Insurance for property you own but do not live in.
One suite, a house, a small building, or a portfolio. A rented home is not covered by a homeowner’s policy, and the gap usually goes unnoticed until a claim is refused.
Insure a rental See what’s coveredBuilding, lost rental income, landlord liability and vacancy
Anyone renting out a suite, a house, a condo or a building
The address, how it is rented, and whether anyone has said no
Do I need landlord insurance if I rent out my home?
Yes. A standard homeowner’s policy is written on the basis that you live there. Once a property is tenant-occupied (including a basement suite, a long-term rental, or a home you moved out of and kept) the policy may not respond to a claim. Landlord cover is a different product: it insures the building, your liability as an owner, and the rent you would lose if the property became unlivable.
If the insurer was never told the property is rented, a claim can be refused outright, after years of premiums that felt like cover. And without loss of rental income, the mortgage runs on through every month of repairs.
Telling your insurer the property is rented is not optional. It is the difference between a claim being paid and a claim being denied.
Cover for owners, not occupants.
The building
Rebuild cost for the structure, plus any appliances, flooring and fixtures you provide.
Loss of rental income
The rent you cannot collect while the property is being repaired after an insured loss.
Landlord liability
Injury to a tenant or visitor, or damage that spreads from your property to someone else’s.
Rented condo units
Your unit and improvements, plus the strata deductible you can be assessed for.
Secondary suites
Basement and laneway suites in a home you also live in, a common gap on ordinary home policies.
Multi-unit and small apartment buildings
Purpose-built rental buildings. We can cover up to four units on a personal policy; anything larger goes to our commercial team.
Vacant and between-tenant periods
Most policies restrict cover when a property sits empty. That period needs arranging deliberately.
Buildings under renovation
Renovation changes the risk and often the policy required, tell us before work starts.
We handle rental properties up to four units on personal lines. Anything larger is a commercial habitational risk and belongs on a different policy. We will tell you which side yours falls on.
Four gaps we find on landlord policies.
Rental property claims go wrong in a small number of predictable ways. Every one of these is fixable in a five-minute conversation, and expensive to discover afterwards.
The insurer was never told
A home policy left in place after the owner moved out and rented it. The most common and most serious gap of all.
No loss of rental income
The building is insured; the mortgage payments during six months of repairs are not.
Vacancy not declared
A property empty between tenants or during renovation can fall outside cover without notice being given.
Supportive and social housing.
We write this class today.
Single room occupancy buildings, supportive and social housing, and non-profit and government-funded housing operators are difficult to place. Many insurers will not quote them at all, and many brokers do not attempt it.
We do. If you are a housing society, a non-profit operator or an owner of a building in this class, including one that has just been non-renewed, bring us the file. You will get a straight answer about what can be arranged, and an honest one if it cannot.
A situation we see.
A homeowner moves out, rents the house, and leaves the same policy in place. Two years later a kitchen fire is refused because the insurer was never told anyone else was living there. The premiums were paid the whole time.
Your policy does not cover their belongings.
A landlord policy covers the building and your interest in it. A tenant’s furniture, electronics and clothing are theirs to insure, as is their liability if they cause damage, for example a kitchen fire that spreads. Requiring tenant insurance in your lease is one of the cheapest risk decisions a landlord can make, and we can insure your tenants directly if that helps.
What landlords ask us.
I rent out my basement suite. Does my home policy cover that?
Often not without being told. A secondary suite changes the risk and most insurers require it to be declared. It is usually straightforward to arrange properly, and a serious problem if it is not.
What happens if my rental sits empty between tenants?
Most policies limit or exclude cover once a property has been unoccupied beyond a set period, often thirty days. Tell us before it happens and it can be arranged; tell us after a claim and it may be too late.
Should I require my tenants to carry insurance?
Yes, and put it in the lease. It protects their belongings, covers their liability if they cause damage to your building, and reduces the chance of a dispute landing on your policy.
A tenant caused significant damage. Am I covered?
It depends on the cause and your wording. Sudden accidental damage is usually covered; gradual damage and general wear are usually not. Call us before you start repairs so the claim is documented properly.
I own several rental properties. Can they go on one policy?
Yes. Portfolios are usually simpler and often better priced on a single arrangement, and it means one renewal date instead of five.
My rental building was non-renewed. Will you look at it?
Yes. Habitational property is one of the classes insurers withdraw from most often, and it is exactly the work our hard-to-place desk does. Send us the letter.
Renting out a house on acreage? farm & acreage is the right policy.
Tell us about the property.
The address, how it is rented, and whether anyone has said no to you already.
ONE SUITE OR A WHOLE BUILDING, SAME DESK, SAME PEOPLE
Own or manage a whole building? See Strata & property managers.
Empty between tenants? vacant property insurance, most policies stop covering after about thirty days.