How to make the most out of your Calgary home insurance policy
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It’s surprising how Calgary home insurance policyholders don’t review their policies until matters demanding compensation arise. You see, homes are becoming bigger and better than what they used to be 30 years ago. For this reason, the cost of insuring homes is rising, although the investment is still worth it. So, how do you get the best value for money when you invest ?
But first, why pay your premiums for home insurance?
According to a publication which appeared on the Globe and Mail website, Alberta reported a huge number of insurance claims, and these were attributed to extreme weather conditions in areas such as Calgary. Furthermore, the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that 62% of all claims resulted from natural disasters. In 2012, the total worth of claims had skyrocketed to $730 million. These disasters included heavy rain, hail, flooding, and wild winds.
How to verify whether or not you have sufficient coverage
You should not panic because your homeowners insurance has everything highlighted therein. But make sure you have sufficient coverage for the following weather elements:
(a) Wind
Those who live in windy areas of Canada can attest to the fact that wind has the ability to cause utmost damage to property. Fortunately, wind is among the things covered by your standard homeowners policy.
But keep in mind that certain exceptions may restrict you from getting maximum coverage in case of extreme wind damage. Because of this, you should ask yourself if your insurer will cover the cost of a damaged fence or window due to strong winds.
(b) Flooding
You should take note that many standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flood damage if it’s due to a natural disaster.
Your standard homeowners policy will cover you when an appliance involving a water pipe floods your home. But this may not be the case with rain damage. Although covering yourself against flooding is costly in the long run, the investment may be worth it when you live in a high-risk area.
(c) Simultaneous events
Two events may happen at the same time, causing a number of damages to be inflicted on your property. For instance, an earthquake may lead to bursting of water pipes which in turn may flood your basement. So even though your policy takes care of flooding caused by leaking pipes, it doesn’t cover earthquake damages, and this may deny you the chance to successfully claiming a settlement.
(d) Rebuild cost
Your insurance policy may cover minor or major repairs arising from certain causes. However, you still need to confirm if it will cover your overall rebuild cost in case there is need to build the entire structure again.
You should review how much coverage you have in your Calgary home insurance policy before paying your premiums. You don’t want disappointments later when you realize that you weren’t sufficiently protected.