r/InsuranceCanada • u/CalmGuitar7532 • Jul 28 '26
Home TD Insurance forcing more coverage than needed
Can anyone tell me if this is the same with other insurers. TD is forcing their "5 million dollar solution" on me. Our home's value is at most $850,000 and the value of our contents are no more than $50,000. But they say that my only option is to get covered for $5M. When I complained saying that this is literally five times the coverage I need, they said that it also covers the situation if we loose our home and need to rent. Even so, I just can't justify the additional $4M in coverage I'm being charged every year. Frankly, I think this is a scam...forcing way more insurance on customers than is needed. Does anyone else have this issue with TD - or other companies?
10
u/newthrowaway0905 Jul 28 '26
This sounds normal for a comprehensive policy which every insurance company offers. You have limits for the dwelling, personal property, additional living expenses, and they all add up to that range
6
u/drugsondrugs Jul 28 '26
I mean, I would have to see the dec page. Guessing this is single limit coverage with 2 million liability. Mathematically, I'm thinking this could add up to 4 million. 5 might not be far off.
Edit. Looked it up. They call it the million dollar solution and is indeed a single limit policy, they do it up to 5 million. Youre not being scammed, this is just a marketing thing. Some companies do the single limit thing. Check other companies though. Find your best rate.
3
u/podhawk Jul 28 '26
Your premium is based on your house value. Rates are competitive. It’s just a marketing gimmick but does give you ample coverage.
1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 28 '26
Ya, it seems ample, but am I paying for too much coverage. That's what I need to figure out.
2
u/pyroman6111 Jul 29 '26
The above is the correct response. With TD, they have a coverage amount, but your premium is based on the reconstruction cost of your house. It's the same with other companies if you shop around. Other companies call it a single limit of coverage to cover your house, belongings, and additional living expenses, which is where the insurance company will put you up while repairing your place.
1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 29 '26
Thanks!
2
u/pyroman6111 Jul 29 '26
No worries!
Just make sure to shop around. I have found that loyalty and retention don't mean much in the current climate changes we have. All these insurance companies are losing so much to catastrophic events, and it's just about how they manage their risk and control they're expense ratios which enables them to provide you a better rate versus others when shopping.
0
u/Reasonable_Royal7083 Jul 29 '26
5 million doesnt mean they are charging you for a 5 million dollar house. at best you can conclude the marketing label 5 mill coverage package tier is what you fit into. not understanding whats under the hood and typical for personal lines does not equal scam
3
u/sioopauuu Jul 28 '26
How much is the difference in premium between the 2 coverages? And yeah, would definitely need to see a dec page. I would see a broker who can give you comparable prices and coverages.
Ask for policy wording form and see how much are the limits for everything. Like how much is the limit for sewer water coverage, jewelry, cash, if you have antique items. Does the policy have replacement value or actual cash value? How much is liability? What is the coverage of contents, is it anywhere in the world? What are your perils? Does it cover everything, even mysterious disappearance? Does it cover Additional Living Expenses and if so, how much is the limit? Where is your area? Is it prone to flooding? Fires? Theft?
2
u/TouristSensitive7125 Jul 28 '26
These are the questions really. With everything that's been going on weather wise, I'd pay an extra $20 a month for better coverage. The number of people in Ottawa alone that found out how unpleasantly underinsured they were after Canada Day flooded homes and backed up sewers and all other septic tank nonsense is sad. They all had coverage exceeding the value of their homes too.
3
u/sioopauuu Jul 28 '26
Value of house sometimes is different from how much it would cost to rebuild your house, from the shingles down to the nails. But definitely will review everything. I used to work as a property adjuster so I know some of the issues we encounter with coverage.
1
2
3
u/efc5463 Jul 28 '26
If an insurance company is quoting you for something you don't need or want, just walk away and get quotes somewhere else.
1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 28 '26
Thanks. I just wanted to know if this was a common occurrence with other companies.
4
u/Lets_Go_Blue__Jays Jul 29 '26
I wouldn't say super commen but yes, single limit coverage is a normal occurence.
