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Unlike auto insurance, home insurance isn’t a mandatory product. That said, if you want to secure a mortgage, almost every lender is going to require proof of home insurance before they approve you.
And so you might be wondering: how much will home insurance cost me? The truth is: there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. There are several factors insurance companies take into account when figuring out your premiums.
But instead of searching for a home insurance calculator in Alberta, Canada, which may give you a rough estimate of your homeowners insurance costs in Alberta but won’t be as accurate as one that captures these details, we suggest using our home insurance quoter. This no-obligation tool asks all the relevant questions and then compares the home insurance market for you — for free — and presents you with the lowest rates from multiple insurance providers in Alberta. By using LowestRates.ca’s Alberta home insurance calculator, your annual insurance bill could be reduced by hundreds of dollars.
Now let’s get you informed of what home insurance does and doesn’t cover, as well as the different types of coverage you might need if you live in Alberta.
See how our customers save big on home insurance.
Type of home | Location | Previous claims | Lowest rate | Average rate | Saved |
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Quote from December 05, 2023 Type of home Detached 1,256 sq ft | Location Airdrie | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $211/mth $2,533/yr | Average rate $278/mth $3,333/yr | Saved $67/mth $804/yr (24.00%) |
Quote from December 05, 2023 Type of home Detached 1,276 sq ft | Location Parkland County | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $130/mth $1,560/yr | Average rate $363/mth $4,361/yr | Saved $233/mth $2,796/yr (64.00%) |
Quote from December 05, 2023 Type of home Detached 2,490 sq ft | Location Edmonton | Previous claims None | Lowest Rate $96/mth $1,151/yr | Average rate $240/mth $2,876/yr | Saved $144/mth $1,728/yr (60.00%) |
Looking for more info about your home insurance quotes? Check out our Home Insurance Buying Guide or the Help Centre.
The best part about our home insurance quoting tool is that its main purpose is to save you money. And what sets it apart from a traditional calculator is that it takes a number of different factors into account when finding you the best rates.
Home insurance premiums are determined based on the value of your home, your address, what you use your home for (you rent it out, it’s a seasonal property, etc.), and what’s inside, such as jewelry, art, etc. Premiums are also determined based on the weather risks specific to the location of your property, such as tornadoes, flooding, and so on. So, there’s a lot to consider. Fortunately, our property insurance calculator for Alberta tool takes all of this into consideration when it delivers the lowest home insurance rates from Alberta providers.
To get started, fill out the form above and then click the pink button. Once you do that, you’ll be taken to a window where you’ll be asked to input some of the details we listed above. Then, you’ll be taken to a selection of home insurance quotes from brokers and agents serving Alberta. Just like that.
As we mentioned above, there’s a lot that goes into determining your home insurance premiums. So if you’re looking for a home insurance premium calculator for Alberta, you might want to consider our quoting tool instead. That’s because it’s not possible for a calculator to determine your monthly home insurance cost in Alberta without some key details. That’s what makes our quoting tool so unique is that it personalizes the quote for you.
Your monthly home insurance payments will be based largely on how much coverage you purchase. But there are other things that play into your payment.
The amount of coverage you buy: This is the primary factor insurance companies use to determine your home insurance payments. How much home insurance you buy will depend on the type of policy you’re after. For example, do you require a run-of-the-mill policy that covers the basics, or do you need something a little more comprehensive? Perhaps you have high-value items in your home, like jewelry and artwork, that you need to purchase additional coverage for. Or you live in an area prone to extreme weather and require things like overland flood coverage.
What it costs to rebuild your house: This is a big one for insurance companies. If your home is damaged or destroyed by inclement weather or some sort of accident, your insurance company is going to be on the hook — either fully or partially — for the cost to repair or replace it.
How much your valuables are worth: What’s inside your home is also a major factor in determining your insurance premiums. Policies will often carry a dollar limit for replacement of your home’s contents. If the items you have inside your home exceeds that dollar amount, you may want to consider buying additional coverage.
In addition to the factors that go into calculating your home insurance premiums, the items below may also come into play.
Mortgage lender: What you pay for home insurance may also vary depending on which lender you decide to go with. Some lenders may require you to buy additional coverage, for instance, which translates into higher premiums. This is why it’s in your best interest to compare the market using price comparison websites like LowestRates.ca.
