# Home insurance rate increases?



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Just got my home insurance renewal notice. Premium is up ...by 41% over last year!! No claims, no changes.
Called to see if this was a mistake. "No...its correct...due to inflation, cost of bldg. materials, blah, blah, blah."
I've NEVER seen it go DOWN in 45 years! but, up by 40% in 1 year???!!!
Anyone else have similar experience lately? Sheesh!!!


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

jargey3000 said:


> Just got my home insurance renewal notice. Premium is up ...by 41% over last year!! No claims, no changes.
> Called to see if this was a mistake. "No...its correct...due to inflation, cost of bldg. materials, blah, blah, blah."
> I've NEVER seen it go DOWN in 45 years! but, up by 40% in 1 year???!!!
> Anyone else have similar experience lately? Sheesh!!!


I’m waiting for my renewal Dec 29. I usually Have the renewal docs by now, but they haven’t arrived. Not leaving a lot of time to comparison shop....which I hate....as my home and auto renew at different times.


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## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Money172375 said:


> I’m waiting for my renewal Dec 29. I usually Have the renewal docs by now, but they haven’t arrived. Not leaving a lot of time to comparison shop....which I hate....as my home and auto renew at different times.





Money172375 said:


> I’m waiting for my renewal Dec 29. I usually Have the renewal docs by now, but they haven’t arrived. Not leaving a lot of time to comparison shop....which I hate....as my home and auto renew at different times.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

Mine's down about 6%. But I shopped around, otherwise it would have been up 25%.


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

You might want to push a bit. Ours went up 20-30% for three years in a row. I called, and when pressed, she said we have something called a 'reducing deductable' Essentially, our deductible stays the same, but the premium for it gets reduced every five years with no claims. Once she calculated it, our bill went down by $300. Obviously they have never applied this reduction in the past, so it meant a lot for that year.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

Retired Peasant said:


> You might want to push a bit. Ours went up 20-30% for three years in a row. I called, and when pressed, she said we have something called a 'reducing deductable'


 ... does your policy or "renewal" policy actually tell you what your reduced deductible sit at otherwise this is the first I have heard of it. Sounds like an arbitrary number if your deductible isn't identified ... is it $200, $500, $1,000 or $10,000 of your own out of pocket expenses (atop of the "increased" premiums) should a claim arises.



> Essentially, our deductible stays the same, but the premium for it gets reduced every five years with no claims


... not following this. Given the rational above, how can premiums be reduced (presumably claims-free) when the deductible remains the same? Premiums only go down if the deductible increases.



> Once she calculated it, our bill went down by $300. Obviously they have never applied this reduction in the past, so it meant a lot for that year.


 ... ???? ... from the insurance company.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

off.by.10 said:


> Mine's down about 6%. But I shopped around, otherwise it would have been up 25%.


 ... a friend of mine's had a 40% increase in her auto-premiums despite being claims free for decades. A call-in to the insurance company resulted in a courtesy of a 5% discount (max, no matter what)... whoppeee! Needless to say, she shopped around and found a competitive quote (about the same as her old premiums with all coverages remaining the same). Stayed on for another 2 years with no increase in 2nd, and a slight in 3rd. Then she no longer had to shop around as she decided to ditch her car altogether. Saved a ton of $$$ all around ... from the oil companies, the insurance companies and the occasional bodyshop. Mind you, she lived in the city so a car is not a necessity.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

While on the topic........what’s your deductible? And your personal liability limit?


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Money172375 said:


> While on the topic........what’s your deductible? And your personal liability limit?


looks like water-$2000 wind-$1000 allother-$1000
liability-$2million

I've never had a claim in 40 years.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Had ours in June. It went up 25 percent! I went on line, got a quote as a new customer. Identical to the previous coverage. It came in at the old rate, ie 24 percent less than the renewal cost. 

Called. They said it was because I got the quote on a different system. Asked them to sign me up as a new customer vs a renewal. They agreed. Also shopped it to ensure the premium was in the ball park.


