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Residential and Umbrella Liability

The primary objective of residential insurance is to protect you against the financial consequences of damage caused to your home or to objects usually found in your home. It also covers the financial loss resulting from damage or injury you can cause to others, in other words legal liability..

 Coverage adapted to your needs!
 Specific limitations
 Most frequent exclusions
 Optimum Personal Insurance
 Substantial reductions
 To save even more
 What must I check when my residential insurance comes up for renewal?
 

Coverage adapted to your needs!

1. Owner, co-owner or tenant

Whether you are the owner, co-owner or tenant of a principal, secondary or seasonal residence, or the owner of buildings under construction or rental buildings? Sogedent provides you with the highest standards of protection for all the following:

  • buildings and outbuildings
  • contents
  • additional living expenses
  • personal liability

2. Umbrella liability

Also, to be able to sleep easy, we strongly recommend that you take out umbrella liability insurance. You will thus be free from financial worries should a claim be made against you arising from personal liability. It increases the basic amount of your civil liability insurance by one or more million dollars.

Read our May-June 2004 article: Umbrella Insurance, greater coverage!

3. Valuable property

As an option, Sogedent offers you a full range of coverages on your valuable property such as:

  • recreational boats (read our May-June 2005 article: Wonderful vacation)
  • jewellery
  • art objects
  • furs
  • sports equipment
  • computers, etc.

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Specific limitations

Some categories of assets are subjected to a maximum amount payable by the insurer. If you basic insurance amount is insufficient, you can complete it with an endorsement of specific insurance. Here are some examples:

  • Audio and video media, computers
  • Jewellery, watches and furs
  • God or silver objects
  • Sport or performer trading cards
  • Art objects, especially paintings and pictures
  • Stamp and coin collections
  • Bicycles
  • Animals
  • Boats
  • Trailers
  • Securities
  • Firearms

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Most frequent exclusions

Residential insurance contracts, even those offering all risks coverage, include numerous exclusions. First, there are those risks that any insurer cannot possibly cover: war, terrorism, rebellion, pollution, flood, normal wear and tear and, of course, damage caused voluntarily.

1. Premises changes

Also, when the use of premises changes, it is essential to notify us. Examples are if your home is vacant or unoccupied, if you decide to rent it or run a small business in it, because then the declarations you have made when your insurance came into effect are modified, and there are grounds for invalidating the insurance.

When you go on vacation or are away from your home during the usual heating season, it is important to know that the following is not insured: loss or damage caused by freezing of a plumbing, heating, sprinkler or air conditioning system, domestic appliance, waterbed, aquarium, swimming pool, spa, sauna or inside equipment attached :

  • in a non-heated building; or
  • in a heated building from which you have been away for more than 4 consecutive days, unless :

a) you have arranged for a competent person to come to your home each day
    and ensure that the heating is on;
b) you have shut off the water supply and drained all the pipes and
    appliances.

There are finally some exclusions regarding legal liability to which you must pay attention.

2. Who is insured?

First, it is essential to know who is insured. In addition to the insured designated in the policy declarations section, are also considered as insured persons, your spouse, members of your family and of your spouse’s family, your dependents under the age of 21, as well as any student you support even if he or she temporarily resides outside your home.

3. Ownership of a watercraft

You are also insured against claims arising out of your ownership of a watercraft:

  • equipped with an outboard, inboard or inboard-outboard motor or motors of not more than 18KW (24HP) in total when used with or on a single watercraft; and
  • not more than 8 metres (26 feet) long.

If you own any motor or watercraft larger than those stated above, you must take out additional coverage.

Regulation on the age of marine pilots

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Optimum Personal Insurance

Sogedent also offers you top-of-the-line residential insurance coverage that very few Quebec insurers are able to provide at the present time. If you own high-value property, such as a home worth more than $300,000, for example, or precious jewellery, art objects, etc., this new product is made to order for you (Comparison of Products Optimum Insurance Company inc.: "Optimum" vs "Platinum").

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Substantial reductions

You benefit from premium reductions based on :

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To save even more

A winning combination: automobile insurance and residential insurance

Combining your insurance policies can cause significant weight loss to your premiums and may result in better coverage, higher discounts and superior benefits ("A seasoned pair of insurance policies).

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What must I check when my residential insurance comes up for renewal?

Keep a vigilant eye on the terms offered by your insurance company the next time your home insurance comes up for renewal. Read the introductory pages carefully because they contain the information that requires your immediate attention.

In the Forms section, Optimum or L'Unique home insurance questionnaires will allow you to reevaluate your insurance needs or bring changes to your property's construction or use.

Read our September-October 2004 article: Home insurance, a less generous context