Home Insurance in British Columbia

If you have a homeowner’s policy with Sonnet, you’re allowed to rent a portion of your home to a maximum of two people or a separate unit in your home to a family as long as you’re living there at the time.

If you’re not living there during the time it’s rented, or this isn’t your primary residence, then it’s not covered under your homeowner’s policy and you’ll need a landlord policy.

If you have a condo owner’s policy with Sonnet, you’re allowed to rent out your entire condo regardless of whether you’re living there or not. However, your coverage for burglary or theft is limited.

Heads up! If you have a long-term rental unit in your home and also rent out a portion on a short-term rental network, this could exceed the limitations of your policy. Please contact us if this applies to you and we’ll make sure you’ve got the right coverage.

For more information on insurance and short-term renting, check out our blog on short-term rental insurance 101.

If you upgrade your Custom Limits for your special belongings, you’ll receive our Above and Beyond home coverage, which adds three extra perks to your policy:

First Claim Forgiveness. This means your rate won’t increase after your first claim. We’ll pretend it didn’t even happen.

Replacement Cost Guarantee. You’ll have the flexibility to settle claims at replacement cost, even if you decide not to repair or replace the damaged items.

Enhanced Deductible Waiver. We’ll waive your deductible for claims of $10,000 or more. Sorry, this doesn’t include claims caused by earthquakes.

Heads up! These perks cannot be added to a tenant or landlord policy.

Whether it’s a house or a condo, buying a new property is a big investment. But, it’s more than a piece of property, it’s your home. That’s why it’s important for every home and condo owner to buy property insurance in Canada. Without property insurance, you’d be responsible for covering the cost if something were to happen to your home or your stuff, you’d have to pay out of pocket for covering the cost.

Plus, if you have a mortgage on your house or condo, your lender will also likely require you to have home insurance coverage.

During home insurance calculation, insurance companies look at a complex set of factors. These will determine the likelihood of you making a claim – and how much a claim could cost. The higher the likelihood is, the higher your premium will be.

Factors that can affect your home insurance premium include:

• Where your home is located 
  Based on your postal code, an insurer can find out how many claims are made in that area – and why they happen. For example, if your area has frequent windstorms, there could be more frequent claims for damage. This could cause your home premium to be higher than that of a house in an area that doesn’t have windstorms very often.
• Home age and condition 
  The older the building, the higher the likelihood of a claim. That’s because things like old wiring (fuses, for example) are a bigger risk for fire. And, old plumbing increases your risk of claims due to sudden leaks or burst pipes. 
• Heating equipment
  If your home is heated with oil (like it is in many rural areas), your premium could be higher. Oil tank leaks increase risk of damage and environmental hazards. Wood stoves are also a common source of house fires, so they could raise your payments, too. 
• Proximity to fire support 
  If your home is close to a fire station and fire hydrants – like in an urban area – your premium could be lower than a home in a rural location, where travel distance is longer. 
• Number of past claims 
  The longer you’ve been claims free, the lower your premium will be. If you’ve had a claim in the last year, you can expect your premium to go up at renewal. 
• Your age and other information about you 
  As you get older, your premium will tend to decrease. The fact is, many insurance providers consider homeowners with more experience as less risky to insure. Some insurers could also look at your credit score. 
• How you use your home 
  Do you rent out rooms or a basement unit in your house? Factors like this may also impact your premium since they can increase damage and liability risks. 

Yes, you can cover your vacation property with a separate home insurance policy. Your vacation home must be located in Canada.

If you’re not at your second home during the winter, there are a few things you’ll need to do to protect your home. Drain the plumbing system and close the water inlet to keep the pipes from freezing and bursting. If your vacation home has central heating, set the thermostat low enough to conserve energy but high enough to keep pipes from bursting. Burst pipes due to freezing isn’t covered under your vacation home coverage if you’ve been away from the property for more than 14 days and haven’t had anyone checking on it.

Depending on where you live, additional coverages are available to add on for certain events that aren’t covered by a standard home policy. These coverages are hail, sewer back up, overland water and earthquake. All of these coverages can be added when making your quote.

Already purchased? You can add on these coverages at any time through your account.

Well, it depends. If there are no more than two renters, you’re allowed to rent part of your house out under your Homeowners Policy. You’re also covered if you have one additional unit within your home that’s rented to one family only.

If you’re renting out a property separate from your home our Landlord Policy will make sure you’re covered if there’s any damage to items that belong to you and the property. Things like major appliances, fixtures or tools (a lawn mower or snow shovel are a couple of examples). If you live in your home, but you have more tenants than our Homeowners Policy allows for, you can purchase our Landlord Policy in addition, to cover you and your home adequately.