3 things you need to know about condo insurance
Do you need insurance for your condo even if you’re paying maintenance fees?
When I bought my first condo I didn’t know what to expect. I was shocked by all of the fees that I was suddenly hit with. I knew about monthly condo fees. I figured that these would cover everything essential to living in a condo. Boy, was I wrong. One of those things I didn’t realize I needed to get was condo insurance.
Here are three things you need to know about condo insurance in Canada before you take the leap and make your purchase:
1. Your monthly condo fees don’t cover everything
I couldn’t believe the maintenance fees in my first condo, considering how few amenities the building had. There was no pool or workout facility, yet the fees weren’t low. As a result, I figured that the fees included insurance.
Condos fees don’t always cover insurance. The common areas may be covered as part of your fee payments. There may even be some aspects of your unit covered. However, your condo expenses don’t fully cover you from floods, theft, personal damages, and other things that could go wrong.
2. What’s covered by your condo insurance plan?
Your condo insurance is your responsibility. This page on the CMHC website does an excellent job of describing what you should look into when it comes to the insurance plan offered by the condo corporation. The one point that really stuck out for me was:
“personal liability — against claims for bodily injury and/or property damage occurring on the condominium property.”
If the condo doesn’t cover this or anything else that you deem important, you need to pay for additional insurance coverage. You don’t want to be on the hook if anything were to happen to someone while visiting you. Another issue is the damages that could occur to other units. Are you protected if your unit floods and damages the unit below? You need to find out. You need to know what you’re being offered in terms of protection.
3. Protect your personal valuables
I suggest you insure your most valuable possessions. Even if your condo comes with a decent insurance policy, you still want to protect your valuables. I recommend taking an inventory of your most prized possessions and insuring these items. You’re not immune to theft just because you live in a condo with multiple units.
Condo insurance requires that you balance your building’s policy with additional coverage that you need on your own. Factor in the cost of condo insurance as you shop around for a new property to buy. At the end of the day you need to do what’s best for your peace of mind and what’s within your budget.