Beware of what you ask for the next time you talk with your insurance company about changing your policy. I spoke with the company that I deal with about insuring the new home in Ottawa. Despite being claims free and being a loyal customer for years, they told me that I would have to undergo a credit check before they could insure the new property.
I had heard of this procedure going on in the USA but this is the first time that I have heard of it in Canada. I asked the insurance representative to explain how this relates to risk in a client profile. She didn't have an answer.
Apparently, if you have bad credit your rates are going to be higher. What this means is that the people who can least afford insurance pay the most.
Have any of you had a similar experience?
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Ottawa 2009
- Balcony Babe
- This summer I moved to Ottawa to start a new job. When a visitor comes to Ottawa he or she is likely to have limited time and will want to see the major attractions: Parliament, the Canal, the Babe (Balcony type, of course). Since there are other little tidbits that are interesting, but not necessarily interesting enough to visit, I will make some short blog posts about them for your reading pleasure.
2 comments:
Interesting development. I was shocked to learn the cost of renter's insurance here.
I expected to be able to insure our things for about $200 / year - but the rates they quoted mid-400s. They said my building is too old. And since I don't have an insurance reputation built in Canada, I'm an extra risk I guess.
In the end we didn't buy a policy - it was just too expensive. Now I wonder if we should bite the bullet and get an expensive policy - just to establish an insurance record (hopefully get cheaper insurance down the road for car, house, etc.)
Interesting dilemma. I can't imagine why your insurance cost would be so high when you are only insuring the contents. Can you afford to start over if a catastrophe happens in your building? Fire, flood, whatever. If so then you don't need insurance. If not then you might want to get some.
By choosing a higher deductible you might bring down the cost. I have $1000 deductible which means that if someone steals my TV or bike then I wouldn't claim the loss because the items cost less than that to replace. If, on the other hand, I have to replace multiple items then the policy would cover it.
As far as the reference goes, I wouldn't buy insurance just to build up a claim's free history. My recommendation is that you should only buy it if you really need it. Just a thought.
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