Heritage homes are sought after for their romantic appeal and historic charms – yet owners know they can also come with unexpected costs and headaches. Old buildings require work, steady upkeep, and an attention to detail that owners of newer places rarely have to think about.
Insuring one is no different. The features that make your heritage building special are the same features that make it more complex – and often more expensive – to insure. Older buildings are more likely to have issues, and old buildings with a heritage designation tend to be subject to more rules when it comes to rebuilding and repairing.
Coverage is generally available, but you should be ready to spend more time gathering information, answering questions, and working closely with your broker. This isn’t the kind of insurance you can buy with a few clicks online.
Here are eight things you need to know about insuring a heritage property, all of which apply whether it’s your home, or a building you own for business purposes:
1. Shop around.
Talk to multiple brokers in your area. Ask about their experience placing heritage buildings. Also ask what insurers they shop with – brokers don’t all have access to the same insurers. No matter what their level of expertise on heritage or older buildings, you will also need to do a lot of the leg work in gathering the necessary information. See the next two items for more…
2. Document, document, document.
If a house was built last year, there won’t be a lot of mystery to it. The type of wiring, plumbing, heating, insulation etc. – all fairly standard. But a house built more than a hundred years ago? That’s a lot more interesting. Different time, different materials, different systems. Your insulation, for instance, could be sawdust, newspaper, or animal wool. And an insurer won’t know if some, all, or none of the building’s systems have been upgraded.
So you’ll need to supply a lot more information than the new home buyer. Your broker should know which questions to ask, but not all brokers have experience with old buildings, so be ready to work closely with them.
Use this risk prospectus, developed by IBC, to make sure you’re collecting all the essential information.
3. Take a trip to city hall.
The rules around heritage buildings are complex.
Many of them are laid out in provincial legislation but a lot of the details are decided by municipalities. This includes whether a property or neighbourhood will be designated as “heritage”, and it includes rules for how a structure needs to be rebuilt if there is a claim. Some towns may be more particular than others about how much the original materials and styles need to be replicated.
Talk to your local municipality, get the local bylaws on heritage properties, and make sure your broker includes the bylaws, along with the risk prospectus, with the application package that is sent to insurers.
4. Reduce your risk.
Take steps to protect your home and reduce the chances of a claim. This can include updated wiring (if you currently have knob and tube – it has to go), plumbing (to copper or plastic), and the heating source (to forced air or electric). Other improvements may include installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, security systems, or replacing an old roof.
For more tips, check out this article and this brochure.
5. Tell your insurer the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Every so often, news stories will emerge about people who find it “impossible” to find insurance for their heritage home. There is usually more to these stories than what gets reported. For instance, the homeowner may have been operating a business out of their home and had neglected to tell their insurer. This is critical information that changes the risk profile of a property.
Insurers are experts at pricing risk. But they can’t do their jobs when there is missing information; and if a prospective client withheld one detail, what else might they be withholding?
Therefore, share everything you think will be pertinent. Otherwise, you risk having your coverage cancelled or having a claim denied if your insurer gets an unwelcome surprise later.
6. Living by the river is beautiful, until it’s seeping into your basement windows.
Another element not often talked about with heritage buildings is where they are commonly located: beside rivers and lakes. These homes and businesses were built in the days when more commerce relied on waterways, and when the risks of living in floodplains were less understood – and less severe, as flooding has gotten worse over the decades.
If you own a place by a body of water and are finding it difficult to insure – or to fully insure – be aware it may have nothing to do with the age or the heritage designation. It may be the location.
7. Don’t expect it to be “one and done.”
When an insurer is pricing coverage for your home, the going rate of construction labour and materials factors into it – they have to estimate what it would cost to rebuild your home in the event of a claim.
These costs change over time, and are likely to rise faster with older buildings. So expect your insurer to conduct a re-evaluation of your home every few years – possibly more often than for a newer building.
Of course, upgrades you have made to the home are also important information and may influence the cost of your insurance, possibly for the better; if the changes reduced the risk of a claim (e.g., better wiring), you might see lower premiums.
8. Know that you’re not alone.
If you haven’t already, consider joining the National Trust for Canada, a member-based charity dedicated to saving and renewing heritage places. They offer expertise and advice to heritage owners and also offer a specialized insurance program for heritage homes. Learn more here: Heritage Home Insurance Program - National Trust for Canada.
To sum up: Your heritage building is beautiful and loaded with character, and you’ve invested in Canada’s history. That’s why it’s worth the extra effort to maintain. You’ll just need to apply the same level of extra diligence to insuring it.
We have included links throughout this article, but these are important resources so here they are again:
Risk Prospectus, to ensure you’ve included all the necessary details for your insurer
For more information and tips:
InFocus on knowing your home’s history
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