# House insurance increases



## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Hi everyone,

I'm curious to hear your house insurance increases in the last few years. More specifically, I'm a little outside of the GTA in Ontario. Over the past 4 years, my rates have gone up nearly 70%. I've never made a claim, and I've become mortgage free in that time frame.

I'm told that flooding is now the major issue and totally behind the massive increases. I believe some of that, but also realize insurance companies in Ontario took a small hit on auto premiums when the Liberal government promised a 15% reduction in rates (which turned out to be smoke and mirrors as expected).


How bad have the increases been in your neck of the woods? Have you done anything to help offset the rising costs? And I'm trying to decide on the worthiness of "enhanced water protection package" that I'm buying, but it's really not that easy since the language is confusing, and the exclusions list is a mile long anyways.


Thanks

PS....if there's a thread like this already, please point me to it. Somehow search isn't working well on my phone.


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

STech said:


> I'm told that flooding is now the major issue and totally behind the massive increases. I believe some of that, but also realize insurance companies in Ontario took a small hit on auto premiums when the Liberal government promised a 15% reduction in rates (which turned out to be smoke and mirrors as expected).
> How bad have the increases been in your neck of the woods? Have you done anything to help offset the rising costs? And I'm trying to decide on the worthiness of "enhanced water protection package" that I'm buying, but it's really not that easy since the language is confusing, and the exclusions list is a mile long anyways.


Ha. I just asked about this on a different forum as well. Seems scammy to me so far. We are in the Hamilton area. Here is what I posted:

We were notified in August by our insurance company that they were changing our policy to include coverage for damage by "surface water"
Which by their new definition is: "The accumulation of natural precipitation that pools temporarily over the surface of the ground or other paved or artificial surfaces" 

They bundled it with the sewer backup protection and increased our premiums by 27% I found that to be a hefty increase percentage wise although it is a fairly small amount in real dollars (+/- $150/yr) 

I was inclined to let it go since I thought the increased coverage could be of use but we recently got a follow up letter from our insurance broker.
It included at the end a rather peculiar paragraph that caused me some concern. It is almost like the broker is trying to warn us that this new coverage is useless. 

"It is important to understand that {INSURANCE COMPANY} has revised their policy wording to clearly state that there will be NO COVERAGE for losses caused in whole or in part by these excluded types of damage, even if damage is concurrently caused by sewer back-up or surface water. For example, a heavy rainfall can cause surface water to enter your home around windows or doors, and concurrently, seepage/ground water to enter through basement walls. Because seepage/ground water has contributed to the damage, the entire loss would not be covered"

The excluded types being the normal floods/seepage/water mains. My concern is they use the (for them) good luck of concurrent damage by two different types of water intrusion to deny all damages no matter how caused.

I am going to discuss it with the broker but of course our rep. is on holiday for a couple of weeks.
====
added: still haven't gotten around to calling the broker.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Thanks for the quick reply Koogie. Seems like we're very much in the same boat. My increases are also not overly large, dollar wise, but percentage wise it's out of whack, and doesn't sit well with me at all. The other one charge in small print they keep sneaking in is $60 a year for "claims advantage", which will supposedly not raise my rates if I make a claim....but get this, it doesn't cover water related claims. I'm waiting to hear back from my broker, but to me, it really seems like this "enhanced" water protection is really not worth the surcharge I'm paying.


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## mark0f0 (Oct 1, 2016)

I know lots of people who have seen significantly rising rates, but once they consult with their insurance brokers, usually they can find equivalent coverage from another provider for only a small incremental increase (largely due to the insurers not being able to invest their retained funds at high interest rates). Basically, its like those discounted first months free gym memberships -- they give you a good deal to "get you in the door", and then they rely upon customers to just pay their bills rather than go shopping around. So you have to churn, and churn often, if you want to keep your insurance costs/coverage reasonable.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

mark0f0 said:


> ......they give you a good deal to "get you in the door", and then they rely upon customers to just pay their bills rather than go shopping around.



