Tenant Insurance

The liability portion of your tenant insurance policy typically covers scenarios such as:

• Accidents that occur on your property, such as the mail carrier slipping and falling in your driveway

• Bodily injury to an individual due to negligence, such as your dog biting a visitor in your home

• Property damage caused by negligence, such as flooding due to not properly maintaining your washing machine

However, there are some limitations to this coverage, including:

• Liability resulting from an automobile accident (typically covered by auto insurance)

• Intentional bodily injury or property damage caused by you or a family member in your home may not be covered

• Injuries or damages sustained by you or family members in your home may not be covered

• Business activities or claims related to your profession may not be covered

It's important to review your policy and understand the specific limitations and exclusions that apply to your coverage.

Your tenant insurance policy covers your personal belongings in the event of covered losses such as theft, fire, and water damage etc. However, there may be special limits that apply to certain contents (e.g. jewelry) and the deductible that need to be paid. We recommend reviewing your policy carefully to ensure you understand your coverage.

Looking to learn more? Read our article, Understanding the Scope of Tenant Insurance: A Comprehensive Guide.

We offer a range of optional coverages that you can add to your policy to tailor your coverage to your specific need. Here are some examples of the additional coverages that you can add to your tenant insurance policy:

• Enhanced water damage coverage: This coverage can protect you against losses caused by water damage that's not typically covered by standard policies, such as damage caused by flooding or sewer backup.

• Increased contents insurance: If you have valuable possessions that are worth more than the standard contents coverage limit, you can opt to increase your coverage to ensure that you have adequate protection in case of loss or damage.

• Additional living expenses: If you're unable to live in your rented space due to a covered loss, this coverage can help pay for the additional expenses you incur while temporarily living elsewhere, such as hotel bills or increased transportation costs.

• Personal liability coverage: This coverage can protect you if you're held responsible for damage to someone else's property or if someone is injured while on your rented property. For example, if a guest slips and falls in your rented space and sues you for medical expenses, personal liability coverage can help cover the costs of the lawsuit.

If you experience a covered loss and need to make a claim on your tenant insurance policy, you may be required to pay a deductible. The amount of the deductible will be shown on the Declaration page of your policy and will typically be subtracted from the total amount of your covered loss. This means that we will only pay the portion of the covered loss that exceeds the deductible.

However, it's worth noting that some special coverages under the Tenant's package may not require a deductible. For example, certain coverages such as lock replacement, freezer food spoilage, and fire department charges may be exempt from the deductible requirement.

To ensure that you have a clear understanding of your policy's deductible requirements and any applicable exemptions, we recommend reviewing your policy documentation.

Looking to learn more? Read our article How to Make a Tenant’s Insurance Claim for more information.

If your child is currently enrolled as a student and living in a residence away from your principal residence, your tenant insurance policy may extend coverage to them, provided that they are dependent on you or your spouse for support and maintenance.

To be eligible for coverage, your child must be enrolled and attending a school, college, or university, and must meet the definition of a dependent as outlined in your policy. It's important to note that there may be certain limitations and exclusions on this coverage, which are outlined in your policy wording.

We also offer tailored policies for student renters attending post-secondary schools. Click here to learn more about our Student Tenant Product.

Unfortunately, a standard tenant insurance policy may not provide adequate coverage if you're renting out your space through Airbnb, VRBO or any other platform.

It is important to review your policy and understand its limitations. However, we offer a specialized insurance product that is designed to specifically cover rented spaces, including those rented out on short-term platforms. Please click here to learn more about our Rented Condo Product

The timing of your charges for your tenant insurance policy depends on the payment frequency you select.

If you choose an annual payment plan, you will be charged for the full policy amount upfront when you purchase the policy.

On the other hand, if you select a monthly payment plan, you will be charged for the first month right away and subsequently charged each month afterwards. By default, the monthly charges will occur on the same date as your first payment, but you can choose to change this at the checkout page.

So, whether you prefer to pay upfront or spread your payments out over time, you have the flexibility to choose the payment frequency that works best for you.

While there’s no legal requirement that says all renters need to have a tenant insurance policy, many landlords will require proof of a policy before handing over the keys. It’s also important to note that landlords often require the policy to be continuous as a condition of the lease, so you’ll need a valid insurance policy throughout your tenancy. You don’t want to get caught out in the cold because you canceled your tenant insurance policy early.

Besides all that, there are other great reasons to have tenant insurance:

1. Tenant insurance protects you and your loved ones from having to pay out of pocket in the event of unforeseen events such as fire or theft.

2. Staying covered also helps you build up an insurance history so you won’t have any difficulty getting a homeowner’s policy for if you decide to buy a house.

3. If someone gets hurt on your property, they can sue you for damages. We know Fido means well, but the mailman may not. Tenant insurance can cover any legal fees and damages you may have to pay.

Looking to learn more? Read our article, Tenant Insurance: What It Is and Why It’s Important

You can cancel your tenant policy anytime, but there may be some costs if you cancel it before the end of the term. We'll use the short rate cancellation table R7, which is included in your policy documents, to calculate refunds or outstanding balance. However, transaction fees cannot be refunded.

Included in your Contents coverage, APOLLO Renter's Insurance covers water damage from sources within the building, like a leaky dishwasher or burst pipe, as well as severe weather like wind driven rain.

If you live next to a body of water, like a lake or a river, you should consider our Enhanced Coverage: Water Damage that extends coverage to your belongings for damage and clean-up costs from flooding. Changes to weather patterns causing flooding are becoming more common across Canada with recent examples in Calgary, Toronto, Kelowna or Vancouver.

When thinking about how much coverage you need, consider everything in your home that you would need to replace should a fire burn your unit down. It can be a good idea to periodically audit your home and tally up what everything's worth. Then, check your insurance to make sure you have enough to cover the cost of replacing it all.

If you live near a body of water such as a lake, river, or creek, you may be more susceptible to risks such as flooding and sewer back-up. If so, we encourage you to select our Enhanced Coverage: Water Damage extension. This additional coverage will keep you covered for these possible worst case scenarios, providing you with priceless peace of mind.

Looking to learn more? Read our article, Can I Customize My Tenant Insurance Policy?

Each roommate has to purchase a policy in their own name to ensure they receive the appropriate coverage so that they can find a personalized solution that works for them. For example, you may have a roommate that will require higher limits to insure an expensive e-bike.

Similar to getting your own credit card to build a credit history, you'll also want to consider the importance of building up your own insurance history. This can help you get discounts on future insurance purchases, such as when you move to a new apartment, or insure a new condo.

With regards to your family, the tenant policy will cover common-law partners, spouses, and family members automatically under your policy, provided they live in the insured residence.

Special limits refer to the amount of money your insurance company will pay out for certain types of items. Make sure you check what these limits are, as they tend to differ between insurance companies.

Special limits mainly apply to the categories of Jewelry, Bicycles, Personal Computers, Animals/Birds/Fish, Money/Gift Cards, Securities, Utility Trailers, Spare Auto Parts, Coin/ Stamp Collections, Collectable Cards, Comics and Freezer Food Spoilage.

We've simplified our online purchase journey to include standard options. But that doesn't mean you don't have the option to customize your policy! Once you've purchased your coverage, feel free to call us at 1-604-318-5587 and select option 1. You'll be able to personalize your policy further by purchasing additional coverage for the special limits you need at an additional premium.