Alberta Home Insurance

A standard home insurance policy can help you secure financial protection for your home and personal belongings. It is made up of different types of coverages that can help you pay to repair or replace your home or belongings should damage from insured perils occur.

Liability Protection

All typical home insurance policies will provide you with something called liability coverage. This coverage will protect you if someone who does not live with you becomes injured on your property. Imagine a visitor trips and falls over your broken porch steps, or a neighbour slips on ice in front of your home. If you are found at fault, the liability insurance can help you cover the legal or medical expenses associated. You may be able to increase your coverage limit and your agent can help explain the options that are available to you.

Theft

If you or anyone living in your home is a victim of theft, your home insurance policy can help you replace your stolen possessions. Your personal belongings will be covered whether they are stolen inside or outside of your home.

Fire Coverage

House fires are one of the most common causes of damage to homes. Your home insurance policy will help protect structures and belongings against them. If your home is completely destroyed by a fire, your policy will also cover the cost of living expenses, for example, hotel stays, rentals, or food and restaurant bills.

Vandalism Coverage

Vandalism is typically covered under an all-risks or all-perils policy, unless specifically excluded. Vandalism coverage will apply to homes that are unoccupied, but not vacant. Unoccupied homes are homes that still have the owner’s belongings in them even though the property owner is absent. Vacant homes are empty with none of the owner’s personal property.

Standard insurance is not usually enough and you might need to consider these important insurance options for your home.

• Flood Insurance
• Sewer backup coverage
• Identity Theft protection
• Extra Liability insurance
• Additional contents – can include luxury items, antiques, collections, art, and such.
• Replacement cost coverage
• All risk or peril insurance

You may find a number of discounts and factors that affect your premiums to review when you speak with your insurance agent. For example:

• Burglar alarm systems
• Sewer backup prevention equipment
• Multiple policy discounts
• Discount for non-smokers
• New roof
• Mortgage free

Winter brings a sense of beauty on calm, snowy Alberta nights. It can also bring calamity when enough snow and ice build up on your property. Unfortunately, home insurance policies are not all-encompassing, so your personal policy may not cover some damage caused by winter weather.

However, there are a few things that your insurance will not cover, no matter how extensive your policy is. This includes frozen pipes that burst due to the occupant(s) being away for an extended period of time without having someone checking up on the property. If you know you will be away from your home for more than a week, have a friend or relative check on your house every few days to ensure that the pipes are warm and the property is clear of heavy snow.

Here are some common damages that the winter weather can cause:

• Flooding from snow or burst pipes
• Collapsed roof from heavy snow or a nearby tree that has fallen
• Leaks from ice dams
• Hail and wind

Making a home insurance claim is not always easy, but Leibel Insurance Group will guide you through the process. 

Understanding the claims process will make things a lot easier, and having the right information will prevent undue stress during an already stressful situation. For starters, you must have all of the details related to the claim, including the time, date, location, circumstances, cause, and extent of the damage. The more details you can provide, the better your claim will be when it starts. Use photos or videos to record the damage, and do not discard any contents before they are assessed.

If you have to move out of the home during the claim, additional living expenses and their coverage limits may activate. If it does, your claims adjuster will review details with you including how you must keep all payment receipts for these additional living costs to claim the expenses. The claims adjuster will look into your policy and the facts related to the claim, along with the documents to determine coverage for the loss.

Damage to your home is very upsetting, but you have to step back to assess the situation. If a burglary takes place, call the police right away. If you are dealing with a flood, take any steps you can to prevent further damage. Protect yourself and your family at all times and once you do an overview of the damage, contact your insurer as soon as possible so that they can assist you with the claims process.

With Leibel Insurance Group’s dedicated Claims Advocate to assist you during your claim, you can rest assured that someone is working with you and helping to move your claim along quicker so you can get back to your daily pre-claim routine. 

We care about our clients and make this process quick, so if you are a homeowner, condominium owner, or just have a tenant’s policy do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We can gladly provide you with more details, so contact us today if you are looking for home insurance quotes or condo insurance!