Home Insurance

Home ownership is one of the biggest financial investments most people will ever make if not the biggest. That’s why it is important to protect your investment with an insurance policy.

When you purchase a new home in Saskatchewan, the bank will insist on home insurance as a condition of a loan. However, given that home insurance is not mandatory, policies and coverage wording differs widely from company to company. For this reason, it’s important to deal with a Johnston Insurance broker that understands coverage and options. Whether you are needing coverage on a property, belongings, or special value items, we can find the best coverage for you through or personal lines partners: Wawanesa, SGI CANADA & SMI.

What does home insurance cover?

Home insurance is generally divided into different categories which covers an element of your home but collectively all parts contribute to your coverage limit. They most common coverages include:

• Detached Structures coverage
• Dwelling coverage
• Home Contents
• Additional Living Expenses
• Legal Liability

Detached Structures is for secondary structures on your property. The most common detached structure is a garage(s) or shed.

Dwelling Coverage is specific to the construction of your home. Covered items include the main building foundation, flooring, doors, and windows.

Home Contents is coverage for your possessions including tv’s,  appliances, clothing, furniture, and home decor. It’s important to note that there may be limits on high-value items like fine art and jewelry. As such, you may want to itemize these separately and insure them separately.

Additional Living Expenses provides coverage for living expenses you can incur as a result of a claim such such as hotels, restaurants, and storage.

Legal Liability is a coverage put in place in the event that you or a named insured on your policy is sued for damages such as property damage or bodily injury for example.

What is not covered under your home insurance?

It’s also important to know what your home insurance policy does not cover. Most policies will not cover items like land damage, property taxes, or mortgage payments. Some condo insurance policies may cover condo fees but typically not. You may also find that your policy may not cover earthquake or flood damage. When purchasing home insurance, make sure you read your policy in detail and contact a broker.

Additional options you can include in your home policy:

• Coverage for belongings outside of the home
• Identify theft coverage
• Home owner’s guarantee / Guaranteed replacement cost clause
• Increased limits coverage
• Home Systems Protection
• Glass deductible buy down
• Sewer backup coverage
• Voluntary fire fighting coverage
• Watercraft coverage
• Special belongings coverage
  – Extra coverage is required for special items, such as jewelry, fine art, coin and stamp collections, musical instruments, bicycles and furs.

Home Systems Protection provides coverage for home systems, equipment and major appliances. If you home systems, major appliances and electronics break down, the cost to repair or replace them is not covered under your basic home insurance policy. As major appliances are more expensive and complex than ever you can add coverage to pay for their replacement or repair for a low annual fee. Typically Home Systems Protection can cover:

• Computers and wireless devices
• Furnaces, boilers, hot water heaters, radiant floor heating
• Central air conditioning
• Water purification and filtration systems
• Hot tubs, pool, spa or sauna equipment
• Solar/wind/geothermal heating or energy
• Home security monitoring and control devices
• Electrical service panels
• Power tools and shop equipment
• Lawn and garden equipment (excludes riding lawn mowers and tractors)

Claims

In the event of a claim, home insurance helps minimize the financial impact on you and your family. It can make a stressful situation easier and less of a financial impact.