Insuring your cottage  | Specific insurance for specific kinds of property

Insuring your cottage

Have you just purchased a cottage, or do you already own one? The following could help you determine the right insurance coverage for your seasonal home.

The use you make of your cottage and the amount of time you spend there will determine the type of coverage you need. Do you use it every weekend, or only during the summer? Have you installed an alarm system linked to a monitoring centre? What kind of heating do you use? Do you rent your cottage out?

These questions help determine many different situations for which distinct insurance products are available to meet your needs.

Various options are available to ensure adequate coverage depending on the use you make of your cottage:

• Seasonal home insurance

  If you use your cottage on an occasional basis, you can insure it as a seasonal dwelling. This insurance is usually sold to insure dwellings that are only used during one season of the year, most often summertime. This type of contract is a basic one. In other words, the nature and extent of the coverage are more limited. For example, your cottage will be insured against designated risks, such as fire and windstorms. Moreover, certain categories of property, such as artwork, collections or software, are specifically excluded from such a policy.

• Homeowner's insurance

  If, on the other hand, you use your cottage every weekend or live there year-round, you can take out a homeowner's insurance policy. You then have your choice of various contract types (All Risks, Extended Coverage or Named Risks).

  In this situation, you could also acquire coverage commonly referred to as "Fire and Extended Coverage," which generally covers less than what is included in a homeowner's insurance policy. This policy, which does not include civil liability, usually appears as a rider to the insurance policy you carry on your primary residence.

  However, to take out either one of these policies, certain conditions may apply; for example, you may have to:

  • use the cottage on a regular basis (e.g., twice a month, year-round);
  • have all-weather road access to your cottage;
  • never rent the cottage to a third party; and
  • own a cottage that meets construction standards. In this regard, dwellings considered as shacks may not be insurable.

  Since these conditions can vary from one company to another, it is worthwhile to enquire. It is also possible that your insurance company will only agree to insure your secondary residence if it is already insuring your principal residence.

• Theft and vandalism

  Damages or losses resulting from theft or vandalism are never covered under seasonal dwelling or "Fire and Extended Coverage" contracts unless you specifically make the request, in which case they will be included in the "Special Conditions" section of your insurance policy.