For homeowners in Ottawa there are two practical advantages to having home insurance. First, it’s an important tool for protecting a significant financial asset, a home. Second, most financial institutions will only offer mortgages for insured properties.
To get the best coverage, it’s crucial to understand how home insurance products are structured. Here, we breakdown the key elements of home insurance policies, different policy types and explain how homeowners can extend their coverage by adding to a policy.
All home insurance policies in Canada include the following four elements of coverage:
Homeowners can extend home insurance coverage beyond what’s available through a policy by adding to it. In the insurance industry, the mechanism for doing so is referred to as ‘adding an endorsement’. Some of the most common endorsements are:
As incidents of severe weather become more common across Canada, including, in Ottawa, we recommend that homeowners be sure to add flood protection to their home insurance policies. The cost of not having it can be significantly more than any cost associated with adding an endorsement.
Some insurance providers offer water protection packages that protect against overland water and sewer backup. In these instances, a package can be purchased rather than individual endorsements.
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RATESDOTCA’s Home Insuramap tool reflects that in 2022 Ottawa homeowners paid an annual average of $1,247 for home insurance. This rate is about 16% less expensive than the provincial average cost of $1,487.
The same data reflects a year-over-year increase for Ottawa home insurance from $1,282 in 2021.
According to postal code regions in Ottawa, in 2022, homeowners in the Riverview neighbourhood of the city (K1G) were paying the most for coverage while those in the Centretown (K2P) area paid the least – an average of $1,044.
While it’s difficult to zero-in on specific factors that increase home insurance costs in a specific neighbourhood, flooding is often one of the most significant. As incidents of severe weather increase across the country, some home insurance companies are increasing premiums in flood prone areas. In other words, homeowners who live near a waterway in any city should expect to pay more for home insurance coverage.
Postal code region in Ottawa | Avg. 2022 premium |
---|---|
K1G0A1 | $1,398 |
K1H0A1 | $1,369 |
K2C0A1 | $1,369 |
K1Z0A1 | $1,342 |
K1K0A3 | $1,328 |
K1R0A1 | $1,325 |
K2B0A1 | $1,319 |
K1J0A1 | $1,291 |
K1A0A1 | $1,287 |
K1Y0A1 | $1,248 |
K2A0A1 | $1,231 |
K1V0A1 | $1,183 |
K1S0A2 | $1,076 |
K1N0A1 | $1,088 |
K1P0A1 | $1,054 |
K2P0A1 | $1,044 |
When offering an Ottawa home insurance quote, providers consider a range of factors to measure the likelihood of a claim.
Some of the key factors they look at are specific to the home while others are specific to the homeowner.
Companies | Type of Company | Phone | Address |
---|---|---|---|
Aviva | Insurance company | (613) 235-6775 | 112 Kent St. Suite 2100, Tower B, Ottawa, ON K1P 5P2 |
CAA Insurance | Insurance company | 613-820-1890 | PO Box 8350 / STN T CSC, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3T2 |
Chieftan Insurance | Insurance company | 1(613)233-1363 | 155 Queen St., Ottawa, ON K1P 6L1 |
Economical | Insurance company | 1(800)267-8318 | 343 Preston St. #500, Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4 |
Insurance Hotline | Quotes comparison | 1(855) 821-7312 | 360 Adelaide St. W. Suite 100, Toronto, ON M5V 1R7 |
KBD Insurance | Insurance broker | 1(613) 212-2352 | 440 Laurier Ave W Suite 200, Ottawa, ON K1R 7X6 |
LowestRates.ca | Quotes comparison | 1(855) 487-6911 | 1910 Yonge St. Suite 401, Toronto, ON M4S 3B2 |
RATESDOTCA | Quotes comparison | 1(844) 726-0907 | 360 Adelaide St. W. Suite 100, Toronto, ON M5V 1R7 |
Scoop Insurance | Insurance brokers | 1(866) 456-6620 | 300 Lincoln St. Unit 22, Welland, ON L3B 4N4 |
Tanner Insurance | Insurance brokers | 1(613) 232-5704 | 200-2435 Holly Ln, Ottawa, ON K1V 7P2 |
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There are many ways to find the cheapest home insurance in Ottawa. Comparison shopping is an important first step, allowing homeowners to quickly assess what range of quotes is available to them using our online quote tool. It’s fast and free.
For homeowners looking to reduce their insurance costs further, we recommend the following tactics:
In 2022, the average home insurance premium in Ottawa was $1,247. This is about 16% less than the provincial average in the same year: $1,487. Homeowners in the Riverview neighbourhood of Ottawa had the highest premiums, $1,398 while those in the Centretown neighbourhood paid the least, $1,044. Because of how many factors go into determining a premium, it’s difficult to confirm precisely why rates are higher in some neighbourhoods. However, in general, homes located near water are likely to be more expensive to insure due to the increased risk of flood.
We recommend that all homeowners in Ottawa seriously consider adding overland water protection and sewer backup protection to their coverage. With severe weather becoming more and more common across the country, including in Ottawa, incidents of damage resulting from it are also on the rise. Overland water protection will cover the Ottawa homeowner financially if their home is damaged by water overflowing from a nearby water way while sewer backup will cover damage from water that overflows from a water or drain. Since earthquake is excluded from most home insurance policies and Ottawa is in a region prone to earthquakes, we recommend that homeowners consider adding an endorsement to their policies.
Yes. To avoid having a claim denied, homeowners should tell their insurance provider if the home is occupied by renters. A landlord policy may be required. Or, coverage to an existing policy may need to be updated or extended.
Homeowners should contact their insurance provider as soon as they become aware of damage to their home or an incident that could trigger the liability protection of their policy, for example, if they unintentionally cause damage to someone else’s property. To avoid any confusion about what contents have been damaged, we recommend that homeowners take a video of their home and its contents or keep a spreadsheet that details their belongings as well as their cost. There are many apps that also make this task seamless.