The Information You Need To Bring To Get A Home Insurance Quote

You’ve saved for a down payment, arranged your mortgage, and successfully placed an offer on your new home. It might feel like the work is done, but there’s still one very important thing to do – get a home insurance quote. But where should you start? Before you start to shop around or compare home insurance companies, you’ll want to make sure you have all of the details about you and your new home ready, because without that information you won’t get very far in the quoting process.

Information About the Homeowner:

The thing about habitational insurance is that we’re going to need to fully understand who it is that will be inhabiting the property. Below is a list of the top 4 details your home insurance broker will need to know about you, the people on title and occupying the home.

• Full name and date of birth of homeowner, spouses, and any other individuals occupying the property (renters, extended family, etc.).
• Previous insurance history like policy numbers, insurance company, effective dates, cancellations, and any previous claims you’ve had.
• Mortgage lender information and/or your lawyers contact information.
• Previous addresses (as many as you can remember from the last 5 years).
• Smoking habits of occupants. This isn’t a detail that is required to get a quote started, but some insurance companies will provide discounts to non-smoker occupied homes!

Information About the Property:

There are many things that will affect your home insurance quote and coverage options. You’ll want to make sure that you’ve dug up as many details about your property as you can before you start shopping. Below are the top 10 questions your home insurance broker will ask you about your new home.

• When is your possession date? (Yes, in case you were wondering, you will need to sort out your insurance, prior to getting possession of your new home).
• The full property address (including postal code).
• The year the home was built and the years of any major renovations.
• The square footage of the home
• The physical shape of the home (rectangular, square, L-shaped) and the type of home it is (bungalow, split level, etc.).
• The siding material (vinyl, stucco, etc.).
• The roofing material and when it was last replaced.
• Information on interior and exterior assets of the home (number of bathrooms, is the basement finished, do you have an attached garage, a deck, etc.).
• Details on the material type and years updates happened on the following:
  • Plumbing (copper, PVC, plastic, etc.).
  • Electrical (copper or aluminum wiring, fuses or breakers, amperage service)
  • Heating (what is the primary heating unit in the home? Furnace, boiler, etc.)
• Any loss prevention measures in the home, especially related to water (sump pumps, backwater valves, etc.)

Home Insurance in Regina vs. Rural Communities

An important factor that insurance brokers have to consider when quoting habitational insurance is how close your property is located to a responding fire hall. If your property is located within Regina’s city limits, then it is automatically within the kilometer range established as “protected.” If your property is located in a town, on an acreage, or farmland, then you’ll need to know where the closest responding fire hall is, and if there are any fire hydrants near you. Depending on how far your property is from these things your property will be quoted as either protected, semi-protected, or unprotected.

Additional Information You Should Bring To Make Your Home Insurance Quote More Accurate

The above information is essential to determine the rebuilding value of your home, and the general risk level of your property, which means that you’ll be able to get a general idea of what home insurance will cost for you. Like we mentioned in the beginning, there are a variety of things that affect the price of your home insurance. Below are 3 things that you should provide to get a more accurate home insurance quote.

• If you have a monitored alarm system, bring a copy of the alarm certificate as most insurance companies provide discounts for monitored alarms.

• Any appraisals you may have for special belongings like jewellery and fine arts. Speciality items may need to be scheduled onto your home insurance policy, which can increase the price. Make sure to address these things early in the quoting process so that you aren’t surprised by additional costs when you go to finalize your coverage.
• If there is a business risk on the property. Do you run a daycare out of your home? A repair shop out of your garage? Are you a remote worker? Business risks are often excluded under traditional home insurance policies, so to ensure that your home and everything in it is properly covered you will want to be upfront about these details early in the quoting process.

An insurance policy is like a relationship, it needs to be built on a foundation of trust. Our insurance advisors don’t know anything about you or your home yet, so we need you to tell us everything you can to make sure that you’re being properly protected. If this is the first time you’re dabbling in home insurance then you’ll want to prepare to learn a lot! But don’t stress, there is a reason we are insurance advisors not just insurance brokers. Our employees are non-commissioned and only want to educate and empower people to make informed decisions about their insurance needs.

Would you like to connect with one of our experienced home insurance advisors to chat about getting you the best home insurance? Click here to find a location near you!

Don’t feel like connecting directly with an advisor? We totally get it, you’re independent and ready to tackle your insurance on your own. With HWI Click our online self serve platform you can get a home insurance online quote that lets you customize your coverage and compare different packages easily. If you find a quote you like, HWI Click you can instantly buy homes insurance online, and manage your policy from any device, at any time. We know you’re a lone wolf who prefers to run on your own, but just know that you’re never fully on your own. When you purchase a policy on HWI Click you still get an entire team of insurance advisors at your disposal for questions, advice and support.

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