Condominium insurance

Condominium owners have special insurance needs. That's because some parts of the property are held in common-exterior walls and walkways, for instance. Condominium insurance covers the parts of the building you own (i.e. interior walls), as well as your personal possessions.

Condominium insurance protects you in four basic ways:

Enables you to repair your unit
Allows you to replace your property (furniture, clothes, appliances etc.) if it is destroyed, stolen or damaged
Covers injuries that happen to other people or their property while in your suite (for which you may be held liable)
Covers your additional living expenses if you're forced to leave your suite because of a claim

Condominium insurance also insures your personal property while it is temporarily away from your condo (i.e. while you're traveling). Note that most insurance policies have "special limits" for things like cash, jewelry, watercraft and bicycles. As well, possessions left in, on or attached to a motor vehicle are usually only insured up to $1,500. Depending on your circumstances, you may want to consider insuring items such as bicycles or computers with additional coverage.

Things to consider

Before purchasing condominium insurance, consider the following questions:

What would it cost to replace the contents of your condominium?
Do you have an inventory (825 KB PDF download) and photographs of your personal possessions?
Have you made any upgrades to your unit?
What kind of protection do you have against liability claims?
Do you have items that should be insured with special coverage (i.e. silverware, jewelry, laptop computers, sporting equipment)?
Does your unit have a security system, fire extinguisher or other money-saving safety features?