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Home insurance will protect your largest investment and the centre of your life – your home.
LowestRates.ca compares the home insurance market in Kelowna to ensure you get the cheapest home insurance quotes from the top insurance providers operating British Columbia.
A few minutes is all it takes to find the best home insurance policy for you. Enter your postal code and some information about your home, and we’ll find you the cheapest available quote and connect you with a Kelowna home insurance professional who will secure the new rate for you.
Compare Kelowna home insurance quotes, find the lowest one, and sleep a bit better at night. Just like that.
Home insurance isn’t required by law (unlike auto insurance). Most mortgage lenders make having it a requirement before they lend you money.
Plus, it also offers peace of mind. Your home is likely the biggest investment you have; home insurance protects it.
Home insurance helps pay to repair or rebuild your home if it’s affected by an insurable peril like fire, water damage, a break-in, etc.
Because home insurance is not a legal requirement and because of that, prices are not regulated, making it even more important to get a home insurance quote before you put an offer on a house.
Home insurance providers are still overseen by a number of different bodies (they just don’t have any say on how much insurers can charge for coverage).
At the very top is the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI), a federal body in charge of overseeing the solvency and financial soundness of most home insurance companies and other property and casualty insurance providers.
Below that is the provincial superintendent, the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). This body is responsible for regulating the private sector insurers (and mortgage lenders) working in B.C. (auto insurance is provided by a Crown corporation). It makes sure that insurers are properly licensed, solvent and fiscally sound, and are conducting business in an accordance with the province’s Insurance Act, which laws that insurers must abide by.
The conduct of individual insurance agents, brokers, and adjusters are also overseen by the BCFSA and The Insurance Council of British Columbia, a self-regulatory organization (also in charge of licensing insurance professionals).
The average home insurance policy includes the following coverage for the following things.
Building and property – This aspect of your policy provides protection for the structure of your home (the primary dwelling) as well as any detached building on the property like a shed or a garage.
Contents – Broad and comprehensive home insurance policies include coverage for your home’s contents.
Personal liability – Your home insurance provides some liability coverage. It provides compensation for legal expenses if you’re sued for property damage or bodily injury. Liability coverage is also included in tenant and condo insurance.
Additional living expenses – Provides coverage for relocation expenses when you’re displaced from your home due to severe weather, fire, water damage, or an explosion.
There are some scenarios that home insurance won’t cover without you purchasing extra insurance, like overland flooding and sewer backup, and earthquakes. As incidences of severe weather become more common across B.C., we recommend that every homeowner seriously consider adding flood protection to their home insurance policy.
There are three basic types of homeowners insurance in Kelowna:
This type of home insurance policy offers the most coverage of all the options. It covers damage to your property and belongings against all standard perils except the ones that are only covered by additional endorsements (like earthquakes), or ones that are specifically excluded from most policies (events that can be attributed to the homeowner’s lack of due diligence).
This type of home insurance policy is basic. It offers coverage for common perils, which include fire, lightning, theft, explosions, falling objects — but only if they’re named in the policy.
Put simply, this type of policy falls somewhere between comprehensive and basic home insurance. It offers comprehensive coverage in the event the structure of your home is damaged but will only offer basic coverage for the contents of your home.
Again, the type of home insurance you’ll want depends on your specific needs and your risk tolerance.
Kelowna is at risk of forest fires and flooding. Add-ons for flood damage, replacement cost coverage (i.e., coverage to help you rebuild your home after a total loss), or coverage for other structures on your property might also be good to consider. Ask your insurance agent or broker what they offer. Purchasing extra coverage will increase your home insurance premium but having extra coverage will save you money if you ever need to make a claim against it.
See how our customers in Kelowna save big on home insurance.
| Type of home | Location | Previous claims | Lowest rate | Average rate | Saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quote from November 03, 2023 Type of home Detached 3,950 sq ft | Location Kelowna | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $163/mth $1,957/yr | Average rate $288/mth $3,457/yr | Saved $125/mth $1,500/yr (43.00%) |
Quote from November 03, 2023 Type of home Duplex 2,414 sq ft | Location Kelowna | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $67/mth $804/yr | Average rate $121/mth $1,457/yr | Saved $54/mth $648/yr (45.00%) |
Quote from November 03, 2023 Type of home Detached 2,209 sq ft | Location Kelowna | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $67/mth $803/yr | Average rate $164/mth $1,969/yr | Saved $97/mth $1,164/yr (59.00%) |
Your home insurance policy will be customized to suit your needs and the property you’re insuring.
Home insurance premiums are determined by dwelling type (is it a single-detached home, a house with a basement tenant suite, or a condo?). Insurance companies also try to predict the kind and size of claim you might make in the future.
Here are some of the criteria insurance companies look at when calculating your premium.
Wildfires and flooding are the most pressing risks facing Kelowna homeowners.
Some Kelowna homeowners who live in areas known to be affected by wildfires are having trouble getting home insurance.