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## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Ours has not increased significantly over the past 5 yrs. We live in an above average home in Kelowna and our annual premium is $921. for the following coverages:
Dwelling: $607,000
Personal ppty: $485,000
Additional living exp: 121,000.
Overall limit: $1,274,000

Other:
Pers. Liab:$2,000,000.
$1,000. deductible
Sewer and drain back-up
Overland water
service line coverage

Discounts:
local alarm, claims free, preferred customer, mature discount

The agency used to insure us with Family Insurance but then became a Direct Underwriter under the name of Westland Insurance. In other words, the policy was purchased from Westland and they are also the underwriter.
On the flip side, our condo strata insurance has has increased from un der $30,000. pa to close to $100,000. Mind you, the strata suffered a very large claim a few years ago due to a fire caused by a contractor doing some work on the building. A number of unit were destroyed and the claim was very large.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I once had a similar experience when we were with TD Meloche-Monnex. Their reason for increase was that, based on their rebuild cost data, the insured value of our home had to be increased. We wouldn't have been able to sell our waterfront home including 3/4 acre land for the number they used!

After detailed research, I proved that they were wrong. They then sent a new independent appraiser. He did not disagree with my valuation, but he erroneously told the insurance company that home had been built prior to 1968. This resulted in a higher risk and higher rates! Higher than their original premium! Even although I provided proof of the appraiser's error, they would not change the premium! I was retired and had plenty of time so didn't mind the time I had put in. Their agent also spent many hours and they ,also incurred the appraisal costs - all just to lose my business! It was a pleasure to tell them I was moving on 

Your home insurance covers the cost of replacing your home in event of a fire. This cost is what largely affects the premium. The numbers TD M-M used 'may' have been correct for some locations, but not where we live. Somebody in an office somewhere determines the rate with no real knowledge of the actual home they have insured.

We moved on to State Farm, and when they became part of Desjardin (The un-Personal!), we immediately moved on to CAA where we have had all our insurance for some time. Their valuation is realistic and we kept cost down by eliminating some coverages - Such as external water damage or backed up sewers, neither of which we need. We have 2Million liability and pay about $750/yr plus tax for a ~2000 sq.ft home with a detached 800sq.ft garage.

So....... Jargey, shop around !


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We live in Calgary. We anticipated a large increase in premiums. We have experienced the highest claims in Canada over each of the past few years. I was happy just to hold the line at same as last year.

Auto insurance went up by about 4 percent over last year.


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## Gator13 (Jan 5, 2020)

Ours premium jumped as well, even with no claims or change in coverage. I spoke to the insurance company and they said the increase was primarily due to rising property/home prices as well as contents. I was able to negotiate the premium down a bit and also received a further discount because we replaced our shingles and hot water heater in 2020.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

What website are you guys using for quotes? I used to be a big fan of Kanetix for years and years, then either got bought out or merged or changed practices and I'm not a fan at all.

My auto policy stayed the same, but home went up 25%. Probably a fall out from COVID, and has absolutely no basis in claims in my area.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Yeah, most things, taxes, utilities, insurance are going up by more than inflation.
Just wages are holding back.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

MrMatt said:


> Yeah, most things, taxes, utilities, insurance are going up by more than inflation.
> Just wages are holding back.


Just the way they like it.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We deal with TD for home and auto. Have done so ever since State Farm got sold and we were unhappy with the new firm. Rates jumped 30 percent, plus they increased our deductables so we walked.

We check our rates on both every two years. On multi vendor sites and individual sites. It is very easy, takes 10 minutes or less to determine if your premium is in ball park or if you should shop around

A few years ago I read a consumer article in a UK paper. They did a review to determine if new policy buyers got better prices, OR...if long time loyal customers got rewarded with higher prices. Auto and home. The result was that loyal customers paid more simply because they were the ones who just accepted increases, small or large, and paid the bill. Canadians are an apathic lot so we assumed this was happening in Canada. This sharpened us up a little.

In the past we have also dealt with insurance brokers and been happy with the service and the price. Our experience this year clearly demonstrated that there were two prices....one for renewals, another for new business.

edit...I now remember what prompted us to check with TD Insurance. My daughter and SIL operate a construction company and a wholesale specialty wood/hadware business in Ft. Mac. They have lived there for years. One thing they mentioned was how good some insurance companies were after the fire and how poor others were. The feedback on TD was among the very best in terms of acting on claims, rebuilds, payouts etc. compared to many others. This was based based on feedback from the trades, their friends/associates, etc.. Based on that feedback we decided to get a quote and subsequently buy from TD.


