What does condo insurance cover?
If you're buying or already own a condo, townhouse or other strata unit, you may wonder why you might need condo insurance. After all, isn't insurance included in a strata fee?
Doesn’t my strata fee already include home insurance? While your strata may look after insurance for the buildings, common property, liability of the strata corporation, and the basic features of your unit — you need condo insurance coverage to insure your personal property, personal liability, unit improvements and other things. Here’s what your policy could include:
Personal property
Protects your personal belongings such as your clothes, furniture, appliances, electronics, and other valuable possessions from theft, fire, and other causes of loss. Coverage can be customized to better include certain possessions such as bikes and jewelry.
Bridging your strata insurance
In some cases where your strata needs you to pay a deductible, if you become responsible for shortfalls in the strata's policy or damage to common property, a condo insurance policy of your own may help you lower the burden. See example.
Natural disasters
Protection for losses due to forest fires, floods windstorms, hail and earthquakes. With the increase of natural disasters due to climate change, it’s more important than ever to consider coverage available to your area.
Liability coverage
Covers you for lawsuits due to accidental damage to other peoples’ property or unintentional injury to others you cause anywhere in the world.
Additional living expenses
Provides for temporary accommodation if you are unable to stay in your home due to damage that is covered by your policy.
Possessions in your car
Coverage for personal possessions stolen or damaged in a car or trunk break-in, no matter where your car was parked. Specific limits may apply.
