Home insurance in Ontario: Get a quote and buy online

No. Sonnet doesn’t cover short-term rentals through any home sharing service, including Airbnb and Vrbo. This applies to all our property policies (homeowners, condo, and landlord). Under the terms of our renters insurance, tenants also aren’t allowed to offer short-term rentals of their apartment or house – or a room in their unit – through one of these networks.
 
If you’re offering short-term rentals via one of these services and something happens where you need to file a claim, your claim could be denied.
 
Want to know more about how Sonnet covers long-term rentals? Check out our FAQ about renting out your home, condo, or rental property. Or, contact us. We’re here to help.

If you upgrade your Custom Limits for your special belongings, you’ll receive our Above and Beyond home coverage, which adds three extra perks to your policy:

First Claim Forgiveness. This means your rate won’t increase due to your first claim. We’ll pretend it didn’t even happen.

Replacement Cost Guarantee. You’ll have the flexibility to settle claims at replacement cost, even if you decide not to repair or replace the damaged items.

Enhanced Deductible Waiver. We’ll waive your deductible for claims of $10,000 or more. Sorry, this doesn’t include claims caused by earthquakes.

Heads up! These perks cannot be added to a tenant or landlord policy.

When insurance companies calculate your home insurance, they look at many complex factors. All these factors help them predict the likelihood that you’d make a claim – and how much it could cost.

Here are some factors that could impact your home insurance cost:

• Your home location
  Using your postal code, insurers can look at how many claims are made in your area – and the cause of those claims. For example, if your area gets a lot of windstorms, there might be more claims for wind damage. This might cause your home premium to cost more than someone who lives in an area that doesn’t get windstorms very often.
  
  
• Home age and condition
  If your home is older, it’s at a higher risk of a claim. Think of things like old wiring (fuses, for example) – they’re a bigger risk for fire. And, old plumbing is more likely to get leaks or burst pipes, which increases the likelihood of water damage claims.
  
  
• Heating equipment
  Homes heated with oil (like in rural areas), often have a higher premium. Oil tank leaks increase the risk of damage to your home and cause environmental hazards. Having a wood stove could also raise your rates because wood stoves are a common cause of house fires.

• Proximity to fire support
  If there are plenty of fire hydrants and a fire station nearby – like in an urban area – your premium could be lower. For homes in a rural location where a fire station is farther away, more damage can be done to your home while you wait for help to arrive. This makes claims more costly, so your premium could be higher.
  
  
• Your claims history
  Your premium will be lower the longer you’ve been claims free. You’ll see an increase in premium if you’ve had a claim in the last year.
  
  
• Your age and other information about you
  You might find that your premium decreases as you get older. It’s common for insurers to view experienced homeowners as less risky to insure. Your credit score might also be a factor in your premium. The higher your credit score, the better your premium.
  
  
• How you use your home
  Renting out rooms or running a business in your house may impact your premium because they can increase damage and liability risks.

Yes, your Ontario vacation home will need to be insured with a separate policy.  
 
It’s important to protect your second home during the winter if you’re not going to be living there. Here are a few things you’ll need to do to prevent problems that could cause damage.

• Draining the plumbing system and closing the water inlet will prevent pipe bursts from freezing and bursting.
  
  
• For homes with central heating, keep the thermostat low enough to conserve energy but high enough to prevent pipes from bursting. Burst pipes that are caused by freezing won’t be covered under your vacation home policy if you’ve been away for more than 14 days and don’t have anyone checking on it.

Well, it depends. If there are no more than two renters, you’re allowed to rent part of your house out under your Homeowners Policy. You’re also covered if you have one additional unit within your home that’s rented to one family only.

If you’re renting out a property separate from your home our Landlord Policy will make sure you’re covered if there’s any damage to items that belong to you and the property. Things like major appliances, fixtures or tools (a lawn mower or snow shovel are a couple of examples). If you live in your home, but you have more tenants than our Homeowners Policy allows for, you can purchase our Landlord Policy in addition, to cover you and your home adequately.

It might be a good idea to add more coverage that isn’t included in a standard policy. Depending on your location, you might be able to get extra coverages like sewer backup, overland water and earthquake. If you’re eligible, you can  add these coverages during a home insurance quote.

Already purchased? You can add these coverages to your policy through your account.

No, home insurance isn’t mandatory in Ontario. But, we recommend getting a policy to protect yourself, your property and your stuff.
 
You see, buying a new home is a big investment. If you don’t have home insurance and something happens to your place (like a fire or major flooding), you’d have to pay to fix any damage on your own.
 
Plus, if you have a mortgage on your house, your lender will likely require you to have home insurance.