Property Insurance

My property insurance invoice is up 15% this year over last.

I phoned TD Insurance and asked why it’s up so much. It turns out that they no longer have a seniors discount. (I’m 61) So I got on the phone and phoned Co-operators for a quote. (I was with them last year and went to TD because TD was cheaper.) They still have a seniors discount but their quote was higher. Except, if I dropped the water damage endorsement, Co-operators would be lower. TD was an extra $55.00 per year and Co-operators was $73.00. I was considering dropping the water damage component.

I called an Insurance Broker to get another quote and got a very helpful woman on the phone. When I told her what my quote was she said it was very good. I said I was considering dropping the water damage and she gave me a talking to about that idea.

She explained that I really want the water damage endorsement. Some homes can’t get that kind of coverage. It covers things like:
Backing up, discharge or overflow of water from:
sewer, sump or septic tank
an eavestrough, downspout or roof drain
breakage of the watermain
weight of ice, snow, sleet
seepage of surface of ground water

She strongly suggested that I should keep this coverage as long as I could.

I got it in the first place because I felt that a sewer back up was more likely to happen than a fire. I saw the nasty results of some back ups in Hamilton on TV.

It turns out that we have had more heavy rains in the last few years and the ground can’t absorb the water fast enough so there are more claims for this. Burlington’s sewer system is old and needs replacement. Based on past experience, downtown Burlington gets looked after first and north Burlington is looked at much later.

I asked her about installing a back up water valve or whatever it’s called. She said she thought they would become mandatory in the near future. It would cost between $500.00 and $3,000.00 to install. They have to dig up the foundation and put in a pipe to do this. So much for trying to save money that way, foiled again.

She also suggested that I put the things I have stored in the crawlspace up on a platform. Very good idea.

Well, I guess I’ll pay TD Insurance now.