Home Insurance
Enjoy peace of mind knowing your most valuable assets are well-protected. We provide reliable coverage for your home, contents and personal liability, plus a variety of unique options to suit your individual needs. Whether it’s a heritage property or a custom built condo or cottage, we offer competitive premiums across Ontario.
NOTE: The information provided on this page is for informational purposes and is not intended to form part of a home insurance contract. Contact a Heartland agent or broker for more information, coverage advice or a quotation.
What do we do differently?
Heartland can insure homes, second homes and seasonal (cottage) homes for values up to and greater than $5 million. We can also insure homes and seasonal properties in remote settings including on islands. We can even insure second homes and seasonal properties without insuring your primary home in some cases.
Generally our rates for all homes will be more competitive in what we define as rural Ontario – areas outside cities of 200,000 populations or more.
How do I get the lowest rates?
Our target customers and therefore best rates are for homes located in rural Ontario (<200,000 inhabitants), no previous claims, home valued >$400,000 with no mortgage and the owner is older than age 50. We also offer competitive rates when you bundle your automobile insurance or any second or seasonal homes with us. We offer a unique discount if your home is monitored by smart phone for burglary and fire and new homes that do not use oil heat receive multiple discounts. Where you live matters as we offer various territory ratings that affect premium as some areas are consistently more profitable for us than others.
How do I lower my rates?
In conjunction with other factors, we do apply your personal credit score in our rating which affects the premiums we charge. The reason for this is in general, those who pay their bills on time (the most important factor in getting a good credit score) also take care of their home maintenance. They think ahead and repair their roof when it starts to wear out or they landscape their property so water doesn’t flow into their home when it there is a heavy rain. Doing this reduces the chances they will have an insurance claim and therefore they are offered lower rates.
You can also increase your deductible, for example increasing from $500 to just $1,000 gives you a credit of 10% while $2,500 is a 20% credit off your premium.
What does your policy cover?
In addition to insuring your home as a building to be repaired or rebuilt in the event of a claim that is covered by the policy, did you know some of our policies offer;
Combined Limit –if your coverage level is inadequate for one coverage, another coverage can be used to fill in that gap. For example, if the policy has a built in limit of 10% of your home’s insurance value for detached buildings (i.e. garage) but it turns out that the garage actually costs more to rebuild than 10%, you can ‘borrow’ coverage from the total available coverage (usually 200% of the home’s insurance value) within the policy.
Guaranteed Rebuilding Cost –in the event the coverage on your home building is inadequate you will be covered to the full cost to rebuild your home
Additional Living Expenses – in the event your home is unlivable for a period of time due to a claim you have up to 20% of your home’s insurance value to pay for living accommodations
Debris Removal – 5% coverage over and above your insurance building value to clean up and remove the debris caused by a major claim to your home
Replacement Cost –many of our policies waive any depreciation on your personal property in the event of a loss. For example, if your TV is destroyed in a fire, to determine its value to replace it no depreciation will be applied.
Bylaws Coverage – On some policies we will pay the additional cost for demolition, construction or repair that is required to comply with any law regarding demolition, construction or repair in the event of a claim.
Parents in a Nursing Home – On some policies we will provide coverage for property owned by you or your parent while your parent is residing in a nursing home.
Trees/Shrubs – On some policies we will provide coverage for trees and shrubs including removal of debris when there is a loss caused by fire, vandalism and malicious acts.
Mass Evacuation – On some policies we will provide limited coverage when a civil authority prohibits access to your home for a mass evacuation as a result of a sudden and accidental event. We will insure any necessary and reasonable increase in living expense for the period access is prohibited on a limited basis.
What features in your home concern us?
Refer to your agent/broker for further information.
- Your home has an electrical system with less than 100 amps, knob and tube, or aluminum wiring.
- Your only source of heat is a wood burner appliance, space heater(s) or you’ve added wood burning to an existing furnace (add-on).
- The supply tank for your oil burning furnace has 14 gauge (2 mm thick) walls with a side/end feed line.