What is “Full” Cottage Insurance Coverage?

When the weather starts to turn in our favour and the snow begins to melt, it’s hard not to think of the boating season, of hiking in the woods, camping, and of our family cottage, where we all go away to enjoy the warmer weather. Seasonal homes – or cottages – are the pinnacle of many Ontarian’s summer months, and it’s important that families know just the right way to protect our homes away from home.

Cottage insurance is not mandatory the same way that home insurance isn’t mandatory. This all being said, both are highly necessary and – assuming your cottage is something your family holds dear – you want to keep your assets well and protected to pass along from generation to generation, for all your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids to enjoy when the weather’s good.

In this article, let’s address how to insure a cottage, what “full” coverage is, and whether you need to “fully” insure a cottage/seasonal home or not.

How do I insure a cottage?

Insuring a cottage is a notion different than insuring your standard home, seeing as while a secondary property could look and resemble a primary residence, its usage, features, and location may be very different. Most cottages are smaller, may be located remotely, and are only used for a portion of the year, while largely being left unoccupied through the winter.

So, how do you insure a cottage, then?

Option A. With some insurers, you may not need to purchase a standalone policy, and can actually include your secondary residence, its structure and contents, on your primary homeowner’s policy. As you might expect, this will raise your home insurance rates significantly, and any claim you make for your cottage will affect your homes rates as well. But, this combined option can help you to save money – assuming the insurer you’re with offers combined coverage.

Now, there’s option B. You can choose to insure your second property entirety separately, as its own entity. Generally, obtaining fuller coverage for a cottage is much more difficult than obtaining full or comprehensive coverage for your home, since a secondary property that is not occupied year-round tends to pose a couple more risks than an average residence. Additionally, the same property may be more exposed to vandalism, water, and snowfall damage.

Ask your broker which option might be best for you – insuring combined, or standalone. There are benefits and drawbacks to each, so have an Excalibur Defender walk you through the best options to ensure you’re getting exactly what you need.

What is “full” coverage for a cottage?

Full coverage is a bit of a misconception; unless you purchased every single rider, add-on, and extension known to man that you are eligible for, no coverage is technically “full.” Cottage insurance coverage is unfortunately generally only offered on a named perils basis – i.e., your policy will only cover you for any perils that are explicitly described in your documents. Anything else is excluded.

This is a bit different from all-perils or comprehensive coverage, which you may have for your home, where all perils save for those named in your policy are covered. As you might expect, comprehensive coverage would insure far more damages and losses than a named-perils policy, but cottage insurance is limited because part-time occupancy tends to increase the likelihood, and the severity, of certain damages and losses. This can seem worrisome to some cottage owners.

But there is another solution. Secondary property insurance, which is like cottage insurance but a little fuller, is an option if you use your cottage year-round but perhaps not as much as your primary residence. To qualify for this coverage, your cottage must be visited at least once every 60 days. If you can’t do this yourself, there’s always the option of enlisting a neighbour, friend, family member, or other individual to come check up on your property for you, although they’ll be required to fill out a formal “report” on the status of your property.

How do I protect my cottage year-round if it isn’t occupied?

Occupying a cottage year-round isn’t in the cards for everyone, or maybe their cottage is located in such a spot that having someone check up on it every 60 days isn’t possible.

Cottage insurance can be expensive due to the risk profile of most cottages, so finding the best ways to save on your coverage is integral. These tips are doubly important, since they’ll also help to protect your cottage overall and secure your peace of mind while your property remains unoccupied.

For one, consider investing in a back-up power generator. Due to their remote locations, cottages tend to be more prone to power outages than standard homes. Backup power generators can ensure that your alarms, heating system, sump pump, and freezers continue to work, and they should be adequately protected to run regardless of the weather.

Two, if your cottage isn’t occupied in the winter, consider taking the steps to “winterize it.” Winter is when most of the potential damages could occur, and so doing what you can to lower its risk is a great way to save on your insurance. Replace the windows and doors, update utility systems, and install an appropriate heating system.

And finally, install a monitored alarm system. In addition to the burglar alarm portion, consider implementing a temperature alarm, a fire alarm – any other kind of monitoring that could reduce your potential risk of fire, flooding, theft and vandalism, etc. Theft is especially possible with a residence that is left unoccupied for several months.

Talk to your broker

As mentioned previously, “full” coverage is sort of a misnomer – where having the coverage that fits best for you and your situation is the best answer. With the aid of an Excalibur Defender, you can get the coverage best suited to you for less, whether that’s “full” coverage or not.

Give us a call today or get your free quote.