# Car Insurance. House I snurance



## Danny (Oct 17, 2012)

52 years old. My insurance policy is coming up on Oct 1 and its been awhile since I have shop priced around. I am planning to do it this time. For my mortgages in the past I always used a mortgage broker and was happy with the service. Do people recommend testing things out with an Insurance broker or do you just call 4 or 5 companies. I am in the city of Ottawa if anyone has any suggestions.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Shopping around often does yield better results. No need to call around, just plug your info into www.kanetix.ca or www.insurancehotline.com


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

Danny said:


> 52 years old. My insurance policy is coming up on Oct 1 and its been awhile since I have shop priced around. I am planning to do it this time. *For my mortgages in the past I always used a mortgage broker and was happy with the service. *Do people recommend testing things out with an Insurance broker or do you just call 4 or 5 companies. I am in the city of Ottawa if anyone has any suggestions.


 ... can you not ask your mortgage broker for recommendations, or as a 'value-added' service? 

Unless you have a business, using an insurance broker for auto/home insurance might turn out to be expensive. For DIYers, STech's links will save you time on calling up several companies.


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

Beaver101 said:


> ... can you not ask your mortgage broker for recommendations, or as a 'value-added' service?
> Unless you have a business, using an insurance broker for auto/home insurance might turn out to be expensive. For DIYers, STech's links will save you time on calling up several companies.


Not true. I, and my extended family, have been using the same insurance broker in a small town in Ontario for over 25 years. From time to time I have gone out to the websites and priced compared them. They've always been within $20 or $50 a year of comparables.

They've also been useful as a sounding board on other insurance topics over the years. For instance, because of our financial situation they talked me out of disability insurance. I doubt an insurance company call centre would have done that.

However, if you must purchase insurance directly, might I be allowed to recommend the ones I hold stock in... :tears_of_joy: lol


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## 319905 (Mar 7, 2016)

Danny said:


> 52 years old. My insurance policy is coming up on Oct 1 and its been awhile since I have shop priced around. I am planning to do it this time. For my mortgages in the past I always used a mortgage broker and was happy with the service. Do people recommend testing things out with an Insurance broker or do you just call 4 or 5 companies. I am in the city of Ottawa if anyone has any suggestions.


I'm in Ottawa too, I've been happy with these guys for house and jeep ... http://www.rhodeswilliams.com/


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

We were with State Farm, but when they got sold to Desjardin, rates and some conditions changed. We checked around and found that CAA had competitive rates and offered a small member discount. So we went with them. They have an on-line site where you can get quotations. We like that they have an office and agent near us that we can actually talk to! Unlike the strictly on-line companies where you don't have a personal agent.


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## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

Costco, CAA and some employers etc have group discounts or plans for members. Also ifyou are a member of certains groups or alumae. . My son pays close to 30% less on his car insurance because he is an engineer. At age 22 that is a big saving.
Consider a different level of insurance- most companies offer several. On both home and auto. Understand the limitations of each.
Consider changing your deductable.
Make sure you get all the discounts you qualify for - close to fire hydrant, alarm system, non smoker, over age 50 or 60, multi product discount etc etc.
Make sure you understand what each line is on your policy and if you need that coverage.
If you have recently upgraded your furnace, removed wood fireplace, new roof, updated electrical paneletc.
All of these can change your coverage and premium.


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## Danny (Oct 17, 2012)

Some good suggestions. Thanks.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We moved our home insurance up to $2500 deductable. This served to reduce the premium. Our reasoning was simple. We would not put in a claim for less because the insurer would increase our premiums over the next several years. Besides, our goal is to insure ourselves for the really big events that result in very costly damage. We shopped, and we talked to others who had experienced claims with the insurer.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

STech said:


> Shopping around often does yield better results. No need to call around, just plug your info into www.kanetix.ca or www.insurancehotline.com


+1


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## Danny (Oct 17, 2012)

Ok so I am getting some quotes together. What kind of policy do you people have on your house. House is worth around 400k. No mortgage. Any suggestions?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Just make sure you check what "perils" are and are not covered in each policy.

If one insurer covers "over land" flood damage and another doesn't.............the level of risk is different and thus the quotes are different.


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## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

It is not what your house is worth ( that is a land and building value) -it is the cost to rebuild or repair that counts for insurance.

Some policies cover 100% of building value for contents. Others can be as low as 60%. Some are replacement value, some are actual value.
Get replacement. If you have a lot of stuff go for 100%. If you are frugal and have simple stuff you can get away with lower content coverage.
Note, companies that offer lower % coverage may not be cheaper. Compare apples to apples.
All perils vs specified perils etc


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## motl (Mar 3, 2014)

A bit late but perhaps useful.

1. A broker can be useful because they have access to multiple companies. Larger brokers may have access to 10+, but you only really need access to the bigger names (ie. Intact, Economical, Aviva, Wawanesa, Travelers, Gore, etc.). A broker can quote those markets at once and do most of the legwork for you. Then if you want to shop around in a few years, it's very easy to ask your broker to compare those markets again. This is something you miss out on with a direct writer like CAA, Co-Operators, State Farm, etc. They only sell their products so you have to do more work to see if you're getting good value.

2. These days unless your home has some serious exposure issues, every major company is going to sell you a comprehensive package (all perils except those listed as exlusions are covered). Just confirm when reviewing quotes with your broker that it's a comp package. Most companies also include Guaranteed Replacement Cost (so it doesn't matter if they unintentionally undervalue the rebuild cost) and Single Limit of Insurance (which removes the limits on contents, detached buildings, etc. and rolls everything into one big limit). Again, just ask that these be included. 

