What is contents insurance? — A comprehensive guide for homeowners in Canada
Contents insurance (also commonly referred to as contents coverage) is an invaluable form of home insurance that financially protects your personal belongings from a wide range of risks and perils.
Here’s an example:
An unexpected lightning storm causes a forest fire which spreads to your home. The fire causes thousands of dollars worth of damage to a variety of your belongings, like your furniture, appliances and clothing. In this scenario, you could use your contents insurance to cover all or a portion of the losses related to your personal belongings (depending on your coverage limits and subject to the deductible).
Contents home insurance can also cover items located outside of your home.
Here’s an example:
Someone steals your backpack from your vehicle while it’s parked in a public parking lot. Your backpack was full of expensive personal items like your smartphone, laptop, tablet, etc. In this scenario, you could use your contents insurance to cover all or a portion of your losses (depending on your coverage limits and subject to the deductible).
What does contents insurance cover in Canada?
Contents insurance financially protects homeowners’ belongings from several risks and perils. Most contents insurance policies can protect homeowners’ belongings from the following events:
- Fire and smoke damage
- Water damage (not including overland flood damage or sewer backup damage)
- Lightning
- Wind and hail storms
- Explosions
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
It’s worth noting that most home insurance companies have a few category-specific stipulations that prevent homeowners from using their contents insurance under certain circumstances. Speak with your Surex insurance advisor if you’d like to learn more about what is covered by contents insurance in Canada.
What’s the difference between contents insurance and comprehensive insurance?
This is a great question! Contents insurance and comprehensive insurance are somewhat similar, but there are some major differences that policyholders should be aware of before making a final decision.
As mentioned earlier, house contents insurance financially protects homeowners’ belongings if they are damaged by an unforeseen risk or peril (like one of the events mentioned above). However, contents insurance does not cover losses related to other parts of your home, so it isn’t the best solution if you want to protect your entire property.
This is where comprehensive coverage comes into play. Comprehensive coverage is a unique form of optional home insurance that protects policyholders in a number of different ways. Like contents insurance, comprehensive insurance can cover losses related to damaged personal items.
*Please note that you cannot purchase comprehensive insurance if you don't own the property.*
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Comprehensive coverage also financially protects other aspects of your home. We’ll use the house fire example from earlier to explain:
An unexpected lightning storm causes a forest fire which spreads to your home. The fire causes thousands of dollars worth of damage to a variety of your belongings, like your furniture, appliances and clothing. The fire also causes an enormous amount of damage to your flooring, walls, ceiling and roof.
Your contents insurance would only be able to cover losses related to your personal belongings. But, if you have comprehensive insurance, then you can use your comprehensive insurance to cover losses relating to your personal belongings and the other damaged aspects of your property (with some stipulations, speak with your Surex insurance advisor to learn more).
In short, contents insurance is a fantastic option for homeowners that want to protect their high-value possessions, whereas comprehensive coverage is better suited for homeowners who want a broader scope of coverage for their homes.
Reminder: Contents insurance does not cover any damage to your building, so if you own your home, you should always purchase comprehensive insurance.
Is contents insurance worth it in the long run?
Yes! Contents insurance is a great option for policyholders that want to protect their high-value belongings.
Even though adding contents coverage can influence your insurance rates, the additional peace of mind that you get is well worth it. If anything happens to your belongings, you can always rely on your contents insurance.
How do you get quotes for contents insurance in Canada?
In the past, homeowners had to contact insurance companies over the phone in order to compare home insurance quotes. Although this method did work, it was quite time-consuming for the policyholder.
Fast forward to today, and there’s a quicker, easier way to shop for home insurance: teaming up with an online insurance brokerage like Surex.
Online insurance brokerages like Surex have streamlined the shopping process for policyholders in Canada. Instead of calling each insurer individually, you can compare multiple quotes at the same time with your Surex insurance advisor.
Best of all, online insurance brokers can leverage their working relationships with Canada’s top home insurance providers in order to help policyholders like you save a significant amount on your insurance premium.
Want to save up to 25% on your insurance premium? Bundle with a Surex insurance partner today!
At Surex, we don’t see our policyholders as customers; we see them as family members. So when you ask one of your insurance advisors to help you compare home insurance quotes, you know that they’ve got you covered.
Our talented insurance advisors can help you find and compare some of the most competitively priced insurance quotes in ten minutes or less.
Contact us today to get started and to learn how we can help you save up to 25% when you bundle multiple policies with the same provider!
