Property Insurance in Kingston
Do you own a house in Kingston? What about a condo? Or an apartment? Kingston is a great city to life in, and has citizens living in it from every stage in life, from children to students to young professionals and mature families. Each person lives their own way, and picks the home that suits them best. And just like everyone picks the house that fits best, each person should also have their insurance tailored to them specifically. With the proper insurance, your shelter will always be your shelter – no matter what kind of problems life throws your way.
So how do you decide what is right for your place of residence? McDougall Insurance has an answer, and although we can’t advise you specifically, we can tell you what you need as a resident of Kingston. Because every city, just like every person, is unique. And your insurance should always reflect that fact.
Home Insurance in Kingston
Although you won’t likely need protection from acid rain, like many of Kingston’s famous limestone landmarks, there are still many factors unique to the city of Kingston that you need to consider when have home insurance in Kingston on your house.
Old, High Valued Homes
Much of Kingston, especially in some of the older waterfront, sports some very aged (and in some cases very valuable) homes. These buildings represent a challenge to insure in several ways, the most important being that many insurance companies are intimated by these locations. Companies believe older homes are risky, due to older electrical wiring, plumbing or heating (which drastically increases the risk of fire or plumbing damage). The risk is compounded by the occasionally exotic and rare materials (like limestone) used to construct these homes.
Given the unfamiliarity, high risk and complexity for insuring these locations, many companies will charge exorbitant premiums – or provide no insurance at all. Placing an old home with a specialty market not only will give you the best price, but also a smoother and more experience application and claims process.
So when shopping for insurance for your mature home, don’t spend time with the big names, and look for the small players. They are the ones who really want your business. Or you could always give McDougall Insurance a call, and let us set you up with one of our trusted, specialty partners.
Protecting the Family with Sewer Backup
Kingston is a fairly rainy city by Ontario standards, and its proximity to the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario means the water table is fairly high. Kingston also has a very old sewer system, which combines with the previous two facts to make Sewer Backup coverage an absolute must. Sewerbackup claims are smelly, expensive and destructive. Don’t get stranded, and make sure you have this coverage – even if you are a tenant or in a condo.
Condo Insurance in Kingston
Get the Contents Right
Do you know exactly how much the property in your Condo is worth? Probably not. You might be able to guess a figure, but how do you know that its accurate? As contents are not derived from the value of your home in a Condo policy, it’s much easier to under-insure. Don’t make that mistake, and speak to a broker to make sure that what you own is protected for its full value.
Protect Your Betterments
Condo insurance coverage is a complex piece of insurance, that relies on a collection of different sublimits to cover your needs. One part of this coverage protects “betterments”, which are modifications you make to or affix to your condominium. The default coverage for this is $100,000, and for many Kingstonians who have made alterations to their condo – this isn’t close to enough (especially when you factor in installation costs). Speak to a broker and get your insurance improved!
Tenant Insurance in Kingston
Student policies and extensions from home
Getting an insurance policy may not seem that important to someone living in an apartment, until you realize that you are exposing yourself to lawsuits (without liability coverage) and your property to fire, theft and other perils. This protection alone is worth the price of a tenant insurance policy, but if you are a student living away from home (or have a student away from home) you can typically extend the coverage from the home to the student, without any extra cost! Just check with your insurance broker if they will allow it, because if they don’t then purchasing a tenants policy would be a very wise move.
Property Insurance in Kingston – Liability & Special Cases
Liability Limits – $1,000,000 Simply won’t do
The days where keeping a $1,000,000 limit on your liability insurance in Kingston are over. With predatory law firms surfacing in the city, and the constant influx of people from other cities, the need to protect yourself from legal action is becoming more pressing. Increasing your limit to $2,000,000 is very cheap insurance in Kingston, and is typically just a fraction of what you pay for your overall policy. Liability insurance is worth it because of Kingston’s specific circumstances, but also because of the trends of our Canadian society.
On the move: protect your property without a home
The population of Kingston is active, and with a very high number of government employees (including educational and military workforces), there is a steady number of people who are on the move from one residence to another. This is a very vulnerable time for a person, as they not only are making a huge transition personally, but are in a gray zone for insurance where their old home insurance in Kingston has expired but their new one has yet to come in place.
Moving can often result in your property being kept in storage, which is not protected by conventional insurance policies. Getting an in-storage policy can be the difference between your move going without a hitch, or being a complete disaster. All it takes is one fire in a storage facility, or in your friends garage, and you could lose everything. So don’t take that change, and get the policy. McDougall Insurance insurance broker ontario has several partners who can provide this for you cheap insurance in ontario, quickly and easily, so you can be focus on your move, and not on protecting the things you are busy moving.
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