How Often Does A House Need to be Checked for Insurance Purposes?

By NextHome Staff
November 25, 2020

Before you’re given a premium cost for your home insurance, your insurer may want to run a house check. Also, some insurance companies conduct periodic assessments as indicated in your contract. The purpose is to assess the house in order to determine the cost of your premiums and to make adjustments to your plan if the need presents itself.

On the other hand, your insurer may not want to do mandatory inspections. In this case, they leave it to your prerogative. The only problem then is you’re not a trained inspector. But you can do it yourself! If you think you have some basic understanding of the construction of your house, you can be a competent inspector of your own home to keep your house insurance plan up-to-date.

How Often Does a House Need to be Checked for Insurance Purposes in Canada?

So how often does a house need to be checked for insurance purposes in Canada legally? There are no official rules the insurance company has to follow in Canada. Not even every Canadian insurance company will require it, either.

There are some companies, however, that will make inspection visits necessary and part of the contract. How often this is will depend on the company’s rules they set.

If your insurer doesn’t require any home checks, then as an inspector of your own home, you should probably aim for annual checks or at least every two years.

Also, regardless of whether you do your own checks or it’s run by the company, you should be aware of insurance implications from any major renovation you do in your home. This can affect your premiums and once you inform your insurer, they can get you updated to more personalized coverage if needed.

To learn more about how insurance premiums work in Winnipeg, check out this post

Why Some Insurance Companies Check Your Home

Some insurance companies make home checks a requirement. The purpose of this is to determine your insurance premiums with comprehensive knowledge of your house’s state.

If your insurer doesn’t do home checks, then do your own so you don’t miss out on these benefits!

How to Inspect Your Own Home for Insurance Purposes

If your insurer doesn’t require home checks, you can always hire your own home inspector if you don’t have the confidence to do so on your own. However, most people could probably do their own inspections. The purpose of this is to notify your insurer of any deterioration as well as becoming aware of problems to your aging house that can affect your premium. The following is a list of things that can affect your insurance. You want to keep your claims as few as possible and prevent damage or accidental injuries. Also, you can determine what should be repaired and updated.

Outdoor Areas to Inspect

Indoor Areas to Inspect

How to Lower Your Insurance Premiums With House Checks

If you want to lower your insurance premiums, there are some ways to do it.

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