Home insurance premiums are rising across Canada mainly because of more frequent, more severe weather events and the rising cost of materials and labour to rebuild after a claim. Homeowners can’t control either driver directly, but they can still lower their premium through home maintenance, security upgrades, water mitigation, and by asking their broker about available discounts.
Renewal notices have been landing higher for homeowners across the country, and brokers are fielding the calls that follow. Lauren Carrigan, Branch Manager, Personal Lines at Westland and a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) with 19 years in the industry, has spent much of this year walking clients through exactly what’s changed and why. Here’s what she’s seeing, and what homeowners can actually do about it.
Key takeaways
- Weather-related claims and inflation are the two biggest drivers of rising premiums, and both sit largely outside any one homeowner’s control.
- Homeowners can still influence their premium through home maintenance, security and water-mitigation upgrades, and by asking about group or bundling discounts.
- A policy is only as good as its coverage limit. Check that it would actually cover a full rebuild at today’s costs.
- A broker adds the most value at renewal, comparing coverage, not just price, and flagging gaps before they become a problem.
What’s actually driving premiums higher?
Two factors outside a homeowner’s control account for most of the increase. Wind, hail, rainstorms, wildfires, and floods have grown more frequent and more damaging, pushing up the number and size of claims insurers pay out. At the same time, inflation has raised the cost of building materials and labour, so even a routine claim costs more to settle than it used to.
A smaller part of the picture is within a homeowner’s control. Installing a monitored alarm or fire system, adding water mitigation like a sump pump or backflow valve, and keeping core home systems, heating, plumbing, electrical, and the roof, in good repair can all help offset rising costs. Asking a broker about group or affinity discounts is worth doing at renewal too.
Why do premiums go up even without a claim?
Insurance works by pooling risk: the losses of the few are paid for by the premiums of the many. When claims frequency rises across a region or a book of business, rates rise to keep that pool funded, even for policyholders who haven’t personally filed a claim.
That’s the piece that gets lost in translation at renewal time. A premium increase usually reflects what’s happening across the wider pool, not an individual’s claims history, and there’s rarely just one factor behind it.
Which homes or neighbourhoods see the steepest increases?
Areas with a recent history of severe weather or high claims frequency tend to see the sharpest premium increases. Coverage in some high-wildfire-risk parts of Alberta became harder and more expensive to find after the major 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires, for example, showing how a single catastrophic event can reshape a local insurance market for years.
Older neighbourhoods with aging infrastructure can also see more sewer backup claims, which pushes local premiums up independent of any one homeowner’s actions.
What usually prompts someone to call their broker?
Renewal notices are the single biggest trigger. “Our team receives daily calls about renewal cost increases,” Carrigan says. In those conversations, she can review the existing policy, suggest ways to offset the increase, and run quotes with other insurers without sacrificing coverage.
The other common trigger is anxiety after a storm or wildfire nearby. Homeowners who came through unscathed often want reassurance that they’re properly covered in case they’re not so lucky next time, which is a good opportunity to flag any gaps or suggest enhancements.
What does a real water damage or sewer backup claim actually look like?
From the broker’s side, it starts with a call. Carrigan checks the client’s coverage, deductible, and claims history, and walks through how filing might affect the policy and future premium. From there, she either connects the client directly with a claims representative or submits a first notice of loss, and an adjuster takes over. “From there, the process is outside of my area of expertise, as I am not an adjuster,” she notes, an honest reminder that a broker’s role is to get a claim started and properly positioned, not to manage the adjustment itself.
How can a homeowner tell if they’re underinsured?
A simple test: if the coverage limit on the policy wouldn’t be enough to rebuild the home completely from the ground up today, the home is underinsured. It’s worth having a broker review this directly, since building costs shift over time and a policy that was adequate a few years ago may no longer be.
The distinction between replacement cost and actual cash value matters here too. Replacement cost covers rebuilding with materials of like kind and quality, with no deduction for depreciation. Actual cash value subtracts depreciation from that same rebuild cost, which usually means a smaller payout.
