What Personal Property Is Covered in My Home Insurance, and What Is Not?

Your home is your private oasis. It’s a place that houses you and your family and stores all the precious belongings you’ve collected over the years. But life happens. Unexpected events can damage your home and its contents, from fires and storms to theft and vandalism. Thankfully, your home, condo, or tenant insurance includes coverage for your contents and protects some of your possessions, such as furniture, appliances, electronics, and clothing. However, this type of insurance has its limits. Read on to better understand what types of personal property insurance your policy provides, and when you might want to buy additional coverage.

Key takeaways

• You’ll want to understand your personal home insurance policy to properly insure your personal belongings in Canada.

• Most home insurance policies will protect some of your personal belongings in the event of theft or damage caused by specific unexpected events, such as a fire or vandalism.

• Your coverage will have limits, and you may want to consider additional options available for big-ticket items, such as fine art, antiques, jewelry, or collectibles.

• You may have the option to insure some high-value items separately that exceed policy limits.

• You may be able to purchase additional coverage for certain events, such as earthquakes. However, some circumstances, such as coastal floods, aren’t covered, and there are usually no options to purchase coverage.

What personal property is covered by home insurance in the event of a claim?

Insurance for your home (whether you own a home or a condo, or are a tenant) will cover a pretty wide range of personal belongings, as listed below. Remember that you’ll likely have to pay a deductible out of pocket for each claim before your policy will compensate you for your loss. The standard deductible is $1,000 for the most common types of claims, but will vary.

Furniture and appliances

Your personal home insurance policy protects your essential furniture and appliances against fire, most thefts, and vandalism. Whether you need to repair or replace a sofa, dining room set, bed, or an appliance, such as a fridge, washer, or dryer, your policy will reimburse you within specified limits following a covered loss.

If you are a renter, your tenant policy will only provide coverage for the items you own. Any damaged items included in your rental or owned by your landlord would fall under the landlord’s insurance policy. Your landlord’s insurance does not provide coverage for your (the tenant’s) personal belongings.

Electronics and gadgets

Your home insurance policy covers items such as televisions, computers, laptops, smartphones, and audio systems that you have for personal use.

Clothing and jewelry

If your clothing and/or jewelry is stolen or damaged by a covered incident (such as a fire), your policy will provide compensation up to the specified limit if the amount exceeds your deductible. For example, through RBC Insurance, coverage is available for jewelry, watches, gems, and furs. Limits and extensions for coverage vary across Canada. If you own high-value jewelry or handbags, consider looking into extra endorsements or riders to protect your assets.

Some collectibles and art

Policies vary widely for collectibles and art, so check with your insurance provider to see what’s covered and what isn’t. For example, home insurance through RBC Insurance can specifically cover sports cards, sports memorabilia, manuscripts, and stamp and coin collections, and wine or spirits on your premises are protected.

Works of art, from paintings and sculptures to handmade rugs and antiques, might also be covered under your home insurance policy. Refer to your policy documents, as coverage limits can vary. The insurance company may require appraisals for some items or collections before approving the coverage to your policy.

Sometimes, a collection may be worth much more than the face value of its individual items. For example, you might have 10 baseball cards worth $30 each (for a total of $300), but sold all together, they might be worth $2,000. However, your policy might only compensate you for the purchase of 10 new $30 baseball cards, not the remaining $1,700 value of the collection. In this case, you’d want to consider “scheduling” the baseball cards for their value, which means individually listing them on your policy and then purchasing adequate coverage.

Renewable energy equipment

If your home features renewable energy equipment (think solar panels or a geothermal HVAC), it’s typically covered by home insurance. However, the equipment is only insurable by its owner.

Spoiled food

If a power outage spoils the food in your fridge and/or freezer, your home insurance may pay you to replace the items. You’ll have to check what types of power outages are covered by your policy, as well as what the reimbursement limits are, and if you’ll have to pay a deductible.

Door locks

If your house keys are lost or stolen, your home insurance will likely reimburse you for the cost of replacing your door locks up to your insured limit.

A child, parent, or dependent’s belongings

When insured through RBC Insurance, any personal property your dependent takes to school or brings to their dorm room or rental when attending boarding school, college, or university is covered up to a specified limit, as long as they haven’t moved out permanently. However, it’s a good idea for students to buy tenant protection coverage, sometimes called “renter’s insurance.”

If you have legal custody of someone, whether they’re a parent, sibling, or a child who is living with a physical or mental disability and lives in a nursing home or a care facility, their personal property is covered up to specified limits

Bicycles and e-bikes

In many cases, a damaged or stolen bicycle or e-bike will be covered up to a limit, even when your bicycle/e-bike is temporarily parked away from home. Through RBC Insurance, you may have coverage for each bike, tricycle, unicycle, or e-bike and its accessories and/or equipment.

Items stolen from your car

Personal property stolen from inside or on your car will typically be covered, even if the vehicle is not parked on your premises. Still, your coverage may be subject to monetary limits, a deductible, or other conditions. The car itself will not be covered by home insurance; it’s covered by your separate car insurance.

What personal property may not be covered by home insurance?

Basic home insurance won’t necessarily cover every item in your home or every type of damage. You may want to purchase specialized property insurance coverage in some instances listed below.

High-value items

Do you have fine art, antiques, jewelry, designer handbags, or collectibles worth a small fortune? Your home insurance policy has maximum coverage limits for these types of belongings, which may not be enough to cover their worth in case of damage or theft. Speak with an insurance advisor to see whether purchasing additional coverage will protect these items properly.

Home-based business equipment

A standard home insurance policy might not provide adequate coverage if you run a business from home and have extensive equipment or inventory. The insurance company may need to do a review to properly evaluate the risk involved before providing an insurance policy. For many small home-based businesses, a standard home policy only provides limited coverage, such as books, tools, and instruments, and only while on the property. Speak to an REC Insurance Advisor to determine if your home-based business assets are covered under a standard home insurance policy.

How can you ensure your personal property is covered sufficiently?

Take these four steps to protect your possessions:

• Keep an inventory of your belongings and update it at least once a year. This inventory should be stored securely and include photos or videos of your possessions, as well as serial numbers and/or receipts (particularly for big-ticket items). A record will make the claims process easier.

• Read and understand your home insurance policy’s coverage limits. An RBC Insurance Advisor will gladly help you if you’re uncertain about anything.

• Know that you will be reimbursed differently by different policies: either with the actual cash value or the replacement cost. In the case of an eight-year-old refrigerator, depreciation would be considered as part of the cash value, and so you would only be reimbursed for the cost of a similar eight-year-old refrigerator. Replacement costs would cover you when you buy a new refrigerator of a similar kind and quality. It’s up to you to select the type of coverage that suits you best.

• Consider buying separate endorsements or additional coverage, if your policy has limits or exclusions for items you own. It can help to ensure you’ll receive the item’s full value, not just the cost to replace it with something similar but less expensive.

Call an RBC Insurance Advisor today to learn more about home insurance, or to determine whether your personal property is sufficiently covered.

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