They do that for sure. Even though they tell me I'm receiving a slight discount for being a "loyal customer". I always shop around when renewal offers come in. It seems like they all have started increasing their rates sharply and steadily. It used to be that house insurance was reasonable and stable, but now it's no different than auto insurance. As a matter of fact, this year I'll pay a little less for the car insurance than house insurance.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

Also, we seem to have had a lot of major flooding/forest fire events in the last couple of years. It is likely impacting their risk assessment models.


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## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

Does your broker know you have paid off your mortgage. This sometimes gives a small discount.
These vary by company but worth a try.
Monitored alarm system
Wired in smoke detectors.
Non- smoker, abstainer
Steel roof
Over age 55 or 60
Updated wiring or panel
Updated bathrooms/ kitchen although this may go the wrong way.
Backwater valve in basement
Removal of wood heating.

Certain professions or alumni get group discounts through certain companies. Ie engineers, u of t grads, carp members etc.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

twa2w said:


> Does your broker know you have paid off your mortgage. This sometimes gives a small discount.



He was one of the first to know, and it was good for roughly 12% off. Definitely nice to get, but still pails in comparison to the increases.

I totally understand that weather patterns have changed, and basements now are full of big screen TVs and finished bedrooms, but the extra premiums they have pushed through hardly seem to give any extra protection.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

STech said:


> ...but the extra premiums they have pushed through hardly seem to give any extra protection.


No, they are probably to cover the cost of several major events the insurance companies had to pay for in the last couple of years (Toronto flooding, Alberta fires, western flooding, etc...).


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## christinad (Apr 30, 2013)

I feel like every year it is going up $100. If this continues the price will be astronomical eventually. I'm definitely shopping around.

Edit i just checked my insurance and it has gone up $48.00 for the past 2 years. I still feel like if that continues it could end up being quite a lot. I hate the way strata fees go up too but that is a different topic It seems to go up 20% per year.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

mordko said:


> No, they are probably to cover the cost of several major events the insurance companies had to pay for in the last couple of years (Toronto flooding, Alberta fires, western flooding, etc...).


You're right to a degree. I understand and accept how insurance pooling works, even though I'd love for rates to stay still (or decrease) for at least 1 year, if the companies have enjoyed great returns and no major disasters. Will that ever happen? I'm not holding my breath.

What I'm talking about, from shopping around, is that most companies are now justifying large rate increases because they've added "overland water protection". In basic terms, it's supposed to cover damage from large rain falls, or rapid melting snow. It sounds good and prudent to have. On my bill, it's about $300 for this extra "protection". Then you start reading the exclusions, and like Koogie said, it'll likely get very messy and they'll deny your claim based on concurrent events. It really makes you scratch your head on what you're paying for.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

christinad said:


> Edit i just checked my insurance and it has gone up $48.00 for the past 2 years. I still feel like if that continues it could end up being quite a lot.



I know it's relative, and that $48 could be a bigger portion of your bill than mine, but I'd be very happy with a $50/yr raise.

2014 it went up $275, 2015 it went up another $225 on top of that, 2016 was another $200, and this year is another $145. Those are rough numbers, and even though they're slowing down, it's still a bit ridiculous. I've made no claims, nothing major has changed in this area, and most of my property value is the land and location. Like I said, there's a very good chance whatever small discounts they were forced to give on auto insurance, was recovered through house insurance. And to add insult to injury, all of those auto discounts are gone, even though benefits were also cut.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

Yeah, that's a lot of extra "protection". Someone is taking the piss.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Our house insurance has gone up hundreds of dollars per year in the last few years. Getting more expensive to own a home!


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

My Own Advisor said:


> Our house insurance has gone up hundreds of dollars per year in the last few years. Getting more expensive to own a home!



Inflated house prices = higher insurance rates, higher property taxes, higher land transfers, higher real estate commissions, higher mortgage costs. Yet wages are stagnant...... hmmm. Different topic for a different thread.


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