What is reinsurance, and how does it show up in what homeowners pay?
Reinsurance is essentially insurance that insurance companies buy for themselves, spreading their own risk across a wider market. When reinsurers face higher costs, often after a run of catastrophic losses, some of that cost increase can trickle down through standard insurers and eventually show up in individual homeowners’ premiums.
Beyond price, what should homeowners compare at renewal?
Price alone can be a misleading way to shop for home insurance. It’s worth comparing any new quote against the existing policy line by line, watching for missing coverages or limits that look lower than they should. This is where a licensed broker adds value that a quote-comparison site can’t: helping identify the right coverage limits and deductibles for a specific household’s needs and budget, not just the lowest sticker price.
What coverage gaps should homeowners in wildfire, flood, or hail-prone areas ask about?
Most home insurance packages already include wildfire and hail coverage. Sewer backup and overland water coverage are different: they matter most in flood-prone areas but aren’t automatically included in every homeowner’s package, so it’s worth confirming directly with a broker what water coverage is actually in place, and whether a separate, higher deductible applies to water or hail claims.
Losses caused specifically by salt water are commonly excluded from standard coverage too, which is worth asking about directly for homes near the coast.
Is the increase bigger in some provinces than others?
National figures vary by province and by location, and there isn’t one number that applies everywhere. “From what I’m seeing, Alberta seems to be seeing some of the biggest increases,” Carrigan says.
Carrigan expects rates to keep climbing over the next year, pointing to current economic conditions and weather trends as the reasons why.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my home insurance going up if I haven’t made a claim?
Insurance pools risk across everyone in a region or class of business. When claims frequency rises overall, premiums rise to keep that shared pool funded, even for policyholders with a clean claims history.
What is reinsurance, and how does it affect what I pay?
Reinsurance is insurance that insurers buy to cover their own risk. When reinsurers’ costs go up, that pressure can pass down through standard insurers and eventually into individual premiums.
How much have home insurance premiums increased in Canada this year?
Increases vary significantly by province and by location, so there isn’t one number that applies to every homeowner. Nationally, though, the trend is real and well ahead of general inflation. A Statistics Canada report highlighted by the Insurance Bureau of Canada found that insurance premiums have increased faster than inflation in recent years, driven by the rising cost of rebuilding homes and the growing frequency of catastrophic weather events. Four of the last five years now rank among the 10 costliest on record for insured weather losses in Canada.
Is one province seeing bigger increases than others?
Some Westland brokers are seeing Alberta trend toward the largest increases in their own books of business.
What’s the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?
Replacement cost covers rebuilding with materials of similar kind and quality, without any deduction for depreciation. Actual cash value applies that depreciation, which typically means a lower payout for the same loss.
How do I know if I’m underinsured?
If the coverage limit on a policy wouldn’t be enough to rebuild the home completely today, it’s underinsured. A broker review is the most reliable way to check, especially if the policy hasn’t been reviewed in a few years.
Will home insurance rates keep rising next year?
Current weather trends and economic conditions suggest rates are likely to keep climbing.
What discounts can lower my home insurance premium, and does bundling home and auto help?
Common discounts include group or affinity discounts, claims-free discounts, mortgage-free discounts, alarm or security system discounts, loyalty or renewal discounts, water-mitigation discounts, and multi-policy discounts for bundling home and auto together. Availability and eligibility vary by insurer, so it’s worth asking a broker which ones actually apply to a specific policy.
Renewal season doesn’t have to mean guessing why a premium moved or whether coverage still fits. Westland’s brokers work through these conversations with clients every day, checking what’s driving the change, whether a policy still matches today’s rebuild costs, and what discounts might apply. If you’re not sure where your policy stands, our home insurance team can walk through it with you. We’ll take care of it.
Featuring insights from Lauren Carrigan
With 19 years of experience in the insurance industry, Lauren Carrigan brings deep expertise in personal lines, home and auto, to every client conversation. As a Branch Manager, Personal Lines and a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP), she works with clients eligible for group discounts as well as VIP group clients, helping them understand not just what their policy costs, but what it actually covers.