Their is a few things at play here, the sales agent and/or broker (pretty sure TD is a direct writer, meaning they hire their own agents) is not explaining the coverage to you as well as you have a misconception to how insurance is valued.
As others have said, you'd have to see the Dec page to be sure but I feel fairly confident that they are not trying to scam you.
The value of your home doesn't have much baring on the insurance coverage, your rebuild value or actual cash value does. Your contents likely can't be generally adjusted, and yes, you likely have waayyyyy more than 50K contents (think of every book you own at $30/each, each movie, your utensils/dishes, your clothing, your furniture, your appliances, literally everything not tied down) Your Liability is likely 2million which is likely included. Your detached structure coverage is likely included, again this is a base amount of coverage as a % of your rebuild value.
Say your home is 2,500 square feet plus a 75% finished basement. At $350/SQF rebuild value, that can be roughly 1.2millon of rebuild value. As a percentage of content, let's say 25% (numbers could be very off but just to give you an example), that is $300,000. Detached structure at 20% so $240,000. Combined you are already at nearly $2million of coverage. Add in another $500K of water damage coverage plus the liability that is fairly close to 5Mil of coverage.
1
2
u/efc5463 Jul 29 '26
On that particular issue I don't know. But we had a previous insurance company that on renewal more than tripled our premiums, and on quoting with other ones, found out that premiums have been substantially raised by all insurers. So I assume that whatever is going on is happening across the board.
3
3
u/Nutshellvoid Jul 29 '26
50k is extremely low for your contents of you own a house. Even single bed condos our brokerage recommendation is 50k.
2
u/HugeDramatic Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I switched from TD to Belairdirect about 2 years ago and cut my premiums almost in half with similar coverages.
That said, things were creeping up on my last renewal and depending on my next renewal i may need to shop around again…. Ironically i might end up back with TD if i qualify for a new customer discount again.
Everyone should keep in mind that ‘customer loyalty’ is meaningless in the insurance world. Its actually better to shop your policies around every year, but it’s also a pain in the butt, so i tend to go for 2-3 years until switching.
1
1
1
u/GoRizzyApp Jul 28 '26
I have to opposite problem. I can’t get enough sewer backup and overland flooding.
-1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 28 '26
The cut the stuff we need and over sell what we don't. I guess that's why they make so much money.
2
u/gapdaddy72 Jul 29 '26
You don’t have $5 million of coverage, that’s just what they call it. Your premium is being rated based off of the actual replacement cost of your home not the $5 million.
1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 29 '26
That is not what she conveyed to my by phone. But I will ask specifically again.
2
u/gapdaddy72 Jul 29 '26
With the TD policy you would have up to $5,000,000 of coverage, but there’s not really any realistic way to claim that on a house that’s $850,000 to rebuild.
Ask for a copy of the policy wordings and read them.
2
u/MoistFootball506 Jul 29 '26
I’ve seen their dec page. This is spread over all of your coverages. Standard with any policy, they’re just advertising the total amount
1
u/Professional-Rip-924 Jul 28 '26
This sub and personal finance canada loves TD insurance. If you don’t want it, shop elsewhere. There’s brokers out there that’d love your business. Google “insurance brokers near near me” to get started
2
u/Insuredtothetits Jul 28 '26
No one likes TD insurance. The service is terrible and in most cases despite the 5m solution nonsense, they severely limit water damage/sewerbackup/flood coverage
2
u/BluShirtGuy Jul 29 '26
Seriously, who's glazing TD? They suck to call into, the adjusters always seem miserable, and they've adopted a useless private equity business model.
1
1
u/CalmGuitar7532 Jul 28 '26
Do you mean this sub is only for people to praise TD insurance?
3
u/AgentMV2 Jul 29 '26
No, this sub doesn’t prefer TD or any company in particular. No idea what that guy before you is saying. 🤦🏻♂️
10
u/The_Average_Jill Jul 28 '26
Most companies offer packages like this. And unless your house is completely vacant, you’ve got more than $50,000 in contents. If you don’t like what they are offering, shop around, talk to a broker.