At times, you may think paying insurance each month of every year is a waste of money, right?.
I mean, you’ve never used it or had a claim in the past five years; why would you need it for the next five years?
BrokerLink helped us go through a couple of reasons why you need it and what you can do to decrease your premiums.
Can You Afford It?
Let’s say you can’t afford not to.
According to a few sources, the average price for a house in Toronto is $1,100,000. Therefore, insurance would cost you $100 per month, or $1200 yearly in this instance.
Let’s consider a few scenarios illustrating the importance of insurance.
Scenario 1
You buy a house for around $1,100,000. You’ve got a mortgage for that amount, and the lender requires that you have home insurance.
So you’re out one afternoon with your family and get home to a big, black ball of smoke and flames as high as the roof.
You’re sad and horrified due to the loss, but you know that you took dwelling, contents, and liability insurance with BrokerLink.
After the company did all the checks, they decided to pay out your claim. Your mortgage of $1,100,000 and the entire contents of the house will be paid out.
One neighbor got injured while helping and held you responsible. He sued you for a certain amount. That’s taken care of because your policy included liability insurance.
What a relief!
Scenario 2
Nigel buys a house for $1,000,000. He doesn’t take out a mortgage because he saved for many years to have enough cash to buy a home.
Since he didn’t take out a mortgage, there is no mandatory requirement to take insurance.
Nigel took the family out for ice cream on a sunny Saturday afternoon. When he came home, his house was engulfed in flames. People were frantically running around trying to help extinguish the fire.
Stan, his lovely elderly neighbor, breaks his leg when falling down some stairs while helping the firefighters.
Nigel makes a loss of $1,100,000 plus the entire contents of his home. Stan sues for his medical costs.
Nigel is without a home or contents and needs to pay Stan’s medical bills.
The premium he would’ve gotten through BrokerLink seems like a smart idea now; he’s liable to pay and doesn’t receive any payout.
What Affects the Premium?
The average home insurance cost in Ontario province is about $1250 per year.
You can, however, do things that affect that premium.
Smoking
It’s not just bad for your health, but for your premium too.
Quitting smoking will decrease your premium as you’ve removed a fire risk from your home.
Install a Security System
Toronto is one of the world’s safest cities. It’s certainly one of the safest in North America. Installing a security system will decrease your premiums.
Although it’s safe, taking extra precautions is never a bad idea.
Conclusion
Having insurance is never a waste, particularly when considering the amount of money at stake should something go wrong.
The risk of major loss far outweighs the small premium that needs to be paid.
Don’t be a “Nigel” that doesn’t pay insurance; in time, you’ll thank yourself for it.