Residents who live within 25 km from the site of the July 2021 White Rock Lake wildfire have been denied coverage, according to a 2021 CBC report.1 Some reports say that people who live as far away as 75 kms were also denied.
The reasoning provided for the insurance industry’s decision is that wildfires in this region are not an unforeseeable risk.
In June 2022, Kelowna was placed under a local state of emergency following a period of rapidly melting snow and heavy rains that left parts of the area submerged.2
B.C. is Canada’s more earthquake-prone region but are less of a concern in the Okanagan Valley.
Compare multiple home insurance companies
One of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce your home insurance rates immediately is to get quotes from multiple insurance companies. This makes it easy to see what your personal lowest rate is, and which company will offer it.
Bundle your home insurance policies
To bundle insurance policies means buying coverage from the same company. Doing this results in savings as much as 15%. It’s the most appreciable discount offered by insurance companies currently.
Slim down your policy
Work with an insurance professional to gain a better understanding of your goals, your risk tolerance, your home's risk profile to get a better understanding of your coverage needs.
Keep your home in good repair
Making a home insurance claim could affect your premium at renewal. Insurance companies don’t just look at external risk factors like your home’s location and neighbourhood crime rates — they also base pricing decisions on the level of risk you, the homeowner, represent. Your home insurance claims history matters.
Increase deductibles
A deductible is an amount you agree to pay before your insurance company pays the rest of your benefit. Insurance companies require deductibles because it’s a method of getting the insured to share some of the risk and it acts as a deterrent against future claims. If you offer to pay a higher deductible than what’s required, your insurance company will often reward you with a discount.
Let your provider check your credit score
If you consent, home insurance companies will do a ‘soft’ check of your credit. If you have a strong score, you will likely be offered a discount. The thinking is that people with high credit scores are also conscientious homeowners and likely know how to prevent or avoid perils.
Pay upfront
Paying your premium in full at renewal can get you a discount because you’re saving the insurance company administrative fees.
Your questions about Kelowna home insurance, answered.
The best way to estimate your home insurance costs is to apply for a quote.
Home insurance is a custom product, and your premium will be determined by the type, age, size and build quality of your home, your neighbourhood, your distance to a fire station and hydrant, as well as your home insurance history.
The amount of home insurance you want will make a difference in your premium — the more comprehensive the coverage, the higher your premium will be and vice versa.
Also, home insurance companies have different approaches to underwriting. Some are willing to take on more risk than others. This leads to price variance in premiums. Insurance companies now scrutinize hundreds of factors when calculating your premium, so you can't just rely on a brand name.
Rate comparison sites like LowestRates.ca simplify the process of shopping the market. We compare the home insurance market in Kelowna and show you rates from 50+ insurance providers.
Home insurance provides coverage for the following events, to varying degrees depending on the type of policy you choose:
Home insurance applies to your home’s structure, any upgrades you make to it, your contents, and living expenses if you are displaced due to an insurable peril.
Home insurance also offers liability protection. This means that if someone is injured on your property, your policy may help pay for legal expenses.
There are also optional coverages you can add to your policy that are not part of the standard menu. Important ones to consider include:
As climate change progresses, it’s become increasingly important for homeowners to consider adding more extensive water coverage to their policy.
Mass evacuation coverage is important to consider if you live in an area that could be susceptible to weather emergencies; wildfires are becoming more of a concern in B.C. Other forms of optional insurance include:
Standard home insurance policies won’t cover certain perils. These are known as ‘exclusions’ or ‘excluded perils,’ but it may still be possible to get coverage for them, if your insurer offers them as an optional add-on:
There are three basic types of home insurance policies available in Kelowna and the rest of Canada.
Broad home insurance: Provides all-perils coverage to your home and named perils coverage to your contents. This means the structure of your home is covered against all insurance perils but your content are only protected against perils that you specifically ask for. Also known as a ‘standard’ policy in the industry.
Basic home insurance: Provides the least amount of coverage. Also known as a ‘named perils’ policy. You only have protection against perils you specifically request protection against. If it’s not in the contract, you don’t have coverage against it. Some types of insurable perils that are typically covered in a standard policy are not offered.
Comprehensive home insurance: This is the most extensive insurance policy type available. Your home and its contents are protected against all insurable perils. This type of policy is also known as an ‘all-perils’ policy.
The answer will be different for everyone since your needs will likely be different than your neighbours’.
Comparing home insurance quotes from multiple sources is one of the best tactics to find the best home insurance company for you. Here are some of the home insurers LowestRates.ca has included in our digital marketplace:
Alexandra Bosanac is the Core Content Manager for LowestRates.ca. Her reporting has appeared in Canadian Business, the Toronto Star, the National Post, and the CBC.
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*Shoppers who obtained a property quote on LowestRates.ca from January to December 2021 saved an average of 31%. The average savings percentage represents the difference between the shoppers’ average lowest quoted premium and the average of the second and third lowest quoted premiums generated by LowestRates.ca. Excludes tenant and condo insurance.