Do I need Tenant Insurance for my Toronto Rental?
Today's post is inspired by a comment on another one of my posts asking if Tenant's insurance is mandatory and necessary. As always, this is not legal advice.
Is Tenant Insurance required by law?
No. From the the Landlord and Tenant Board: The law does not require a tenant to have tenant insurance and your landlord cannot force you to get it. However, if you agreed to get tenant insurance as part of your lease agreement and then you don't do it, your landlord could give you a notice to terminate the tenancy and then file an application with the LTB to evict you. My experience has been that 99% of Landlords in Toronto will make having renters insurance a condition of signing a lease agreement.
Should you get Tenant insurance?
In my opinion - absolutely. The only real con is the cost, which is about $20-50/month on average (depending on your coverage and unit - more on this later). It's a common misconception that the Landlord/Owner's insurance coverage extends to you.
How do you get a discount on Tenant insurance?
If you have other types of insurance such as car insurance, it's usually cheaper to bundle your policies. Some banks such as TD and RBC offer Tenant insurance - so if you have an account with them you can often get a better price. A lot of employers also have promotional rates available through workplace benefits programs on sites like Venngo/WorkPerks and Perkopolis. Lastly, if you're a post-secondary student or graduate, insurance companies may offer your college/university a preferred rate.
How does Tenant Insurance work?
There are two primary components to Tenant insurance: Contents and Liability.
Contents protection is coverage for your belongings against theft and damage due to fire, flood, etc.
How much you choose for content coverage will affect how much your policy costs. The amount you choose really depends on the value of your belongings - one individual might need $5000 in coverage, while another may need $100,000.
Liability protection covers you in circumstances where you could potentially be sued - for example, if a guest gets injured while visiting your home. Another aspect of liability included on some policies is coverage if you cause damage to the home - for example if you accidentally start a fire or flood. You'll want to double-check the extent of your liability coverage before purchasing the policy.
In Ontario, $1 million is a pretty standard/common liability coverage amount, but it can certainly be less or more - again, this amount will affect your premium by a few $ each month.
Keep in mind, like other forms of insurance, Tenant insurance is usually subject to a deductible when making a claim.
Extras
Some Tenant Insurance policies have add-ons such as Identity Theft protection and Additional Living Expenses. The latter refers to reasonable expenses for meals and accommodations if you need to temporarily leave your home as a result of a flood/fire/etc.
