Compare the best home insurance quotes in Kelowna for free.

How we find you the best home insurance quotes in Kelowna

Home insurance will protect your largest investment and the centre of your life – your home.

LowestRates.ca compares the home insurance market in Kelowna to ensure you get the cheapest home insurance quotes from the top insurance providers operating British Columbia.

A few minutes is all it takes to find the best home insurance policy for you. Enter your postal code and some information about your home, and we’ll find you the cheapest available quote and connect you with a Kelowna home insurance professional who will secure the new rate for you.

Compare Kelowna home insurance quotes, find the lowest one, and sleep a bit better at night. Just like that.

Kelowna home insurance

Home insurance isn’t required by law (unlike auto insurance). Most mortgage lenders make having it a requirement before they lend you money.

Plus, it also offers peace of mind. Your home is likely the biggest investment you have; home insurance protects it.

Home insurance helps pay to repair or rebuild your home if it’s affected by an insurable peril like fire, water damage, a break-in, etc.

Because home insurance is not a legal requirement and because of that, prices are not regulated, making it even more important to get a home insurance quote before you put an offer on a house.

Home insurance providers are still overseen by a number of different bodies (they just don’t have any say on how much insurers can charge for coverage).

At the very top is the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI), a federal body in charge of overseeing the solvency and financial soundness of most home insurance companies and other property and casualty insurance providers.

Below that is the provincial superintendent, the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). This body is responsible for regulating the private sector insurers (and mortgage lenders) working in B.C. (auto insurance is provided by a Crown corporation). It makes sure that insurers are properly licensed, solvent and fiscally sound, and are conducting business in an accordance with the province’s Insurance Act, which laws that insurers must abide by.

The conduct of individual insurance agents, brokers, and adjusters are also overseen by the BCFSA and The Insurance Council of British Columbia, a self-regulatory organization (also in charge of licensing insurance professionals).

Components of home insurance coverage in Kelowna

The average home insurance policy includes the following coverage for the following things.

Building and property – This aspect of your policy provides protection for the structure of your home (the primary dwelling) as well as any detached building on the property like a shed or a garage.

Contents – Broad and comprehensive home insurance policies include coverage for your home’s contents.

Personal liability – Your home insurance provides some liability coverage. It provides compensation for legal expenses if you’re sued for property damage or bodily injury. Liability coverage is also included in tenant and condo insurance.

Additional living expenses – Provides coverage for relocation expenses when you’re displaced from your home due to severe weather, fire, water damage, or an explosion.

There are some scenarios that home insurance won’t cover without you purchasing extra insurance, like overland flooding and sewer backup, and earthquakes. As incidences of severe weather become more common across B.C., we recommend that every homeowner seriously consider adding flood protection to their home insurance policy.

What kind of home insurance do you need in Kelowna?

There are three basic types of homeowners insurance in Kelowna:

Comprehensive

This type of home insurance policy offers the most coverage of all the options. It covers damage to your property and belongings against all standard perils except the ones that are only covered by additional endorsements (like earthquakes), or ones that are specifically excluded from most policies (events that can be attributed to the homeowner’s lack of due diligence).

Basic or named perils

This type of home insurance policy is basic. It offers coverage for common perils, which include fire, lightning, theft, explosions, falling objects — but only if they’re named in the policy.

Comprehensive

Put simply, this type of policy falls somewhere between comprehensive and basic home insurance. It offers comprehensive coverage in the event the structure of your home is damaged but will only offer basic coverage for the contents of your home.

Again, the type of home insurance you’ll want depends on your specific needs and your risk tolerance.

Kelowna is at risk of forest fires and flooding. Add-ons for flood damage, replacement cost coverage (i.e., coverage to help you rebuild your home after a total loss), or coverage for other structures on your property might also be good to consider. Ask your insurance agent or broker what they offer. Purchasing extra coverage will increase your home insurance premium but having extra coverage will save you money if you ever need to make a claim against it.

Risk factors for homeowners in Kelowna

Wildfires and flooding are the most pressing risks facing Kelowna homeowners.

Some Kelowna homeowners who live in areas known to be affected by wildfires are having trouble getting home insurance.

Residents who live within 25 km from the site of the July 2021 White Rock Lake wildfire have been denied coverage, according to a 2021 CBC report.1 Some reports say that people who live as far away as 75 kms were also denied.

The reasoning provided for the insurance industry’s decision is that wildfires in this region are not an unforeseeable risk.

In June 2022, Kelowna was placed under a local state of emergency following a period of rapidly melting snow and heavy rains that left parts of the area submerged.2

B.C. is Canada’s more earthquake-prone region but are less of a concern in the Okanagan Valley.

Tips on lowering the cost of your home insurance policy in Kelowna

Compare multiple home insurance companies
One of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce your home insurance rates immediately is to get quotes from multiple insurance companies. This makes it easy to see what your personal lowest rate is, and which company will offer it.

Bundle your home insurance policies
To bundle insurance policies means buying coverage from the same company. Doing this results in savings as much as 15%. It’s the most appreciable discount offered by insurance companies currently.

Slim down your policy
Work with an insurance professional to gain a better understanding of your goals, your risk tolerance, your home's risk profile to get a better understanding of your coverage needs.

Keep your home in good repair
Making a home insurance claim could affect your premium at renewal. Insurance companies don’t just look at external risk factors like your home’s location and neighbourhood crime rates — they also base pricing decisions on the level of risk you, the homeowner, represent. Your home insurance claims history matters.

Increase deductibles
A deductible is an amount you agree to pay before your insurance company pays the rest of your benefit. Insurance companies require deductibles because it’s a method of getting the insured to share some of the risk and it acts as a deterrent against future claims. If you offer to pay a higher deductible than what’s required, your insurance company will often reward you with a discount.

Let your provider check your credit score
If you consent, home insurance companies will do a ‘soft’ check of your credit. If you have a strong score, you will likely be offered a discount. The thinking is that people with high credit scores are also conscientious homeowners and likely know how to prevent or avoid perils.

Pay upfront
Paying your premium in full at renewal can get you a discount because you’re saving the insurance company administrative fees.