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General information only. This isn’t insurance advice: your policy always has the final say.

Guide · Home insurance

What your home insurance pays for

Whether you rent, own a condo or own a house, your policy works the same way. What changes is what you need to insure.

In short

Your policy pays for three things: your damaged or stolen belongings, damage you cause to others, and a place to stay if you have to leave. On every claim, you pay the deductible first. Some risks, like sewer backup, need an add-on.

The three things your policy pays for

1

Your belongings

And the building, if you own it

Your furniture, clothes, devices and personal items. If you own the house, the house too. In a condo, your improvements, like a new kitchen.

Example
A stovetop fire damages your couch and TV. Your insurer pays to replace them, minus your deductible.
2

Damage you cause to others

Civil liability

You accidentally damage someone’s property, or injure someone? This coverage pays for the damage, and for your defence if you’re sued.

Example
Your bathtub overflows and water damages the ceiling of the unit below. Your liability coverage pays for their repairs.
3

A place to stay during repairs

Additional living expenses

A covered loss forces you out of your home? Insurance pays what goes beyond your normal spending.

Example
After a fire you live in a hotel for 2 months. Insurance pays for the hotel. For meals, it pays the difference between eating out and your usual groceries.

How to read the first page of your policy

This page is called the declarations page. It sums up your policy: your coverages, your amounts and your deductible. Open the fictional example and tap a line to see what it means.

See the example
Home insurance · declarations · fictional example
Flood

The line to read twice

This coverage wasn’t bought. If the river overflows and floods the basement, your insurer would pay nothing. Lines like this are where surprises come from.

Named perils or all risks: what’s the difference?

Named perils

The policy lists the events it covers: fire, theft, lightning… If it isn’t on the list, it isn’t covered.

All risks (broad form)

Everything is covered, except what the policy excludes. It’s broader, but there are always exclusions.

Example
You spill a can of paint on your carpet. With named perils, it isn’t covered: a spill isn’t on the list. With all risks, it’s generally covered, minus the deductible.

How much will you get for a stolen or destroyed item?

It depends on what your policy says. With replacement cost, you get today’s price for an equivalent new model, if you replace it. With actual cash value, wear and age are taken off that price.

Example Your 55-inch TV, bought 5 years ago, is stolen. Your deductible is $500.
Price paid 5 years ago
$1,200
Price of an equivalent new model today
$900
Wear after 5 years (about 60%)
− $540
With replacement cost$400$900 minus the $500 deductible, if you buy the new TV
With actual cash value$0It’s worth $360, less than the deductible, so you get nothing

Fictional example. Today’s price is what counts, not what you paid. The wear rate varies by item and insurer.

The deductible: the part you pay

On every claim, you first pay a fixed amount: the deductible. The insurer pays the rest. A higher deductible often lowers the premium, but you pay more on the day something happens.

Example$4,000 of damage, $1,000 deductible: the insurer pays $3,000. For $800 of damage it pays nothing, since that’s less than the deductible.

What isn’t always included

These risks often need an endorsement: a coverage added to your policy, with its own premium.

Water

The sewer backs up into your basement after a storm. Covered only with a sewer backup endorsement.
Snow melts and water comes in through the basement windows. Covered only with an endorsement for water coming from the ground.
Heavy rain comes in through the roof. Covered only with an endorsement for water coming from above ground.
The pipe that brings water from the street to the house breaks. Covered only with a water service line endorsement.
A river or lake overflows and floods the house. Covered only with flood coverage. It isn’t always offered in flood zones.

The names of these endorsements vary from one insurer to another. Each often has its own limit, for example $10,000, and the deductible applies.

How you use your home, and valuables

You rent your home on Airbnb, or see clients at home. Tell your insurer first: without an endorsement, damage linked to that use may not be covered.Same for a home left empty more than 30 days in a row.
A $6,000 ring is stolen. Policies often pay up to a jewellery limit, for example $2,000. An endorsement would have covered its full value.Bikes, instruments and collections often have similar limits.

What no insurance covers

Insurance covers what happens suddenly, by accident. What wears out over time stays your cost, whatever the insurer or endorsement.

Wear and lack of maintenance. A roof at the end of its life, a clogged weeping tile, a cracked bathtub seal.A worn roof that has leaked for months: not covered. A tree falling on the roof in a storm: covered.
Slow leaks. A leak that goes on for weeks under the sink or behind the shower, whether you knew or not.A pipe that bursts all at once: covered. The same pipe seeping for six months and rotting the floor: not covered.
Mice, insects and mould that settle in little by little.

These are mostly avoided through upkeep: see “Preventing damage” →

Did you know?
In Quebec, water causes about 40% of what insurers pay out in home insurance. It’s the leading cause of claims.Source: 2018 Quebec home insurance data, cited by MétéoMédia.

What you have to do

Tell your insurer what changes the risk. When you take out the policy, then every time it changes: renovations, a wood stove, a new roommate, renting out.
An example, and what the law says
You install a wood stove without saying so. Your premium should have gone from $800 to $1,000. Then a fire causes $10,000 of damage.If you acted in good faith and the insurer would still have covered you, it pays in proportion to the premium it received: $800 out of $1,000. You get $8,000.If there was bad faith, or if the insurer would never have accepted the risk, it pays nothing. For a false statement made when taking out the policy, it can also have the policy annulled.Source: Civil Code of Québec, articles 2408, 2410, 2411 and 2466.
After damage, tell your insurer quickly. Protect your property so it doesn’t get worse: shut off the water, tarp the roof. Keep photos and receipts.

A question about your own policy?

This site explains the general rules. Only your insurer can say what your policy covers: ask your agent or broker. This site doesn’t make recommendations. To choose coverage, also talk to a certified professional.

  • Check an agent or broker: AMF register, at lautorite.qc.ca
  • Insurance information: Autorité des marchés financiers
  • General insurance questions: Centre d’information sur les assurances, 514-288-4321 or 1-877-288-4321
  • Injuries in a car accident: SAAQ
  • Professional conduct: Chambre de l’assurance de dommages