3. Homeowners packages are pretty straight forward these days and don't vary much between companies. Your biggest decisions involve the deductible (never do $500), endorsements (like Sewer Backup, Overland Water, etc.) and scheduling specific high-value items if required. But again, those offerings are similar across most companies. 

Auto insurance is basically the same everywhere except minor differences in things like Accident Forgiveness. You'll be best off just have a broker shop both to find a market that gives you the best bundled price.

Many good brokers in Ottawa. Rhodes was mentioned and is a good option, as are Trigon and Smith Petrie. Avoid Brokerlink.

Hope that helps.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

You need to compare different companies and change every so often. I have noticed that they prefer new policies over renewals and often given incentives to new customers. There is no one company that is generally cheaper - its really specific to individual needs.

Every couple of years I switch company - I limit myself to 3-4 companies.....for some reason, they seem to forget I was a client and keep treating me as a new client when I call every second year.

I made sure all my houses and cars policies expired at the same time to make the transitions easier.

As for coverage, stick to the basics and as others have mentioned, get a high deductible in order to decrease premium.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Mortgage u/w said:


> You need to compare different companies and change every so often. I have noticed that they prefer new policies over renewals and often given incentives to new customers. There is no one company that is generally cheaper - its really specific to individual needs.
> 
> Every couple of years I switch company - I limit myself to 3-4 companies.....for some reason, they seem to forget I was a client and keep treating me as a new client when I call every second year.
> 
> ...


Second on keeping Car and Auto together, the multi-policy discount tends to be pretty significant.
If you have group insurance, try that first, then call a local broker.
You don't want to spend hours and hours to save a few dollars, it's a competitive industry and while there will be a few outliers with crazy high rates, the lower priced ones are generally pretty close.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

I am in shock today. Just renewed my car insurance. It went down in cost. Second year renewal with TD Meloche. Could be attributable to the new postal code/address.


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## Danny (Oct 17, 2012)

After checking around quite a bit I ended up going with TD Meloche. Did manage to get a corporate discount through them and with my employer. Saved about 400.00 a year total for both the house and car. Not bad for a few hours work....


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## 2mchtx (Sep 8, 2017)

We presently have TD Mel. as well. I have found however that they are limited to 'modern' vehicles. 
They will not cover my 30+ year old motorcycles. The rates for the older motor home are higher than a regular vehicle even though it is driven less. 
I did look at State Farmer and though they charge more they will cover the vintage stuff.
Will shop around some more.
thanks


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

MrMatt said:


> Second on keeping Car and Auto together, the multi-policy discount tends to be pretty significant.


oddly, separating our saved us over $500. And the cars are with CAA now, who people have often said are expensive but we got a smokin' deal from them. I think the lesson is - call around and call around some more.... you may get a drastically different rate than someone in another neighbourhood/postal code etc. and maybe even the same neighbourhood.


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## DollaWine (Aug 4, 2015)

I've been with Belairdirect for 3 years and just got an email saying my policy is up for renewal... new quote? $40/year increase. I shopped around on Kanetix and found one that was $400/year cheaper. Going to lock it in.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

DollaWine said:


> I've been with Belairdirect for 3 years and just got an email saying my policy is up for renewal... new quote? $40/year increase. I shopped around on Kanetix and found one that was $400/year cheaper. Going to lock it in.



Belaire has been good to us for the past 8 years as well. I always shop around every year before renewal. The only unfortunate part is that they won't insure our house because we're a little further from a fire station than they like. I've noticed in the last couple of years, their accident forgiveness portion has gone up much more than others, but if the overall rate is good, we'll renew. I also got 2M liability from them for just an extra $30/yr, and that's a pretty good deal.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We felt that Bel Aire tried to screw us. We were with State Farm for a long time-they sold the business. Thirty percent increase in premium from the previous Bel Air policiy and the deductable on the car was moved from 500 to 1K. When I asked why I got a lot of mumbo jumbo. 

Shopped, and found an new insurer.


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## motl (Mar 3, 2014)

ian said:


> I am in shock today. Just renewed my car insurance. It went down in cost. Second year renewal with TD Meloche. Could be attributable to the new postal code/address.


More than likely, yes. 



STech said:


> Belaire has been good to us for the past 8 years as well. I always shop around every year before renewal. The only unfortunate part is that they won't insure our house because we're a little further from a fire station than they like. I've noticed in the last couple of years, their accident forgiveness portion has gone up much more than others, but if the overall rate is good, we'll renew. I also got 2M liability from them for just an extra $30/yr, and that's a pretty good deal.


That's pretty standard. Most insurers charge $20-30 extra for $2 million.



hystat said:


> oddly, separating our saved us over $500. And the cars are with CAA now, who people have often said are expensive but we got a smokin' deal from them. I think the lesson is - call around and call around some more.... you may get a drastically different rate than someone in another neighbourhood/postal code etc. and maybe even the same neighbourhood.


This is pretty important given that most insurers use individualized rating structures now. That means they look at the individual characteristics of the risk (meaning the property and its owner), so things like postal code, size of home, type of construction, year built, claims history, insurance history, mortgages (yes/no), your credit, etc. are all taken into account. Just because your neighbor was quoted X doesn't mean you'll receive the same quote. It's entirely possible for people living side-by-side to pay different premiums (possibly even a big gap) depending on the factors above. 

And yes, multi-policy discount isn't always the best way to save money. It requires that the company you're looking at has competitive rates for both home and auto, which isn't always the case. Sometimes the base rates for one product line won't be nearly low enough for the ~15% discount to be worth it. If you call many different direct writers (or use a broker) you may sometimes find that one company is below market on the auto and another is below market on the property, and it may be your best package deal to go with both instead of combining.


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