Home Insurance in Burlington
Your Trusted Partner in Home Protection
Every home has a story that needs protection for all the moments inside. Home insurance is your shield against life’s unexpected events, as it ensures your Burlington home, belongings, and loved ones are safe. Living in Burlington offers several benefits, including wonderful neighbourhoods, a dynamic arts and culture scene, and access to excellent schools, which make houses quite expensive in this area. Despite the beauty of this city, Burlington residents face several risks such as severe weather events, water damage, fire, theft, and vandalism. With so much at stake, comprehensive home insurance is no longer an option in Burlington, it’s a necessity.
At Acumen, we provide personalized comprehensive coverage to protect your home and belongings, allowing you to focus on making happy memories. Contact us now to get a quote and protect what matters the most. Get a free online quote for home insurance in Burlington now!
Is Home Insurance Mandatory in Burlington?
Home insurance isn’t mandatory in Burlington but it’s highly important for homeowners to protect their property, belongings, and finances. Having comprehensive insurance coverage protects against risks like natural disasters, theft, or liability claims. Without home insurance, Burlington homeowners can face significant financial loss in case of unexpected events. Also, mortgage lenders usually require a certificate of insurance as a condition for loan approval to make sure their investment is secure.
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Get a QuoteWhy Choose Acumen for Your Home Insurance in Burlington, Ontario?
- Experienced Brokers: Our team of Burlington insurance brokers has years of experience helping homeowners find suitable coverage for them at competitive rates.
- Personalized Service: We understand the different risks and challenges each homeowner faces, so we carefully craft insurance policies to meet your specific needs.
- Advisory Cliam Support: Your claims history directly impacts your insurance premiums; that’s why we offer advisory claim support to help you navigate the claim process and decide whether to file a claim or not.
- Fast Policy Issuance: Once you complete your application, you’ll receive your insurance policy documents within 24 hours, so you can get covered without any delays.
- Comprehensive Services: To get the best out of your insurance coverage, we offer cost-effective bundling options, like combining home and auto insurance into one bundle.
Why Do Burlington Homeowners Need Insurance?
Burlington residents need home insurance to protect against risks such as natural disasters, liability claims, accidental damage, and other events that can cause significant property damage. Besides protecting your house, home insurance is often required by lenders to secure a mortgage, ensuring their investment is well protected.
Moreover, houses in Burlington are considered an investment due to the city’s high property value, which contributes to the high rates for repair costs and maintenance. Whether it’s fixing a broken window or repairing damage after a fire, the costs can add up quickly. Home insurance can cover these unexpected expenses, providing home and financial protection.
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What Are the Types of Home Insurance Policies in Burlington?
- Basic Home Insurance: Also known as Named Perils, basic coverage is the most affordable type of home insurance policy. It’s considered limited and most policyholders don’t pick it as it only covers against perils listed in your policies. The upside is that you choose the perils that are covered out of 16 perils. However, if your house is damaged by a peril that isn’t listed, you handle all the expenses.
- Broad Home Insurance: The next level of protection is broad coverage. It offers more protection than basic coverage but less than comprehensive coverage. So, it’s for homeowners who want more coverage than the minimal. Broad form coverage protects the structure of your home against most potential risks but protects the contents against named perils, only. It’s ideal if you’re more concerned with the property itself than your personal belongings.
- Comprehensive Home Coverage: This is the highest level of protection you can get out of the standard home insurance policy. It’s the most expensive type of policy, as it covers most risks to both your property’s structure and its contents, save for the few ones on the exclusion list.
- No-Frills: No-frills is a coverage made for homes that are too damaged for standard home insurance. It only covers very few risks, like fire in most cases. It’s limited but it’s the only insurance option for some homes. The homeowners buy it temporarily until they fix the property and upgrade to a standard policy.
Custom Solutions for Property Owners in Burlington
- Condo Insurance: Condo Insurance protects belongings, upgrades, and liability, complementing your condo’s master policy.
- Rental Property Insurance: Covers damages, liability, and income loss to safeguard investments.
- High-Value Home Insurance: Ensures protection for luxury homes, valuables, and liabilities.
What are the types of Burlington Home Insurance coverage?
Dwelling Coverage
Known as building coverage, dwelling protects your home’s structure against risks, like fire, water damage, and weather events. It also protects attached structures, like a garage, deck, or permanent fixtures, as well as your landscaping. It may also cover detached structures to 20% of the replacement value.
The reimbursement you get from dwelling coverage depends on the replacement value of your home. Your insurance company will calculate the replacement value based on many factors, like square footage, building materials, and more.
Contents Coverage
Contents coverage protects the personal belongings inside your home, like your furniture, decor, appliances, and equipment. It can offer compensation for up to 80% of the replacement value. Note that some contents may exceed your coverage limits, like jewelry, collectibles, or art pieces. In that case, you may need an add-on to extend coverage and cover them.
Personal Liability Insurance Coverage
Third-person liability coverage protects you against incidents where someone is injured on your property or if you cause accidental damage to another person’s property. If a lawsuit is filed against you, liability coverage covers the legal expenses.
