Tenant Insurance

Protect yourself and your belongings with tenant insurance

Are you renting a home? Tenant insurance can help protect your belongings, cover unexpected expenses, and provide liability coverage if something goes wrong.

What is tenant insurance?

Tenant insurance (also called renters insurance) helps protect you if:

• Your belongings are damaged or stolen.
• Someone is injured in your rental unit, and you are responsible.
• You need temporary accommodation after a covered loss.

Quick Fact: Your landlord's insurance does not usually cover your personal belongings.

Many renters believe that their landlord’s insurance will protect them in the event of a fire or flood. This is a common misconception and likely why more than half of Canadian renters do not have tenant insurance (TD Insurance 2021 Tenant Insurance Survey).

Tenant insurance is not mandatory, but some landlords - including non-profit and co-operative community housing providers - may require it as part of your lease or housing agreement and may ask you to provide confirmation of your policy.

Why is it important?

Imagine your home suddenly floods due to a burst pipe, or a fire breaks out unexpectedly.

Could you afford to replace your personal items, such as furniture, electronics, clothing, or medication? Could you afford the cost of a hotel stay or temporary rental?

• $20,000 - This is the average cost to replace everything in a one-bedroom unit
• $200 - The average cost of one night's stay in a hotel

Tenant insurance provides coverage for the cost to repair or replace your belongings, such as clothing, furniture and electronics that may be damaged in a fire or flood. It also covers living expenses if you are temporarily displaced from your home.

What does tenant insurance cover?

Protects your property: Tenant insurance may help replace or repair furniture, clothing, electronics, bicycles and other personal belongings if they are damaged or stolen.

Personal liability protection: Accidents happen. Tenant insurance can help cover costs that you are responsible for if you are at fault for damage or injury, like a kitchen fire, your pet bites someone, or you accidentally damage another person’s property.

Helps with expenses: If you can’t stay in your home due to a fire, floor or other emergency, tenant insurance can help cover the costs of hotel stays or a short-term rental.

Shopping around for affordable insurance

The cost of tenant insurance depends on many things, including the location of your residence, how much coverage you need, if you have a history of previous insurance claims, and other factors.

It is recommended to call a few different insurance providers to compare coverage amounts, your deductible in the event of a claim, and your monthly fee. You can also consider using an insurance broker - they do the heavy lifting of shopping around and comparing quotes. They can also act as your advocate if you ever need to file a claim.

For a one to two-bedroom apartment in Ontario, you can expect to pay between $12 to $40 per month, depending on the level of coverage and deductible.

Do you get income from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program? Your insurance costs may be covered under your shelter allowance. Please speak with your case worker to learn more.

Why do I need tenant insurance?

Click the image to follow Ben and Sophie's stories & learn why tenant insurance is an important tool in case of unexpected events.

Resources

The Insurance Bureau of Canada can answer questions about tenant insurance (but does not provide insurance itself). For more information, email consumercentre@ibc.ca or call 1-800-384-2880.

The Housing Services Corporation (HSC) is a non-profit organization that supports the sustainability of community housing. It offers a tenant insurance program exclusively for community housing residents and other rent-geared-to-income (RGI) tenants.

Durham Region's Renter's Toolkit includes a printable resource called What is tenant insurance? that includes things to consider when you are thinking about buying insurance.

Are you concerned about the additional cost of tenant insurance? Filing your taxes may provide you with additional monthly income to help with your expenses. Find information about filing your taxes, including a list of free income tax clinics in Durham Region, at File Your Taxes - Region of Durham.