# Standalone Landlord insurance student



## Mike1 (Jul 22, 2015)

Hi,
I was working and bought a home in edmonton last year. I stayed there for 1 year and moved to ontario for education. I tried to sell edmonton home but could not. I don't have any other property. I started renting my edmonton home. My friend is staying in my edmonton home and managing home for me. So, I have to get standalone home insurance. Should I say to insurance companies I am renting the home or not? As I do not want high insurance and also some insurance companies don't give standalone insurance. Is there a discount for students? Which companies give standalone insurance? Approx how much will be standalone insurance for 2 storey 2003 home in edmonton?

Any suggestions helpful

Thank you so much


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

I'm not from Alberta so can't help with prices or companies. Doubt if there is a discount for students. I can tell you that you MUST say you are renting the house; if something happens, the insurance company will NOT pay out if you haven't purchased rental insurance. That could also be considered fraud, if you lie to them. Unfortunately, rental insurance is much much more expensive than regular insurance. Further, check with your bank, as this may affect your mortgage (if you have one).


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## Mike1 (Jul 22, 2015)

Hi,
Thank you for reply. The problem is it is hard to get standalone landlord insurance as they want property managers to manage the home and all. Since I am student, it is hard to hire property manager. And, there are only few companies that do standalone insurance. So, not sure how I can get standalone landlord insurance at good price if my friend is managing home for me


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Call an insurance broker, tell them you have a rental that you need insurance on. I've never been asked about a property manager.


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## Mike1 (Jul 22, 2015)

Hi,
Thank you Just a Guy.

Do you have names of insurance broker that would insure for my situation? I called some insurance brokers and they said no to me

Thank you


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Note this same post was made under General Personal Finance Talk, and has many more replies there.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Not sure about specific brokers, but wawanesa, intact, and economical insurance companies all cover rental properties. I've had insurance though all of them at one point or another.

Not sure why you're having a problem, perhaps you are asking for the wrong kind of insurance.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

From Intact's web site:
_To be eligible for our Rented Dwelling Insurance, your investment property must be used for residential purposes only. We also ask, amongst other things, that you:

- Own the insured dwelling
- Be actively involved in the maintenance of the dwelling
- Do not have more than one property claim within the last five years
- Have a maximum of two mortgages per dwelling_

Pretty hard to be actively involved in the maintenance of the dwelling in Alberta if you are located in Ontario. If this is typical of what insurance companies want today, I can understand why finding insurance may not be easy. Nevertheless they sound like pretty poor insurance brokers if they cannot either:
(a) direct OP to a source; or,
(b) tell him in definitive terms that no such insurance is available in Canada anymore, and offer to draft a letter of complaint to the Superintendent of Insurance.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

I have refrained from commenting on this thread thus far, in part by uncertainty as to what is encompassed by the term "standalone landlord insurance". I am wholly unfamiliar with that term. 

If it means Rented Dwelling Insurance, it should not pose much difficulty, as JAG suggests. I believe JAG owns properties scattered across Canada and insures them all. I have obtained that kind of insurance in Canada from Wawanesa and Elite. Allstate in the U.S.

As for OGG's post. I'd be interested to know what the insurer sees as captured by the term "Be actively involved in the maintenance of the dwelling". Does that mean being one's own plumber? Or standing over a hired plumber while the work is done? Or does it mean, more likely, simply being a prudent landlord and businessperson who has some method in place for ensuring that maintenance is performed as required, in a good and workmanlike manner. 

I really do not see being out of province as much of a factor. Does a Windsor L/L have any easier time in maintaining his Thunder Bay property than he would if living in Alberta? If pure physical distance is determinative, the insurer should say so and require the L/L to live in the same city, province or within a certain radius of the rental property.


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## motl (Mar 3, 2014)

Standalone landlord insurance basically means the rental is the only policy with the insurer. Most companies will not write a rental property without insuring your primary home location as well. There are exceptions though.

To answer a few questions in this thread:

- Generally most companies in the regular market will not insure absentee landlords (rentals in which the landlord lives more than X distance away - usually around 100-125km maximum)
- Generally most companies in the regular market will not insure properties being managed by a property management company instead of the insured

When these situations exist (either or both), often the policy needs to be written with a high-risk insurer or even commercial (depending on other factors).

Yes, you definitely need to inform your insurance company that you've started renting our your property. If you don't and there is a claim, it gives them grounds to deny paying for it. Your premium likely does not match the risk being insured.

Only way to know the cost is to get some quotes. Best bet is to contact a broker in the province of your rental property and let them do the legwork. Good luck.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

I've always had stand alone insurance by that definition. It's never been hard to get. My house insurance on the other hand, considering it's a rather unique situation, has very few options for coverage. 

There are many landlords who get insurance in different provinces, none of them that I know have a high risk policy. Companies like wawanesa, economical, intact, etc. All cover them.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Mukhang pera said:


> ....
> As for OGG's post. I'd be interested to know what the insurer sees as captured by the term "Be actively involved in the maintenance of the dwelling". Does that mean being one's own plumber? Or standing over a hired plumber while the work is done? Or does it mean, more likely, simply being a prudent landlord and businessperson who has some method in place for ensuring that maintenance is performed as required, in a good and workmanlike manner.


You would have to ask INTACT. But it sounds to me like they don't want to insure absentee landlords, because there isn't close enough supervision of the property. At least that's my guess. It might also screen out some of the grow-ops, which are usually rented from an absentee landlord.

But on the face of it, this kind of policy would also seem to exclude an owner who hires a local property manager to look after his interests. This seems patently unreasonable. There must be thousands of homeowners in a similar boat to OP. (military; foreign service personnel; people who take a job out-of province but don't have another residence to co-insure; or students like OP) Surely somebody has seen a solution.


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