Claims - Home :

If you make a claim, your claims advisor will need various documents, including:

• Receipts
• Proof of ownership (such as photographs, user manuals, and warranties)
• A list of stolen or damaged property

If one of your appliances causes water damage or a fire, keep the appliance so that we can examine it as part of your insurance claim.

It’s always good to plan ahead by making an inventory of your property. It will save you the hassle of trying to remember every item when you make a claim.

If you need to file a claim, we may ask you to fill out a claim form called a Proof of Loss form. This is your formal statement to support your claim, and contains important details about what happened, the nature of your lost or damaged property, and the amount of your claim. We may ask you to have this form certified by notary public or commissioner of oaths.

In many cases, we can process your claim without requesting a Proof of Loss form.

To assess the value of your property, we may also ask for original receipts or other documents like:

• User manual/operating instructions
• Appraisals
• Warranty cards
• Credit card or bank account statements

You need to file a police report in the following situations:

• Theft or attempted theft
• Fire
• If a vehicle hits your house

A deductible is the amount you must pay when you make an insurance claim.

For example, if you have a $500 deductible, you pay the first $500 of the repair costs, and we pay the rest.

Your home insurance includes basic coverage against certain types of water damage, such as damage caused by sudden breaks or leaks in your plumbing system or broken household appliances like dishwashers. If you want more protection, we also offer a range of water damage coverages options, including:

Water Damage – Ground water and sewer back-up (Endorsement 16c)

Flood caused by the overflow of a body of water (Endorsement 16d)

Water damage - Above ground water and weight of ice, snow or sleet (Endorsement 42)

How much insurance do I need?

To calculate how much insurance you really need for water damage, you should estimate the value of your home and belongings.

Bear in mind that your insurance amount needs to be enough to cover not only damage to your home and belongings, but also any additional living expenses if your home is so badly damaged that you have to stay somewhere else during the repairs.

Take immediate steps to minimize the damage.

Water damage: cut off the water supply line and, if you can, move affected furniture and items to a dry place. Learn more about what to do if there’s water damage in your home.

Theft: call your local police immediately. Learn more about what to do if your home is burglarized.

Fire: call the fire department right away. Even a small fire can spread quickly if it’s not brought under control. Learn more about what to do if there’s a fire in your home.

To make a claim, you can call us or file your claim online. We’ll get your claim started and help you deal with the emergency.

To reduce the risk of a future loss, read our Prevention tips.

Frost and the weight of ice or snow are just some of the things that can damage your pool or hot tub.

Getting the right protection

When you get a home insurance policy with us, you can add optional coverage to insure:

Your above-ground or semi-inground swimming pool, including equipment and accessories, as well as attached patios that are not connected to the house

or

Your in-ground swimming pool or hot tub, including equipment and accessories, as well as attached patios that are not connected to the house

Condo unit owners are insured under 2 separate insurance policies: the condo unit owner’s policy and the condo corporation’s policy. That means that more than one insurer may be involved in a claim settlement.

The condo corporation’s policy covers:

• The condo corporation’s liability
• The common parts of the building, such as the hallways, balconies, stairwells and roof
• The parts of your condo unit, like windows, walls, floors and kitchen cabinets (upgrades to your unit are covered under your condominium unit owner’s policy)

Your condo unit owner's policy covers:

• Your personal liability
• Your personal property (contents)
• Upgrades made to your condo unit
• Your additional living expenses

In the event of a loss, the condo corporation's policy usually covers damage to components that were standard to the unit when it was constructed, and the condominium unit owner's policy covers upgrades to the unit.

For example, if you replaced the original carpet in your unit with hardwood flooring, the condo corporation's insurer would cover the value of the original carpet, and your insurer would cover the difference between the hardwood flooring and the original carpet.

To learn more about condominium insurance, visit the Insurance Bureau of Canada website.