As a follow up to last week’s post on Rising Property Risks, the severe weather in Alberta over the last few years has resulted not only in an increase in property loss and damage, but an increase in property insurance premiums as well. There are steps you can take to reduce your insurance premiums while still maintaining an adequate level of protection and coverage.
As mentioned previously, last year alone the City of Calgary and surrounding areas witnessed some extreme weather events, including the Southern Alberta floods and summer hail storms. Although this extreme weather is happening across the country, the majority of them (62% in 2012) are occurring in Alberta.
The end of 2013 marked five consecutive years of industry losses over $1,000,000,000, and the result is that premiums are on the rise. In addition, many Insurance Companies are making changes to their policies, including split deductibles for hail/wind and water damage, limiting coverage on roofs, and applying limits to sewer backup coverage.
With these changes, many Insurance Companies are also providing additional discounts for Insureds who are taking precautionary measures and reducing their risk.
Some of the steps that you can take in order to help reduce your insurance premiums are as follows:
– Provide our Office with any updates that have been done to your home (including updating your roof, furnace, hot water tank, and electrical)
– Increase your policy deductible
– Install a monitored alarm system for fire/theft/flood
– Install a sump pump or back-up valve
– Upgrade your roofing and/or siding materials to a more durable alternative (such as a metal roof and composite siding)
– Combine your policy with your automobile insurance
– Pay small claims out of pocket to avoid the loss of your claims free status
Please note that our Office will be reviewing all property insurance renewals to ensure that our clients are receiving the best possible coverage and rate. As your Insurance Broker, we encourage you to also thoroughly review your property insurance renewal documents and please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Thank you,
The Costen & Associates Team
Rising Property Premiums