Interest and other fees: If you don’t pay your premiums on time each month or year, you may be charged additional fees. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure, for example, that your credit card isn’t going to expire before you sign up with your new insurance company. This would likely result in a late payment fee. If you accumulate too many of those, your insurance company may cancel your policy. It’s also important to consider monthly interest when calculating your home insurance costs.
The list goes on. But the good news is that our homeowners insurance calculator for Alberta will evaluate all of these factors to give you an estimate right down to the dollar.
Here are some other factors that will influence your rates:
Where you live: Location matters to insurance companies when determining your insurance rates. If, for example, you live in a high-crime neighbourhood, you might face higher rates. Or if you live in a more affluent neighbourhood, where home prices are higher, you could also face higher rates. To find out how this will have an impact on what you pay monthly, use our home insurance calculator for Alberta.
How close you are to a fire hydrant/station: Living close to a fire station might mean being woken up in the middle of the night, but it could also lead to lower premiums because there’s a reduced chance of substantial property damage. The opposite is true, too, especially in rural or remote areas, where homeowners could face higher rates for living farther from a fire station or hydrant.
The age and condition of your home: Just like we age, so do our homes. And over time, they become more susceptible to damage. If you make upgrades and repairs to your home to avoid damage from old leaking pipes, for instance, or a deteriorating roof, this could help lower your premiums. This is why newly built homes tend to come with lower insurance rates.
Working from home or renting it out: If you work from home or run a home-based business, you could pay more for home insurance because there are additional items that would need to be insured, such as a laptop. If you’ve decided to rent out your home, then you will need liability insurance to protect yourself from being sued if someone is injured on your property. This coverage can increase your premiums.
The number of claims you’ve made: When insurance companies are figuring out what to charge you, they want to know if you have a history of making frequent home insurance claims. If you do, this will likely increase your premiums, since you then appear more “risky” to the insurance provider.
How old you are: Why does age matter when it comes to protecting your home? Because as you get older, you may have a harder time maintaining your property. This leaves the potential for accidents to happen, either in the home, or on the property, and as a result, you may face higher premiums.
Your home’s heating system: The way your house is heated also has an impact on your premiums. If, for instance, your primary source of heating is oil, you might pay more for home insurance because oil heating systems are riskier than a gas furnace or electric heating system since there’s the chance of leaks. Similarly, if you have a wood stove instead of a gas stove, your insurance provider might charge you a higher premium because there’s an increased risk of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
Other factors that can influence your home insurance rates are:
Not really. The only thing that might change is the types of “endorsements” or “add-ons” that you can purchase for your policy. For example, you might be able to purchase earthquake coverage in Ontario for less than you would in, say, British Columbia, where the risk of an earthquake is higher.
In addition, if you live in a hot housing market where home prices are high, you may notice you pay higher home insurance premiums than somewhere else.
There are about four general types of home insurance out there. The type of policy you choose will factor greatly into the cost of your homeowners insurance in Alberta. Our calculator lets you select what type of policy you want when entering your information into the form. Think of it like an estimator for Alberta home insurance — only better. You input the relevant details, and it generates an accurate set of quotes for you from several different insurance providers.
Let’s review the different kinds of home insurance policies:
Comprehensive
A comprehensive policy, sometimes called a “special” or “all-perils” policy, covers all perils except those which you’ve specifically excluded. For example, if your comprehensive policy lists earthquakes and overland flooding as exclusions, then you won’t be covered if either of these events causes damage to your home. What is excluded from comprehensive policies will depend on the insurance provider. If you go with a comprehensive policy, you could face higher monthly home insurance costs in Alberta. Our calculator will do the heavy lifting for you and get you an accurate estimate of what you’d pay for this sort of policy.
Basic coverage/named perils
This type of policy offers less coverage than a comprehensive policy because it will only cover you against perils that you specifically name in the policy.
Broad coverage
A broad coverage policy is a sort of middle point between a basic and a comprehensive policy. It includes coverage for all perils except those that you specifically exclude, and it covers the contents of your home for perils that you specifically name.
No frills coverage
This type of policy provides you with bare-bones coverage, such as fire damage. This type of policy is common for homes with structural damage or other types of issues — things that wouldn’t meet the insurance company’s standards. Until the home is repaired and qualifies for other policy types, this is the type of policy you’d probably need to go with.
