Condos seem to be going up everywhere lately.
Of the 148,663 new homes built across Canada in 2019, only 38,766 (26%) were single-detached homes. The remaining were condos (55%) or other town home and semi-detached style buildings. (1)
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With Ontario’s population expected to increase from 14.5 million in 2019 to 19.8 million by 2047 (2), many housing experts expect this condo building trend to continue or accelerate as builders and governments look for space and cost-saving housing solutions.
WHAT IS A CONDO?
Technically “condominium” is a legal term used by most provinces in Canada. It’s used to describe a building that is divided into several separately owned units, often with common areas that are jointly owned.
Condos are most often large apartment-style buildings, especially in larger cities like Toronto, but condos can also be smaller-scale town home-style buildings as well, more commonly found in smaller municipalities throughout Niagara and Haldimand.
HOW DOES CONDO INSURANCE WORK?
We try to give concrete answers to the questions raised in the topics we write about, but in this case, it does depend. Depend on what? Condo insurance primarily depends on what type of “Condominium Corporation Variation” is in place at a particular building.
Depending on the type of condo agreement in place, a condo resident will have varying responsibilities when it comes to their unit’s maintenance and insurance.
Each Condominium Corporation will have different definitions of what a “standard unit” is, which means the limit required for unit improvements will vary.
On one end of the spectrum a condo owner may only be responsible for aesthetic things like painting and flooring while in other extreme cases, they could be responsible for everything, right down to the wall studs.
The 3 examples of condominium corporations listed below are not responsible for any portion of the units and are usually built as single-family detached, semi-detached or row house type properties:
- Leasehold Condominium Corporation
- Vacant land Condominium Corporation
- Common Elements Condominium Corporation
Depending on the condominium agreement and type of condominium, you may be required to carry coverage similar to a homeowner policy, a tenant policy or anywhere in between.
Condominium agreements have become quite complex in recent years and require that proper insurance coverage be tailored to meet the condo agreement accordingly.
GETTING A QUOTE FOR CONDO INSURANCE
The cost of condo insurance can vary depending on coverage requirements, the use of the condominium (whether it’s owner-occupied, a permanent rental, seasonal rental or even an Air BNB) and the type of condo agreement in place.
When you’re looking for a condo insurance quote, keep the following in mind:
- An insurance company will require all construction information related to your unit and the condo building itself (including square footage, age of the building, heating type etc.,)
- An insurance company will also require a copy of your condominium agreement which stipulates your requirement for insurance versus what the condominium corporation is legally responsible for in the event of a loss.
An insurance company may also ask you other questions related to your unit such as:
- Is there a fire alarm system in place?
- What is the value of your property within the unit (appliances, furniture etc.,)
Etc.,
If you’re looking for more information about condo insurance or are you looking for a condo insurance quote, please contact us anytime and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
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SOURCES
1 – precondo.ca/canada-real-estate-statistics/
2 – ontario.ca/page/ontario-population-projections
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