Home Insurance – Armour Insurance Knowledge Base

What Impacts My Home Insurance Premium?

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:27:23 +0000

What impacts my home insurance premium?
- Replacement cost – the size and composition or your home as well as your contents are the factors that will impact the cost to replace your home and belongings.
- Where you live – if your neighbourhood is more prone to break-ins, you may pay more for insurance.
- Proximity to a water source such as a fire hydrant or fire station.
- Age of roof – newer roofs (within the last 20 years) are preferred by insurers.
- Heating – there is far less risk with forced-air gas furnaces or electric heat than oil tanks. Oil tanks have the potential to cause costly environmental hazards. Improperly installed wood stoves are a source of house fires and carbon-monoxide poisoning.
- Electricity – there are several factors such as:whether you have breakers or fuses
- The type of wiring you have (breakers pose less risk than fuses; knob and tube wiring can increase the chance of fire)
- Pipes – older plumbing (galvanized or lead pipes) is more prone to cracking, leaking or other problems.
- Other factors – insurers will also take into account whether you have a monitored security system or fire alarm. They’ll also ask about swimming pools and other structures on your property such as a storage shed.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:22:01 +0000

Is Home Insurance mandatory?
- Yes, most financial institutions will require you get home/property insurance before they will give you a mortgage.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:21:32 +0000

How are home insurance rates determined?
- When determining how much you’ll need to pay for premiums, insurance companies may consider factors such as:
  - the type of residence you live in, such as a single family home, semi-detached, condo, rental property, or seasonal residence
  - characteristics of your residence, such as materials your house is made of, age, size, location, replacement value
  - value of your property and contents to be insured
  - the distance between your home and a fire hydrant or a fire station
  - the crime rate in your neighbourhood
  - your claims history
  - the type of policy and coverage you selected
  - the amount of your deductible

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:21:01 +0000

How will a claim affect my insurance premiums?
- Fault matters
  - Who caused the accident is a major factor in whether or not an accident affects your premiums. If another driver caused the accident, you probably have nothing to worry about when it comes to your own insurance. But if you’re deemed to be at fault, you can expect the accident to be on your record—and affect your premiums up to six years.
- Accident Forgiveness
  - With Accident Forgiveness, your premiums will not increase because of the accident—potentially saving you a lot of money in the long run. At the time you purchase your policy, you must have a history of safe driving without any accidents to qualify for this endorsement.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:20:35 +0000

All-Perils Insurance
- All-Perils Insurance covers the building and the contents inside for all risks that aren’t specifically excluded.

“Named-Perils” Insurance
- Named-Perils Insurance only covers specifically named risks.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:20:08 +0000

Most insurance companies have time limits within which you must submit your claim. The limit usually varies from 90 days to 12 months from the date of the loss or event. Check your policy’s terms and conditions for the time limit. Provide your insurance agent, broker or company with all supporting documents required by your policy:
- an accident report for a car insurance claim
- a death certificate for a life insurance claim

Your insurance company will review your policy. They will let you know if you can make a claim under the terms of your contract. In some cases, the insurance company may look into the circumstances surrounding your claim. This is to confirm that it involves no fraud. This is a claim investigation. During a claim investigation, your insurance company may ask you to provide:
- medical records
- police accident reports

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:19:40 +0000

Should I make a claim for a small loss?
- If you have a $20,000 car wreck…or $50,000 of damage to your home…or $35,000 of inventory stolen from your store, it’s highly unlikely that you would even consider not submitting that claim. That’s when insurance is most useful. On the other hand, the consequences of submitting a small claim may outweigh the money you receive from the company. Sometimes, it just makes sense to pay your loss yourself and avoid the consequences of submitting a claim.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:19:20 +0000

If your policy says it will cover the replacement cost of an item that is lost or damaged, the dollar amount you’ll be paid is equal to the cost you’d need to replace that item with a new, similar product of like kind and quality. Since insurance is designed to get you back to the same position you were in just before a loss, your insurer will do some research and determine how much it would cost to replace the item with a new one that is as comparable as possible — no more, no less.
If your policy is set up to cover the actual cash value of an item that is lost or damaged, the dollar amount you’ll be paid is equal to how much the item is worth today. This considers the original price you paid for the item, but it also considers depreciation (the natural decrease in an item’s value over time, usually due to wear and tear) and the physical condition the item was in on the day of the loss. Most insurance companies will use standard guidelines (known as “depreciation tables” in the insurance world) to determine an item’s actual cash value — or they’ll contact a professional retailer or appraiser to determine what a similar used item would cost to buy.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:19:00 +0000

Do I need additional insurance for my children’s belongings once they go to college/university?
- If your child lives on campus and attends university full time, it is quite likely that they are protected under your own homeowner’s policy. A call or an email to your insurance company can clarify what is covered and the financial parameters of that coverage—both liability and possessions may be covered.
- However, bear in mind that any claim filed on your child’s behalf can affect your own rating and discount, so you may prefer purchasing tenant insurance in your child’s name.
- If your offspring rents an apartment off campus, insurance is even more important, because your liability coverage may not be applicable, even if possessions are covered. In addition, problems with rental properties aren’t always a landlord’s responsibility.
- If the tenant is found to be negligent, he or she is liable.

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:18:23 +0000

What is a shared common area in a condo?
- Your condo corporation contract will indicate the common areas for your condo complex. Generally, common areas are considered to be any areas outside your unit, like the parking lot, lobby, pool, and recreation centre. Refer to your condo corporation contract or office for further details.