Ontario Condo Insurance

Personal Liability Coverage

The liability coverage on a condominium insurance policy is virtually idententical to the coverage on a homeowners policy. Liability coverage protects you in the event that a third party takes legal action against you or your family living in the household. Not only does liability coverage protect you if guests injure themselves on your property, but that same liability coverage can protect you from liability claims occuring anywhere in the world.

Personal Property

Condo insurance also includes coverage for your contents. The difference between contents coverage with homeowners and contents coverage for condominiums is that you get to choose your amount of coverage. This is where possible pitfalls can arise in the condo insurance world. Many believe that the Condo owner should insure their contents, and the Condominium Corporation will insure the building – this may not be the case.

Depending on the Standard Unit Definition and the Insurance requirements set out in the Condominium Declarations, you may find that the Condominium Corporation is simply insuring a concrete box and you are responsible for all drywall, fixtures and fittings. This is why it is important to have a knowledgeable insurance broker help you with the amount of content coverage on your policy. If you want to read more about insuring condos, please take a look at our blog post.

Unit Improvements and Betterments

This coverage is for the improvements you make to your condo unit. For example, if you upgraded the flooring, kitchen cabinets, or even the lighting fixtures. You spent your money and improved the condo unit not only for yourself, but also for the condominium corporation. If there is a loss to the condo unit while you own it, these upgrades you made should be insured. For this reason, condo insurance policies should have built in unit improvements and betterments.

Unit Additional Protection

The unit additional protection coverage is there if the condominium corporation has no insurance, inadequate insurance, or they are not properly covered. This could be a big deal is if they decide to chase the unit owners to cover their losses.

Loss Assessment

The loss assessment coverage on a condo policy will cover you against a special assessment by the Condominium Corporation should their insurance policy be inadequate to cover a loss to collectively owned property.

Extras

Condo units require a little extra knowledge and experience to insure properly than a homeowners insurance package. You have access to similar endorsements such as Sewer Backup Coverage, Overland Water Coverage, Earthquake Coverage, or Increased Special Limits to name a few.

Always remember that it is very important as a condo owner to know exactly what you are responsible for in your condo unit. If there is a total loss of your unit, it would be a shocking surprise if you are under insured and cannot rebuild your unit with the money that was paid out. For this reason, it is highly recommended that obtain the services of a lawyer to understand your condo agreement so that you can get the proper coverage for your needs.

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