Sometimes, the injured person may not file a lawsuit, but you may still want to cover their medical expenses. In that case, the insurance company may pay for the medical bills under the voluntary medical payments coverage. Similarly, if the owner of the property you damaged doesn’t sue you, your insurance provider may also pay to repair the damage under the voluntary property damage coverage.
Additional Living Expenses
In the unfortunate event that your home is considered uninhabitable, your insurance company may pay to cover your living expenses, like accommodation, transportation, and groceries up to a certain limit.
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What Are the Optional Burlington Home Insurance Coverages?
- Earthquakes: While not very common, earthquakes can still happen in Burlington. In the past 10 years, two earthquakes with a magnitude of four or above happened near the city. If you’re worried about earthquakes destroying your home, you can get an earthquake add-on as part of your home insurance policy.
- Umbrella Insurance: Umbrella policy coverage, often sold separately, extends the limits of your Burlington home insurance policy. If you file a claim but your coverage limit doesn’t cover the expenses, an umbrella policy can fill in the gaps.
- Overland Water Insurance: This is an important add-on, especially with recent weather events. Local rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes could overflow at any time with the help of a torrential rainstorm, causing significant damage. Overland water coverage provides protection in this case. Note that this coverage is unavailable if you live in a floodplain region.
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- Extended Contents: Valuable, high-ticket items aren’t covered under the standard home insurance contents coverage. Collectibles, jewelry, and art pieces may need coverage limit extension. Your insurance agent can help you get coverage for all your expensive belongings, contact them to learn about your options.
- Identity Theft: The threat of identity theft and fraud is real in Ontario with serious consequences. Identity theft coverage helps you recover your identity by taking care of the recovery expenses, like the reissue of government documents.
- Sewer Backup: A sewer backup can happen anywhere, causing significant water damage. Getting sewer backup coverage protects you from issues related to sewer and drain backups. So, if your sump pump malfunctions or a sewer line breaks causing water to back up in your property, you get compensation to cover the damage repair.
What Is Not Covered by Home Insurance in Burlington?
Business Activity
Damage from business activities is only covered by business insurance. Even if you operate your business from home, you need home-based business insurance to cover any commercial activity.
Criminal Activity
Damage from intentional acts, like fraudulent activity committed by the homeowner or residents, is never covered by insurance.
Recreational vehicles
Owning watercraft and other types of recreational vehicles requires additional insurance. There’s a specialized type of insurance for recreational vehicles called RV insurance. If you want to insure your recreational vehicles, speak with your insurance broker about your options.
Mould
Mould is usually a maintenance issue as it builds up over time. That’s why it’s not covered by most home insurance policies. If you have mould in your home, it’s better to address the issue early on to prevent damage.
Maintenance Issues
If your home isn’t maintained regularly and is left in a state of disrepair, insurance doesn’t cover the damage repair costs. Also, normal wear and tear isn’t covered by insurance.
Pest Infestations
Insects take time to infest your home. If you don’t address the issue right away, it’s considered negligence on your behalf, so it’s not covered by insurance.
Vacant Homes
Leaving your home vacant for a long time may void your insurance. In that case, you need specialized insurance for vacant homes.
Existing Damage
Damage that existed before you bought the house or the insurance policy isn’t covered by your current insurance.
Tenant Damage
If you rent out your house, you need specialized landlord insurance. Your standard home insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by tenants or during the renting period.
Is Home Insurance Mandatory in Burlington?
Unlike auto insurance, homeowners insurance isn’t legally mandatory in Burlington, but it’s recommended. A lot of the damage that can happen to a house is expensive to repair, and without home insurance, the homeowner ends up paying a lot of money from their personal savings. Moreover, most banks and mortgage lenders add home insurance as a requirement to protect their investments.
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How Much Does Home Insurance Cost in Burlington?
Home insurance premiums cost an average of $1,446.05 in Burlington per year and $115.33 per month. The cost of home insurance in the city differs from one individual to another based on many factors, like the replacement cost of the house, its location, state, age, and more. It’s hard to predict the actual cost of home insurance without providing all the relevant information.
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How Does home insurance in Burlington compare to other cities in Ontario?
Home insurance in Burlington is more expensive than most cities in Ontario, except for major cities in Toronto. Here’s a breakdown of the approximate annual cost of home insurance in different cities in Ontario:
- Burlington: $1,442.47
- Mississauga: $1,205.08
- Toronto: $1,419.22
- Barrie: $1,165.97
- Brampton: $1,265.45
- Hamilton: $1,389.51
Factors that Determine the Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Burlington
Each insurance company has its formula to determine the Burlington home insurance rate for each homeowner. Here are the top factors that come into play.
Replacement Value
The replacement cost of your home is the amount of money needed to rebuild it if it’s completely damaged. The bigger the dwelling, the more contents it has, and the more expensive it is to insure. It’s important to make sure your house’s value is calculated accurately so you can get enough compensation.
Home’s Age
The age of your home is an indicator of its state and risk factors. An older home with outdated electrical, heating, and plumbing systems is risky to insure as these systems may malfunction.