You can purchase home insurance a few different ways. You can buy through a licensed insurance broker in Alberta, via an insurance agent or company, or you can go online and shop different companies. For example, you can compare homeowners insurance rates in Alberta with the calculator provided by LowestRates.ca. We refer to this as our “quoter” because it provides you with the best (see: lowest) home insurance quotes from actual Alberta home insurance providers. All you need to do is provide some information about your home, and our quoter will generate several competitive rates from the top home insurance providers in the area. If you select one, a broker or agent will be in touch to secure this rate for you.
Because your insurance premiums reflect how risky your home is to insure, one of the best ways you can bring down your rates is to make your home safer and less prone to damage. Here are a few ways to do just that:
Install security and safety features: Having a monitored burglar alarm or fire alarm system signals to insurance companies that you’ve taken steps to reduce your risk of theft and of fire, which can in turn reduce your premiums.
Take measures to prevent water damage: Installing a backflow valve or a sump pump can also result in lower premiums.
Build your roof with weather-resistant materials: Another way to save on home insurance is to upgrade your roof using materials that prevent weather-related damage, such as class four asphalt shingles or slate tiles.
Bundle your home and auto insurance policies: Perhaps the easiest and most common way to save on insurance is to bundle your auto and home insurance with the same insurance provider. We encourage you to reach out to your insurance company and get a quote for bundling both forms of insurance. You’ll be surprised by how much you can save.
Increase your deductible: When you agree to pay a higher deductible, which refers to the amount of money you’ll have to pay out of pocket when you make a claim, you’ll benefit from lower premiums.
Don’t switch insurance companies in the middle of your policy term: It’s not that doing this will result in you paying more for insurance, but you might have to pay a penalty for ending your policy before it renews.
Inquire about discounts: This is an easy and free way to save money. Simply ask your insurance company about potential discounts and find out what you qualify for.
Don’t make too many claims: If you make multiple claims with your insurance company, they might see you as a higher-risk customer to insure, and as such, will raise your premiums.
You’re in luck! On LowestRates.ca, you can purchase property insurance regardless of whether you’re buying a home, buying a condo or renting. If you’re looking for more information about either of these products, feel free to visit either our dedicated Condo Insurance or Renters Insurance pages.
Premiums are the monthly or annual payments you make in order to maintain your insurance policy. When you fill out a form to compare Alberta house insurance rates with our calculator tool, you’ll see both the premiums that the insurance companies are willing to offer based on the information you provide.
Some people pay their premiums in a lump sum once a year; others pay it monthly. This will largely depend on the lender and what they prefer. Sometimes, if your home insurance is under a certain annual amount, you may not have the option to pay monthly and you may have to pay in a lump sum. But typically, payments can be made annually, biweekly, or even monthly. Our Alberta home insurance quoter will show you both the annual amount and the monthly amount, but it won’t dictate how you’re going to pay. A broker or agent will get in touch with you shortly after you complete the form to secure that rate and at that time, you can discuss payment frequency.
This refers to a type of policy wherein your insurance company will pay the current value for an item that needs to be replaced as opposed to the cost of buying a brand new one. As such, premiums for this type of policy tend to be lower than a replacement cost value policy, which we explain in the next section.
This refers to a type of policy wherein your insurance company replaces the damaged item with a brand new one that is similar in make or model. As such, premiums for this type of policy tend to be higher than in an actual cash values policy.
You can think of endorsements as add-ons. These are additional types of coverage you can purchase that don’t automatically come with your base home insurance policy. Many people will purchase endorsements for things like sewer backup, overland flooding, and jewelry.
A deductible is the amount of money you agree to pay your insurance company in the event that you make a claim. You will pay this amount first, and then your insurance company will cover the remaining amount. When you agree to pay a higher deductible, you benefit from lower premiums. Of course, the opposite is also true. If you agree to pay a lower deductible, you will face higher premiums.
Depreciation is a decline in value of an item over time.
Perils are unexpected or accidental events.
Lisa Coxon
About the Author
Lisa is an Editor and Writer for LowestRates.ca. Her work has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and TVO. As a child, she diligently hoarded the $50 bills that fell out of her Christmas cards. Adult Lisa is working hard to resurrect those stockpiling tendencies.
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