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## Retiredguy (Jul 24, 2013)

Would be nice if posters identified their city, region or at least Province as Ian did. I'm in metro Vancouver. My house insurance renews in the spring and I've been with Wawanesa for many years. Last year I got a quote from Intact. It was more than my renewal for less coverage in some parts more in others. It's like a lot of things, challenging to get a direct apple's to apple's quote. For instance I insure a boat/motor and Intact said I had to have a separate policy for that whereas Wawanesa provides coverage. intacts quote was more even with no boat coverage but the total amount of house insurance provided was about 10% more than Wawanesa. Both companies had the same rating info which I had to provide, describing my house, boat etc.

Added: Correction . Quote was from Westland Insurance not Intact.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Got my renewal earlier this week, it actually went down a bit. I called to get overland and ground water protection and increase my coverage to $50,000 for water, sewer backup. Also raised my deductible To $5000. In the end, I’m paying the same but with twice the dollar amount of coverage for water damage in addition to the new ground water protection. Downside was the increase in deductible.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

The disappointing part......not sure if this is a new fee or one that is just now being disclosed, but I pay $6 a month for the privilege of paying monthly vs. A one time annual payment. They call it an installation payment fee.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ Not new ... also known as an "administration" fee to collect from you every month just like the bank pathetically dinging you $2 to $2.50 per month just for holding a bank book.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Beaver101 said:


> ^ Not new ... also known as an "administration" fee to collect from you every month just like the bank pathetically dinging you $2 to $2.50 per month just for holding a bank book.


Gotta pay for those unreliable passbook printers.

are passbooks still around for those that had them? IIRC, you couldn’t request one on a new account.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

Money172375 said:


> Gotta pay for those unreliable passbook printers.


 ... aka contributions to the shareholders' coffers.



> are passbooks still around for those that had them? IIRC, you couldn’t request one on a new account.


 ... yes as this is the only record-keeping one (an elderly friend) has. You wouldn't expect an 80+ year old non-English speaking person to start learning how to use online banking or print their own statements?


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

If they were 79, I would.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

My friend just reached out to me, he is paying $4000 a year in Milton. Did an online quote and found him better coverage for less than $2000. I wonder how long he was paying $4k


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## Alberto (Dec 18, 2020)

I've recently bought a house and the rate was at 6% when I've bought it, and not even a month later, it went up to 10%. It was terrible


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

We just received our insurance renewal documents from CAA.

Our home replacement and other values were increased nominally. Then they applied a 10% Covid discount. Overall just up a small amount. $787/yr plus tax for 2000sq.ft home with unattached 4-car size garage. The fee for monthly payments is 3%. These recurring payments can be paid by credit card. With our Scotia Momentum card, we get 4% cash back so essentially don't pay that fee,

There are a couple of freebees with the CAA home insurance.

Tire repair coverage
4-day multi trip travel health coverage
free24/7 legal assistance for any issue

We have our Auto insurance with CAA. They just announced an increase in the Covid rebate from 10 to 15%. But you have to apply on-line for the additional 5% if your renewal is before June 15th,


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

I can understand a covid rebate on auto, since you're driving less, but home?


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

renewal season is here again. Another 10% increase. Now, I’m at about $2400 annually. Insurance co. Arbitrarily raised my ”total coverage” from $2 million to $3 million citing inflationary factors of rebuild costs in case of fire/flood.

tried to do an online quote with Intact. Came in lower, but the quote didn’t ask about some of the higher cost factors that will drive my premium up. I hate shopping for home insurance. My rural location and fireplace/wood stoves make it a lengthy process.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

I've been with my insurer for many years and yes, increases every year it seems. This year was the last straw, when they decided my 10 yr old home would not only have another increase, but also have 6% or 7% per yr deduction for any possible storm damage to roofing/fascias/exterior etc. So basically they were telling me that I would only have 30% coverage and of course a deductible and no, I haven't made any claims. Time to switch insurers, saved money too. I think it pays to review insurance coverages every few years and get alternative quotes.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-home-insurance-1.6262386


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

Mechanic said:


> I think it pays to review insurance coverages every few years and get alternative quotes.


Indeed, I think the most I've ever stayed with a single provider is two or three years. Usually there's another player with a better offer by then.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

I had one provider tell me, years ago..."don't shop around every year. don't do that - you'll get a reputation..." 
Wonder why he'd say that...


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

We stayed with Economical since 1986. They are sending us a nice cheque from their IPO

If you have been with a nutual insurance company, you might want to stick around for a bit to see if they go public too.

Economical is looking around for some small mutual companies to gobble up.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Just got my renewal. Up 17% yOY due to increase in severe weather occurrences and increased rebuild costs.


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