Home insurance from people you can walk in and talk to.
Buying, renewing, or told your policy will not be renewed. We handle all three. If you are closing on a home and your lender needs proof of insurance, say so first and we will treat it as the deadline it is.
Get home insurance See what’s coveredBuilding at rebuild cost, contents, liability and living expenses
Homeowners, condo owners and anyone buying a home
The address, the age of the home, and your closing date if you have one
What does home insurance actually cover?
Four things. The building itself, at what it would cost to rebuild (not what you paid for it. Your belongings inside. Your liability if someone is hurt on your property or you cause damage elsewhere. And the cost of living somewhere else while your home is repaired. Everything after that, earthquake, overland water, sewer backup, high-value items) is a choice you should make deliberately rather than discover later.
If the rebuild figure was set years ago, the shortfall is yours to find while you are also paying to live somewhere else. And a strata deductible assessed against your unit can arrive as a bill for tens of thousands of dollars.
Cover for how you actually live.
Homeowners
Detached, duplex and townhouse, building, contents, liability and additional living expenses.
Condo owners
Your unit, your improvements, your contents, and the strata deductible you can be assessed for.
Tenants
Your belongings and your liability. Often required by a landlord, and inexpensive.
Earthquake
Optional, and a real decision on this coast. We will explain the deductible before you choose.
Overland water & sewer backup
Flooding from outside and backup from below, separate covers that are not automatic.
Higher-value homes and contents
Larger properties, jewellery, art and collections that standard limits do not reach.
Older homes
Knob-and-tube wiring, older roofs and plumbing, where many online quotes stop and we keep going.
Secondary and seasonal homes
Cabins, vacation properties and homes left empty for stretches of the year.
The strata deductible is the bill nobody expects.
If you own a condo in BC, this is the single most useful thing on this page. When a loss starts in your unit (a burst hose, an overflowing tub) your strata’s insurance may pay for the building damage, and then charge you its deductible. Those deductibles are frequently in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Your policy can cover it
Strata deductible assessment coverage exists for exactly this. The limit should match your building’s actual deductible, not a default figure.
Check it when the strata renews
Building deductibles have risen sharply. A limit set three years ago may now cover a fraction of it.
Bring us your strata documents
We will read them and tell you what number you need. It is a five-minute conversation that has saved people a great deal.
Declined, cancelled, or told to fix something first?
That is ordinary work here, not a special favour.
Homes get declined for reasons that have nothing to do with the owner, older wiring, a roof past a certain age, wildfire exposure, a claim on the file, a period when the house sat empty, or an insurer simply leaving a whole class of property.
Send us the letter. We read the actual reason, tell you honestly whether we can place it, and tell you what would make it easier, sometimes an inspection or a repair changes the answer entirely.
A situation we see.
A condo owner’s washing machine hose fails while they are at work. The building’s insurance pays for the damage to three units, then assesses its deductible against them. That bill is why strata deductible coverage exists.
What your lender needs, and when.
Tell us the closing date
Early. It is the only date that matters, and everything else works backwards from it.
Send the details
The address, the age of the home, and the listing if you have it, that answers most of our questions.
We arrange the binder
Your lender needs proof of insurance in place before funds are released. That is the document we send.
We fine-tune after
Once you are in, we adjust contents, deductibles and optional covers properly, without the deadline pressure.
What homeowners ask us.
Should I insure my home for what I paid for it?
No, for what it would cost to rebuild it. Those are very different numbers, especially in the Lower Mainland where land makes up much of the purchase price. Insuring to market value usually means paying for cover you cannot use.
Do I need earthquake cover in BC?
It is optional, and it is a genuine decision rather than an upsell. The important part is understanding the deductible, which is a percentage of the sum insured and therefore a large number. We will show you what it means in dollars before you decide.
Is flooding covered?
Not automatically. Water damage splits into several separate covers (overland water, sewer backup, and sudden internal escape of water) and they are not all included by default. This is worth checking on your current policy today.
My home has knob-and-tube wiring. Can I get insurance?
Often yes, though fewer insurers will write it and some will ask for an electrical inspection. This is one of the most common reasons an online quote stops, and one of the most common files we place.
Will making a claim raise my premium?
It can, depending on the claim and your history. For a very small loss it is worth a conversation before you file, call us and we will talk it through honestly, including when not claiming may serve you better.
How fast can I get proof of insurance for my lender?
Tell us the closing date as early as you can. Binders for home purchases are routine work here, and we will tell you straight away whether your date is achievable rather than leaving you to find out the week before.
Buying, renewing, or stuck?
Tell us the address and the date you need cover by. Or walk into any branch, no appointment. Send us the address, the age of the home, and your closing date if you have one.
CLOSING SOON? SAY SO FIRST. WE TREAT IT AS THE DEADLINE IT IS
Renting rather than owning? Tenant insurance covers your things and your liability for very little.
Property sitting empty, being renovated or part of an estate? vacant property insurance.