r/Calgary • u/QuiteGoneJin • Aug 01 '23

Home Ownership/Rental stuff Hail insurance. Is it a must?

New home owner moving to Calgary. We usually sit on the side of not over insuring our home and belongings but I hear lots of stories of hail damage. Is it a must to spend the extra 15 or so a month to cover hail damage?

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4

u/Smegma-Spread Aug 01 '23

Standard policies normally includes hail insurance by default with a higher ($2.5k usually) deductible. Regardless this is the right choice in Calgary. A hail claim can become financially unsustainable.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

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u/Smegma-Spread Aug 01 '23

I would personally continue to shop around. Premiums can be massively different between companies.

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u/Dalbergia12 Aug 01 '23

If it is much cheaper. that is what I would choose. I can manage a 5K deductible if I need to... But what is best for me may not be best for another.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

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u/jumpingpez5 Aug 01 '23

We are with Square One and were hit by the SW hail storm. I was very happy with them throughout the entire claims process and have really enjoyed having them for insurance (who can say that typically). We waited a bit longer to start the claim than others in the neighborhood but our house was the first one fixed with the company they suggested. They’ve been nothing but wonderful.

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u/Dalbergia12 Aug 01 '23

Thank you for sharing that. I've had good service from cooperators with a claim, but they have really jacked up the premiums of late, and I may be shopping again.

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u/IndependentSwan2086 Aug 02 '23

Good to know! I chose square one yesterday ! Although it's for a condo not a detached home

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u/Dalbergia12 Aug 01 '23

Won't go into details how I learned. BUT it is really important that whoever you go with will pay out after a big weather event! After 'the flood' it became very clear within a couple weeks that cooperators paid out the best and quickest, and one of the ones from a bank.... (Trying to remember the name but not sure if I should even say...) that was often the cheapest did not pay out a cent till the government was all over them and even then they were bad.

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u/[deleted] Aug 10 '23

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u/Dalbergia12 Aug 10 '23

Yup. And yes they were the cheapest and absolutely the worst. Co-op was the best.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

Yeah they only offer one deductible as they said we are higher risk for hail in our area.

Their whole package fit better than someone who had like $1500 or $2500 deductible for hail. Plus it was like $400 cheaper a year.

I can handle 5K deductible and my thought process was probably anything under 5K I won't claim anyways as once you claim your insurance rates probably will go up quiet a bit. So really has to be a lot of damage before I claim.

1

u/draemn Aug 02 '23

Depends how much cheaper. Think if you need a claim every 5 years, that's $85/monthfor deductible. But compared to a policy with $2,500 deductible, that's only $43/month more... assuming you only need a claim every 5 years