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Whether you’re a family renting a home in the suburbs or a recent graduate living in a downtown basement apartment, you want coverage that fits your needs.
Get customized coverage, in language you can understand, at a competitive price – and do it all online. We’ve made home insurance easier, so you can focus on the important stuff.
What does tenant insurance cover?
Tenant insurance coverage protects more than just your belongings. The coverage you choose for your tenant policy will be based on your personal situation. This includes how much stuff you have and the type of house, condo or apartment you’re renting. Make sure you know what’s included in your tenant insurance policy and what’s not. Here’s a breakdown of the coverages you might find on a renters insurance policy.
Standard tenant insurance coverages
Protect yourself and the people in your home in case you’re sued with tenant liability insurance. You’re covered if someone gets hurt while visiting or for damage you may unintentionally cause.
Often called contents insurance, this protects anything you own that you could pack in a bag or put in a moving truck. Contents insurance in BC covers things like your clothing, electronics and furniture. These are covered while they’re on your property or temporarily removed (like when you’re travelling to work or out of the country).
In case something happens and you can’t live in your apartment in BC, you’re covered while your unit is being repaired. Choose to stay in a hotel or with friends and family. We’ll help cover your extra living expenses either way.
You’re covered for the cost of any damage to improvements you’ve made to your rental unit to make it your own. This could be built-in closet organizers or unique light fixtures.
Additional tenant insurance coverages
This coverage can help in some smelly situations. If water backs up or escapes into your rental unit through a sewer, sump, septic tank or floor drain, this will cover you for the damage caused. Coverage offered depends on eligibility.
You’re covered for damage to your belongings caused by fresh water, such as excessive rain, spring run-off and melting snow, coming in at ground level through windows and doors. Coverage offered depends on eligibility.
This protection covers you for loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from an earthquake. You’re also covered if the earthquake shock results in snowslide, landslide, or other earth movements that cause damage to your property.
This covers you and anyone else on your policy in case your identity is stolen. We’ll reimburse you for legal fees as well as certain other costs, up to a limit. These could include lost wages if you have to take time off work to sort it out, and payment for services that help you restore your identity.
Why insure your rental unit with Sonnet if you live in Vancouver?
Questions about tenant insurance? We've got your back
Insuring your stuff should be simple. We’ve made getting a tenant insurance quote quick and easy, and we’re here to help from start to finish. Read our blogs and frequently asked questions (FAQs) for helpful tips for renters.
Blogs
- At Home
How are my personal belongings covered?
We’ve recruited our very own expert and licensed Insurance Advisor, Tawsif, to unpack everything you need to know about how your belongings are protected under your home policy. We figured it’s easiest to hear him explain it …
- At Home
Renting? Make sure you’re covered
The top reasons for having tenant insurance including what’s covered and how much it could cost you.
- At Home
If you've been wondering whether or not you should rent a place instead of owning it, we've got five good reasons why renting might be the way to go.
FAQs
Your spouse or common-law partner and your kids are already covered by your policy. Anyone else who is living with you and is also on your lease can be added to your tenant policy to share coverage. To do this, just add them as a tenant when you buy your tenant insurance online.
If you’ve already purchased and want to add them to your existing Sonnet policy, log in to your account and click on your tenant policy. Select the Tenants tab and click Add a tenant.
Here are the details you’ll need to have ready for your roommate:
- Their full name
- Their date of birth
- Their email address
- Their phone number
Once all of this has been entered, click Add. Your policy documents will update to include their name.
Yes, there are coverage limitations for certain belongings. Some personal belongings fall into a category called standard limits. These items are covered up to a fixed-dollar limit and these limits cannot be increased. Things like business property, gift cards and spare auto parts fall into the standard limits category.
You’ll see a full list of items in the standard limit category when you complete a tenant insurance quote. If you’re already a home customer – find the list in your policy wording document.
Learn how your personal belongings are covered.
During home insurance calculation, insurance companies look at a complex set of factors. These will determine the likelihood of you making a claim – and how much a claim could cost. The higher the likelihood is, the higher your premium will be.
Factors that can affect your home insurance premium include:
- Where your home is located
Based on your postal code, an insurer can find out how many claims are made in that area – and why they happen. For example, if your area has frequent windstorms, there could be more frequent claims for damage. This could cause your home premium to be higher than that of a house in an area that doesn’t have windstorms very often. - Home age and condition
The older the building, the higher the likelihood of a claim. That’s because things like old wiring (fuses, for example) are a bigger risk for fire. And, old plumbing increases your risk of claims due to sudden leaks or burst pipes. - Heating equipment
If your home is heated with oil (like it is in many rural areas), your premium could be higher. Oil tank leaks increase risk of damage and environmental hazards. Wood stoves are also a common source of house fires, so they could raise your payments, too. - Proximity to fire support
If your home is close to a fire station and fire hydrants – like in an urban area – your premium could be lower than a home in a rural location, where travel distance is longer. - Number of past claims
The longer you’ve been claims free, the lower your premium will be. If you’ve had a claim in the last year, you can expect your premium to go up at renewal. - Your age and other information about you
As you get older, your premium will tend to decrease. The fact is, many insurance providers consider homeowners with more experience as less risky to insure. Some insurers could also look at your credit score. - How you use your home
Do you rent out rooms or a basement unit in your house? Factors like this may also impact your premium since they can increase damage and liability risks.
Personal belongings are anything that you own that you could pack in a bag or take in a moving van with you. For example, your clothes, laptop, cellphone, refrigerator etc., are all things included in your personal belongings coverage. When you set up your policy, you have the option to set your coverage limit for your personal belongings, based on approximately how much your stuff is worth.
If you have fancier items, like expensive jewellery or silverware, consider whether their cost would be within your overall personal belongings limit. If not, you can either increase your overall limit or add these items separately to your policy. They’ll be covered by their own limit(s) and have no deductible.
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