Not all home insurance policies are created equal. So, it’s important to compare what’s offered by different home insurance providers. To help with this comparison, we’ve compiled information on five common providers in Ontario. Information is included on the degree of personalization, the type of protection, and the range of savings offered by each provider.
While every effort is made to keep this comparison up-to-date, it is subject to change without notice. Please contact your home insurance provider if you have specific questions about your policy. Or, call 1.855.331.6933 to speak with a Square One agent. Our office is open 5:00 AM - 6:00 PM (Monday - Saturday). In addition to answering any questions you may have, we can also provide you with a free comparison quote.
The professionals that started Square One have more than a combined 100 years of experience in the insurance industry. They recognized that traditional home insurance wasn’t meeting the needs of customers. So, they designed a new program from scratch. As a result, you can now:
Industry experts recommend that you get comparison quotes every three years because:
Getting comparison quotes used to mean spending hours speaking to agents. Now, many providers offer online quotes. In fact, an online quote from Square One Insurance Services takes 5 minutes.
With Square One, you get a knowledgeable team, fast service, excellent protection, great prices and more...
Most home insurance providers offer pre-packaged policies that cover a wide-range of property. For example, you automatically get 10% of the building limit for detached structures (whether you have any or not). Other providers, like Square One, let you choose what property to insure so you only pay for what you need.
Provided below is a comparison of the types of property insured and limits of insurance offered by each major provider in Ontario. This comparison is based on a house with a $500,000 rebuild value. After reviewing the comparison, decide whether a pre-packaged or a personalized policy is right for you.
Square One | Aviva | Economical | Sonnet | TD | |
Detached structures | Optional | $75,000 | $50,000 | 100% replacement cost | $1,000,000 single limit |
Personal property | $25,000+ | $400,000 | $350,000 | 100% replacement cost | $1,000,000 single limit |
Specialty property | |||||
Audio + video media | Personal property | $1,000 | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Bicycles | Optional | $1,000 | Personal property | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Business property | Optional | $2,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 |
China | Optional | $10,000 | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Collectible cards | Optional | $5,000 | $2,500 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Coin collections | Optional | $5,000 | $500 | $3,000 | $1,500 |
Computers | Personal property | $5,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 | Personal property |
Fine arts | Optional | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Square One | Aviva | Economical | Sonnet | TD | |
Garden-type tractors | Personal property | $5,000 | Personal property | Personal property | $15,500 |
Jewellery + watches | Optional | $6,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 | $12,000 |
Manuscripts + stamp collections | Optional | Personal property | $2,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Money (including cash cards) | Not covered | Personal property | $500 | $500 | $1,500 |
Oriental rugs | Optional | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Silverware | Optional | Personal property | $10,000 | $3,000 | Personal property |
Sporting equipment | Optional | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Student’s property | Personal property | $10,000 | Personal property | Personal property | Personal property |
Watercraft | Optional | $2,000 | Unknown | $3,000 | $9,000 |
Additional living expenses | $10,000+ | $125,000 | $100,000 | Variable | $1,000,000 single limit |
Personal and premises liability | $500,000+ | $1,000,000+ | $1,000,000+ | $1,000,000+ | $1,000,000+ |
Square One | Aviva | Economical | Sonnet | TD |
Not all providers classify specialty property in the same way. Some providers may classify certain types of specialty property as personal property. Moreover, they may not cover certain types of specialty property at all. And finally, the limit for specialty property may only apply for losses resulting from burglary, mysterious disappearance, theft, etc. For complete details, please refer to the policy wordings for each provider.
ready for an online quote? Your time matters, and so does your stuff. Get a personalized home insurance quote in 5 minutes. That’s less time than it takes to wait in line for coffee.
When buying home insurance, it’s important to determine what type of policy is being offered by the provider. The three types of policies available are:
1. Comprehensive: Protects against all types of loss except for those specifically excluded in the policy.
2. Named perils: Protects against only specific types of loss listed in the policy.
3. Broad form: Protects building on a comprehensive basis and personal property on a named perils basis.
Comprehensive policies offer the best protection and named perils policies offer the worst protection. That said; not all comprehensive policies are the same. In some cases, you are charged extra for critical protection against certain loss types. The chart below compares the policy and loss types offered by each provider.
Square One | Aviva | BCAA | Intact | RBC | |
Policy type | |||||
Comprehensive (Best) | Included | Optional | Included | Included | Included |
Broad form | Not offered | Optional | Optional | Not offered | Not offered |
Named perils (Worst) | Not offered | Optional | Optional | Not offered | Not offered |
Loss type | |||||
Earthquake | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Not offered |
Inland (freshwater) flood | Included | Optional | Not offered | Optional | Not offered |
Water backup | Included | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Water from external drains | Included | Included | Optional | Optional | Included |
Hail | Included | Included | Included | Optional | Included |
Square One | Aviva | Economical | Sonnet | TD |
Inland (freshwater) flood may not be available in all areas of the country. Where it is available, some providers include the coverage automatically and others offer the coverage optionally. It’s also important to note that no home insurance provider in Canada currently offers protection against coastal (seawater) flood.
ready for an online quote? Your time matters, and so does your stuff. Get a personalized home insurance quote in 5 minutes. That’s less time than it takes to wait in line for coffee.