Location
Home insurance rates in Burlington may differ from one area to another due to differences in neighbourhood risk assessments, proximity to emergency services, and historical claim data. For example, the average annual home insurance premium rate in areas with the L7R postal code is [data module], which is the most expensive in the city. On the other hand, the L7T postal code is among the least expensive, with an average annual premium of around [data module].
Electrical System
An updated electrical system provides your home with sufficient electricity to meet modern power needs. In contrast, an old system may pose a serious fire risk. If your electricity system is outdated, you may get a higher premium. In some cases, the insurance company may require you to upgrade the system.
Roof
The age and materials of your roof can also impact your insurance rates. An old roof increases the insurance costs, while a new one built with sturdy materials may lower the costs.
Pools
Pools generally increase the cost of insurance because they increase the chances of liability claims from falls and drowning accidents. Moreover, they increase the property value significantly.
Distance from Emergency Services
Living close to an emergency service or fire station means an emergency crew will arrive at your house faster, minimizing any damage from fire. If you live near a fire station, you may get a lower premium.
Insurance Claims History
Insurance companies look at your claims history, the more claims you have, the higher your insurance rates get. The reason behind this is that statistically, people with previous claims are more likely to file again in the future.
Coverage Limits
Another factor is how much coverage your policy has. The higher your coverage limits are, the more expensive your insurance rates get. That’s why it’s important to review your insurance coverage periodically and make sure you’re not overinsured.
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How to Get Cheaper Home Insurance Rates
There are ways to get affordable insurance prices in Burlington. Here are our top tips.
- Bundle home and car insurance under the same insurance company. Many insurance providers offer a discount if you bundle different types of insurance under one policy. It also helps simplify the process of managing your insurance.
- Notify your insurer if you’ve paid off your mortgage. Mortgage-free homes get a discounted rate.
- Secure your home and get a discount when you install or upgrade your security and monitoring systems. You could install motion systems, a burglar alarm, and put sensors on your windows and doors.
- If you own another home, like a seasonal home, condo, cottage, or rental property, you can get a discount for insuring them with the same insurance company.
- If you’re still looking for a home to buy, consider buying a new build with updated systems to get a lower rate.
- Already moved into an older home? No problem. Upgrading your electrical, heating, and plumbing systems will get you a lower insurance premium rate.
- Your insurance company may offer a loyalty discount if you renew your home insurance with them. Still, it’s wise to shop around and take a look at different rates from other providers.
- Take your time to review your home insurance coverage and make sure you get enough for your insurance needs.
How to File an Auto Insurance Claim in Burlington
Following the right steps is crucial when filing a claim. Make sure to discuss the steps with your insurance agent to ensure you’re on the right track.
- Contact your insurance agent or provider as soon as possible to report the incident. Most insurance companies and brokerages have 24/7 claims hotlines. Provide essential details like the date, time, and description of the incident.
- Document all damages and losses by taking pictures and videos. Create a list of the damaged or stolen items, including their value. If you have receipts, include them.
- Try to prevent any further damage with temporary repairs. These repairs may be reimbursable under your policy, so keep the receipts.
- Your insurance provider will prompt you to file a claim form. Provide all supporting documents, including photos, repair receipts, and a detailed inventory of losses.
- The insurance company will assign a claims adjuster to assess the damage and determine the amount of compensation you get. It’s important to cooperate with the adjuster and provide any requested documentation.
- Your insurance company will send a settlement offer after the assessment. Review the offer carefully before signing.
- After accepting and signing the settlement, you will receive your payment directly to you or the repair service providers.
How to Get a Home Insurance Quote in Burlington
Getting a Home Insurance quote in Burlington is easy with Acumen Insurance. All you have to do is fill out the online form to get a free online quote. Then, an insurance broker will be in touch with you. They will be happy to answer any questions you have about home insurance in Burlington. Upon receiving your information, they will shop for you to get you different deals from the top insurance companies that we’re partnered with. The brokers will also help you determine which deal is the best for your insurance needs. It’s easy to make the right decision when Acumen Insurance is your brokerage of choice. Do high Brantford real estate prices affect the cost of home insurance?
Burlington Home Insurance FAQs
The average cost of home insurance in Burlington is $1,384.01 per year. Keep in mind that the cost is just an estimate. The real rate differs depending on many factors, like the house’s age, size, and location, as well as your claims history.
Yes, fire damage is covered under the majority of Burlington home insurance policies. Reach out to your insurance broker or agent to review the risks included in your policy.
A standard home insurance policy includes risks, like fire, extreme weather events, theft, vandalism, and water damage. The risks included depend on the type of policy you carry. A basic plan may include fewer risks than other types of policies. On the other hand, a comprehensive home insurance policy includes most risks. For more information, contact your insurance broker or agent.
The amount of insurance coverage you need depends on many factors, like the size of your home, its replacement value, and the types of risks you face. Each homeowner has different house insurance needs. Your insurance broker can help you find out the amount of coverage you need to fully protect your home.
Credit score, marital status, homeowner’s gender, purchase price of the house, and decorative features are all excluded when calculating Burlington home insurance rates.
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