It’s true that my response could be perceived as not being helpful, but I feel a bit sorry for you that no one responded to your request for recommendations, I will take some time to elaborate on what I meant with my post and no matter if it’s going to help you, it might be of interest to other forum visitors.
It’s January after all and that means I have some time on my hands.
I would like to acknowledge that I’m not an authority on insurances, but having a solid understanding of the workings of the Industry, and would certainly welcome any corrections, comments or valuable contributions.
Insurance premiums are going up. There is no doubt about that.
I do think it’s important to acknowledge that the PARK/REIN program/policy underwritten by Aviva, is simply the BEST out there in terms of elaborate inclusive insurance offered and value received. In my view it’s a program developed from a landlord/investor standpoint, and there is nothing comparable out there in the market for Canadian Investors.
So, picking up the phone to receive a quote from another insurer, and then to compare to the REIN policy, and then to mention you are concerned about exclusions is imho very simplistic. In case of the example, Wachovia, I believe is a very small player on the Canadian insurance market, if a player at all, and tbh I hadn’t even heard of them before.
Landlord/investors who are concerned about their insurance premiums, you would certainly want to contact a broker to shop around for you, but you will find that it’s a bit of a labyrinth finding a program that works for you, based on wether you are value driven or premium driven. I can assure you tho that quotes received will be without exception from the top 10 underwriters (insurance companies) active on the Canadian markets. And as mentioned before, for MF buildings it seems to get more challenging to find underwriters at all.
In case of you being value driven, you won’t find anything better then the PARK/REIN program. In case of premium driven, you might succeed.
The OP claim that insurance increased by 60%, it seems very steep but could be possible.
If you were to take that example, and to attach some numbers to it,
let’s assume the premium was $2500, a 60% increase would mean an extra $1500 increase to a $4000 annual premium. For smaller investors, SFH or with a suite attached, a $125 monthly increase can take a serious bite of your (somewhat limited) cashflow.
I think to be fair, what landlord/investors could expect this year, (on top of increases from previous years) is an average increase across the board of appr. 25% on premiums.
Besides that there are many other factors, such as claim history, age of insured object, upgrading of electrical/plumbing and so on.
At current my rental objects (MF) are not due for renewal yet so I can’t give an exact update on what will happen this year. However, having just completed my renewals on my current home insurance, I have been given an increase of appr. 30%
2019 premium at appr $1950 and renewal 2020 at $2560.
I have been told that increase is mainly due to age of house as ALL insurance companies are adding on to homes over 25 yrs of age. I’m able to decrease the premium by about $160 to $2400 by increasing deductible from $1000 to $2500
And just for the record, In having my broker doing their homework I got several other home insurance quotes in from different top 10 insurance companies active in Canada, but before the multi policy discount:
Intact: $3289 a year
Optimum: $3989.00
RSA: $4867.00
Aviva: $2999.00
I hope the examples above will help many in determining if it’s worth it to change insurances, however there is nothing wrong with at least having your broker doing their/your homework.
PARK/REIN on behalf of their members could of course also hold the insurance companies feet to the fire by staying competitive and not getting complacent with the current underwriters. Like in any business the combined negotiating power of its members could or should be worth something?
Kind Regards.