Home
House, cottage or plex you own and occupy.
Full legal name
The policy has to be issued in the exact name that appears on your licence or your deed. A nickname or an initial can delay the policy or cause a claim to be questioned.
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Date of birth
Age is a rating factor on every personal line in Quebec, and it confirms your driving experience. Insurers verify it against SAAQ records.
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Email address
Phone number
Language you want your documents in
Current address
How long have you lived at this address?
Several insurers give a stability credit after three years at the same address.
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Do you own or rent your home?
Homeowners usually qualify for a multi-policy and an owner discount on auto, even when the two policies sit with different insurers.
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Address
Year the building was built
Year of construction sets the baseline for every system in the house. It is also the year we must default to when an update year is unknown.
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Type
How is it occupied?
Occupancy changes which policy form applies. A property you rent out entirely cannot be insured on a standard homeowner form, and a claim on the wrong form can be denied.
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Number of dwelling units
Living area (square feet)
Living area is the main input into the rebuilding cost calculation. Excluding the basement is the usual convention.
If they don't know: We will calculate from the municipal assessment roll, which is often out of date and can leave you underinsured.
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Distance to the nearest fire hydrant
Protection grade is a significant rating factor and a few insurers will not write at all beyond a certain distance from a fire station.
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Exterior cladding
Roof covering
Year the roof was last redone
Roof age is the first thing an insurer looks at on a home. Most will not offer a new policy on an asphalt roof over 20 years old, and several will not go past 15.
If they don't know: If the roof year is unknown we have to use the year the house was built. That removes any credit for a roof that may in fact be recent, and on an older home it can mean the insurer adds an exclusion for water infiltration through the roof, or declines the risk outright. A receipt from the roofer or the year on a permit is enough to change this.
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Main heating
Heating type drives both fire risk and insurer appetite. Oil and wood are the two that narrow your choice of insurer the most.
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Year the oil tank was installed
Most insurers require a tank under 20 years old, inside, on a concrete slab. An oil spill is one of the few losses that can exceed the value of the house itself.
If they don't know: We will have to present the risk as an unknown tank age, which most insurers treat as the oldest acceptable case or decline.
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Is the wood appliance certified and professionally installed?
Insurers ask for a certified installation and a WETT or equivalent inspection report. Without it, wood heating is usually refused.
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Electrical panel
A fuse panel is an automatic decline with a large part of the market. Replacing it is usually a few thousand dollars and it reopens your choice of insurer.
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Any knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring?
Both are refused outright by most insurers. Aluminum can sometimes be accepted with a certificate confirming the connections were redone.
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Plumbing
Galvanized and polybutylene are the two that trigger a decline or an exclusion for water damage. Both are common in Quebec homes built before the 1980s.
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Year the plumbing was last updated
If they don't know: We default to the year of construction, which on an older home usually means no credit and a higher water damage deductible.
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Year the electrical was last updated
If they don't know: We default to the year of construction, which removes the renovation credit several insurers offer.
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Year of the water heater
A water heater over 10 years old is the most common source of a water damage claim in Quebec, and several insurers now exclude it once it passes 12.
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Is there a backwater valve?
Sewer backup coverage is optional in Quebec and several insurers will only offer it, or will only offer it at a reasonable deductible, when a backwater valve is installed.
If they don't know: We will present the risk without one. If sewer backup coverage is offered at all, expect a higher deductible on that peril.
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Is there a sump pump?
Is the basement finished?
A finished basement roughly doubles what a water damage claim costs, so it changes both the rebuilding value and the deductible we recommend.
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Alarm system
Only a centrally monitored system earns the discount. A local siren or a camera app does not qualify with most insurers.
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Any water leak detection devices?
Automatic shut-off devices now earn a real credit with several insurers, and a few will waive part of the water damage deductible.
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Swimming pool or spa
A pool raises your liability exposure and Quebec has had a mandatory enclosure regulation since 2010. Insurers ask about the fence, not the pool.
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Is it fully enclosed by a fence with a self-latching gate?
If the enclosure does not meet the provincial regulation, a liability claim involving the pool can be denied and the municipality can fine you separately.
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Is there a diving board or a slide?
Is there a trampoline on the property?
A number of insurers exclude trampoline liability entirely and a few decline the whole risk. It is better handled up front than discovered at a claim.
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Any dogs? Tell us the breed
Certain breeds are excluded by name in most Quebec policies. Knowing the breed now lets us place you with an insurer that will actually cover a bite claim.
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Does anyone run a business from the home?
A home policy covers almost nothing business-related. Stock, client visits and professional liability all need to be added or placed separately, and working from home for an employer is treated differently from running your own business.
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Is any part of it rented short-term, Airbnb or similar?
Short-term rental is excluded on a standard home policy. Declaring it is the only way the coverage responds, and it also affects your obligations under Quebec tourist accommodation rules.
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Is the home left unoccupied for more than 4 days at a time in winter?
Quebec policies require either someone to check the home daily or the water supply to be shut off and drained during a winter absence. If neither is done, freezing damage is not covered, and that is a condition people discover only after a burst pipe.
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Rebuilding value of the building
This is the cost to rebuild, not the market value and not the municipal assessment. In most Quebec towns the rebuilding cost is higher than what the house would sell for.
If they don't know: We will run an evaluation with the insurer’s costing tool. That is normally accurate, but it needs the finish details above, so gaps there become gaps here.
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Value of your belongings
Most people understate this by about half. A useful test is what it would cost to refurnish and re-equip the entire home at today’s prices.
If they don't know: We will quote the insurer’s default percentage of the building amount, which is a starting point rather than a measured figure.
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Deductible you want
Jewellery, bicycles, art, instruments or collections worth listing separately
Standard policies cap jewellery and bicycles at a low limit, often $2,000 to $6,000 in total. Anything above that is only covered if it is scheduled by description and value.
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Mortgage lender, and second lender if there is one
Your lender has to be named in rank order on the policy. If the ranks are wrong, a claim payment can be held up for weeks while it is corrected.
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Have you had any insurance claim in the last 6 years?
Insurers pull your claims history from the industry database regardless of what you declare. Declaring it yourself is what keeps the quote accurate and protects you: an omission is a misrepresentation, and under article 2408 of the Civil Code of Quebec it can void the policy at claim time.
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Date of loss
Type of loss
Amount paid by the insurer
The size of the claim matters more than the count. Two small claims rate very differently from one large one.
If they don't know: We will quote on the range shown in the industry database, which may be higher than what you recall.
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Were you held responsible?
What has been done to prevent it happening again?
A corrective measure you can describe, a replaced water heater or a new backwater valve, often moves an insurer from declining to accepting.
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Are you insured right now?
Continuous coverage is one of the strongest rating credits there is. A gap of even a few weeks moves most insurers to a higher tier.
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Current insurer
Policy number
If they don't know: We can work without it, but we will need your declaration page before binding.
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Renewal date
We quote to line up with your renewal so you are not paying two policies or cancelling mid-term at a short-rate penalty.
If they don't know: We will work from the date on your declaration page once you send it. Until then we cannot guarantee the quoted premium will still be available.
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How long with that insurer?
Has an insurer ever cancelled, refused or declined to renew you?
This is a question we are required to ask and you are required to answer accurately. A cancellation for non-payment is workable; hiding one is not, because the insurer will find it and can void the contract.
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What made you shop around?
Attach anything you have on hand
A photo of your current declaration page answers about half of these questions on its own and is the fastest way to get an accurate quote. Photos taken with your phone are fine.
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Your own questions
Anything specific to this client. Marked in the file as asked by you.
A note to your client
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Email address.