Every year, Canadian buyers go firm on a home and then discover the insurance is difficult, expensive, or unavailable. It is one of the worst surprises in the process because by then the conditions are gone. This walks through the things insurers actually ask about, so you know what to get quoted while you can still do something about it.
We are not insurers or brokers, and this is not insurance advice. Nothing here can tell you whether a home is insurable. Only an insurer can do that, by quoting on that specific address. What this does is tell you which questions are likely to come up, so you can ask them early. Not sure is a perfectly good answer to everything below, and it is often the honest one.
Answer a few above
Anything you mark yes or not sure will show up here with what usually resolves it.
The one thing to take away. Get a real quote on the actual address before your conditions expire. A broker can usually tell you in a day whether a home is going to be straightforward, and that is worth far more than any checklist, including this one.
General education only. Casaroo is not an insurer, not a broker, and not an inspector. Underwriting practices differ between insurers, between provinces and from year to year, and nothing on this page predicts what any particular company will do. This is not a home inspection and it does not replace one.
Why this happens so late
Most buyers arrange insurance in the last couple of weeks before closing, because that is when the lender asks for proof of it. By then the financing condition has gone and the inspection condition has gone, so a difficult answer arrives at the point where you have the fewest options. Moving that one phone call to the start of your condition period costs nothing and removes the worst version of this problem.
What insurers tend to care about
Broadly, three things. Fire risk, which is why wiring, panels and wood stoves come up. Water risk, which is why plumbing material, roof age and past claims come up. And environmental risk, which is mostly oil tanks. Almost everything on the list above sits in one of those three buckets.
It is also worth knowing that a previous owner's claims can follow the property, and that a run of claims in a neighbourhood can affect what is offered even when your house is fine.
Most of what an insurer asks about is visible in a listing if you know what you are looking at. That is exactly what Casaroo reads for, free.
Common questions
Does one insurer saying no mean nobody will cover it?
No. Appetite varies a lot between companies, and a broker who knows the market is the right person to ask. It does usually mean the conversation is going to be longer and the premium higher.
Can I just fix it after I move in?
Sometimes, and insurers will occasionally bind coverage on the condition that work is completed within a set period. That is a real option, but it is one to agree in writing before you are firm, not to assume.
Is this a substitute for talking to a broker?
Not at all. It is a list of things to raise with one. The whole point of it is to get you on that call earlier.
Spot the insurance questions in the listing, before you offer.
Casaroo reads any listing for the bones and flags the things that tend to become insurance conversations. Free, about a minute.