor in determining your home insurance cost, older homes built out of more flammable or flimsy material are of greater risk and will be more expensive to insure.

A wood-framed chalet that would light like a matchstick will be more expensive to insure than a home with a concrete structure, which will take way longer to go up in flames.

Insurance brokers have access to and can place you with one of several different insurance companies. They can shop around and find the best price and fit for each client’s profile. On the other hand, insurance agents, or direct insurers, can only issue a policy from the company they work for.

Another way to look at it: Insurance brokers work for you, the client. Agents work for their insurance company.

Third party property damage and bodily injury.

If you personally cause either of these by accident within your home, your liability insurance can cover you. But there are two caveats. First, the incident can’t be related to anything pertaining to commercial use. Second, the act can’t be criminal. (In other words, if you kill someone in your home, you can forget about using your liability insurance.)

Two examples:

1. A visiting guest slips walking up your driveway and injures themselves and they decide to sue you. Your home liability insurance will protect you.
2. Your backyard fence isn’t properly maintained and the neighbour’s dog sneaks through, but then your dog attacks them. The other dog needs an expensive operation and the neighbour wants you to pay for it. Your home liability insurance can cover those costs.

Neither a home insurance broker or a home insurance agent could be definitively considered cheaper than the other.

They are simply two different business models, and one might be cheaper for one client but not another. Also, insurance rates fluctuate from one year to the next, meaning brokers could be generally cheaper this year, but more expensive next year.

Think of the insurance broker model as an insurance company outsourcing their sales and service to another company.

No, people don’t need insurance brokers. Using a broker rather than an agent comes down to personal preference, but a good insurance broker can make a big difference in the event of a disputed claim.

Insurance brokers’ jobs are to sell insurance and provide a service. When you hire a broker to work on your behalf, they have three main duties to you:

1. Shop the market
2. Help in the event of a claim
3. Service your file (change of address, new car, new home, etc.)

In Canada, home insurance is cheaper for those without a mortgage.

Why? We don’t know!

But the data reveals that mortgage-free homeowners claim less frequently than their mortgage-paying comrades.

Vacant or unoccupied homes are an insurance grey area.

If your home sits empty for a period of 30 days, an insurance company considers it vacant and you could run into trouble if you try to submit a claim on it.

The best thing to do if you’re going to be away from your home for 30 days or more?

1. Turn off the water
2. Arrange for someone to check up on the home periodically

When you add a vacancy permit to your coverage, two (unfortunate) things will happen: Your rate will go up, and certain coverages — like water damage, theft, and vandalism — will be removed.

Technically, no.

If you plan on securing a mortgage, the lending bank or financial institution will require you to carry insurance. 

If you own your home mortgage-free, you’re free to live without home insurance — but we don’t recommend it. Your home is likely your biggest asset, and going unprotected leaves you open to massive financial risk.

Yes. Every claim you make sends your future premiums skyward.

That’s why you should avoid making small claims, and pay for any damage yourself that you can reasonably afford out of pocket.

Save your home insurance policy for the big stuff.

A home insurance broker is an individual acting as an intermediary between insurance companies and the broker’s clients. A broker such as KBD’s can shop around among insurance providers to find the best price and fit, helping you navigate the waters of the insurance world and finding the best policy out there for your needs.

KBD Insurance is a Quebec broker that can sell you an insurance policy from the likes of Intact, Economical, L’Unique, or Lloyd’s. We handle the sales and service side of things and can help you navigate a claim, but ultimately the insurance provider pays out.

Many data points regarding you and your home contribute to your final home insurance price. In general, here’s how it’s calculated: The value of the building multiplied by a set rate.

The rate can vary depending on the material your home is made of, but a realistic example would be $0.24 per $100 of material. The insurance broker will make that calculation, then multiply that number by the building cost of your home.

We recommend saving the headache of trying to do the math yourself, and simply getting an online quote right here!

Clearly, we’re a little biased. But for us it’s a resounding YES.

There’s nothing wrong with going with an insurance agent, and they can provide value for you. But one of the biggest advantages a home insurance broker can provide for you is their service. Often, they can have your back when you need them most, going to bat for you in the event an insurance company disputes your claim.

Trust us, we’ve seen it happen many times.

There are many reasons companies use brokers, but the broker model is the traditional insurance business model.

It’s not better or worse — some insurance companies lean heavily on insurance brokers to drum up business for them, while other insurance companies’ can grow more reliably without the use of brokers.

When an insurance company uses a broker, it’s like they’re outsourcing their sales and service to another company.

No. Insurance companies process claims.

While this is a subjective question — each client has a different profile — we suggest carrying a deductible of at least $1,000. Why? To save money. The higher your deductible, the lower your insurance premium will be. And since we recommend staying away from small claims, you don’t really need a small deductible.