Provided below are the most common discounts offered by home insurance providers. While some providers list discount amounts on the policy, others simply incorporate them into the final premium. Either way, you’re still receiving the same savings.
Selecting a higher deductible is another way that you can save money. A deductible is the amount that you are responsible for paying before your policy will respond. With some providers, you can save up to 30% by selecting a higher deductible.
Square One | Aviva | BCAA | Intact | RBC | |
Discount | |||||
Age-related | 45 years+ | 26 years+ | Variable | Variable | Included |
Claims free | 3 years+ | 3 years+ | Variable | Variable | Included |
Home age | Included | Variable | Variable | Variable | Included |
Monitored alarm | Included | Variable | Variable | Variable | Included |
Mortgage free | Included | Variable | Variable | Variable | Unknown |
Deductible (standard) | $500 to $5,000 | $500 to $2,500 | $1,000+ | $1,000 to $5,000 | $500+ |
Square One | Aviva | Economical | Sonnet | TD |
In addition to the standard deductible listed above, your policy may be subject to several other deductibles. For example, there may be specific deductibles for losses from crime, water backup, and hail losses. Or, there may be deductibles for losses due to your home’s electrical or plumbing systems.
Don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of the reviews that contribute to our average rating of 4.7 stars out of 5. Want to read more? Visit our reviews page.
Very friendly online portal to select and purchase my new tenant insurance policy with Square One. A friend referred me, based on her total satisfaction to date. We both have received our promotional gifts (Amazon gift card for me, and the $25 account credit for her!). The coverage is excellent for my needs, at very good cost (good value for money). Telephone inquiry about one concern was handled promptly, courteously and satisfactorily. Thank you for the good service and product. I feel to be in good hands with Square One.
I am very pleased to be able to secure a tenant policy with less hustle. Everything done online without the involvement of any agent as I don't have time to speak on the phone. All the forms filled up are very comprehensive and easy to understand. One of the cheap premiums on the market as well. Great service! Good job.
Square One is one of the only providers who would cover our in-home pottery studio. They were thorough and requested photos but they covered us. It’s been very easy to update our coverage as the business grows and we add more services and assets, and sales locations. I love being able to do these changes online and have easy access to check my policy. The service has been great so far.
Getting tenant insurance has never been this personalized. I enjoyed that you could truly cater to what kind of home you are living in. With a click of a button, the value of your insurance would change so you could see the quote change as you figured out what works best for you. Very intuitive and user-friendly.
I would like to thank our Claims Adjuster, Brad Rotto, for all the hard work he has done while working on our claim. Our unit flooded, and there was a lot of damage done by the flood. However, Brad was very helpful, replying immediately to any question we had (and we had many!), arranging for reimbursements right away and making the entire process uncomplicated and easy to understand. It has been a real pleasure working with Brad. This was one of the rare instances when the reality exceeded the expectations. Thank you, Brad, for the impeccable service and the support received throughout!
I have bought several home insurance policies over the years. Square One was the last and has been the best. I got my house insurance with them for a few years, and now for an apartment that I am buying. You do not need to do any shopping around, and you do not go wrong if you come here directly for a great customer service experience, great coverages, at low price.
Square One insurance is so easy! You can go back and change whatever you like, whenever you like. Very easy to read, no mumbo jumbo that you can’t understand, it’s great, I love it! Thank you Square One, it’s good to know you have my back.
I decided to switch to Square One for our home insurance needs. I love how I can modify my coverage online to see the effect it will have on my premium prior to making the changes. Everything seems so out in the open and the website and quote pages are very user-friendly. Joyce F. was excellent in helping me set up our new policy! She was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and patient in dealing with all my questions. She got back to me every time she said she would.
Needed to find a new insurance provider as the one I'd been using for years raised premiums by a huge amount for absolutely no reason and with no explanation. So I jumped online and found Square One. The quote process was quick, easy and clear. When I had a question I asked for an agent to call me and they were very prompt in meeting the determined callback time. The chatbot is helpful as well. My quote was significantly less expensive and I have better coverage. I'm already telling all my friends about Square One.
I know only what I've had to learn about home insurance and it is always a daunting process. I felt motivated at 12:55 am to finally go to Google and fight through a quote, and at 1:08 am I got the confirmation email of my new policy. I feel more confident in than any time I've tried to keep up with someone on the phone. The expert opinion line was so appreciated, and it was remarkably easy to customize a policy that will let me sleep easier, starting tonight!