Common Home Insurance Claims in Quebec

Almost everybody believes they have “home insurance.” Almost nobody knows whether the loss most likely to happen at their address is inside or outside the contract. Here is what the base policy covers in Quebec, what has to be bought separately, and the three numbers that decide the amount you will receive.

Common home insurance claims in Quebec: what the industry measures

The Bureau d’assurance du Canada, the insurance industry’s national association, is categorical: for more than ten years, water damage has been the leading cause of home insurance claims. In 2024, 68% of losses paid in Quebec involved water, at an average cost of $23,550.

The data point that matters to you is rarely quoted: the BAC specifies that the main cause of those claims is water damage linked to water infiltration from the ground and from sewers. So the most frequent scenario is the one the base contract does not cover. The Autorité des marchés financiers confirms it: you generally have to buy additional protection.

What the base home insurance policy covers, and what it excludes

Every contract has two sides: civil liability, for the damage you cause to others, and insurance of your property, for the damage you suffer. This article is about the second. According to the Bureau d’assurance du Canada, whatever the policy:

Source: Bureau d’assurance du Canada, consumer information pages.

One point the summaries skip: earthquake is never included in a base contract, and an outdoor pool or spa, with its equipment and its deck not attached to the house, also requires an addition to the contract.

Water damage, the most frequent loss: four origins, only one included

The word “water” does not designate one risk, it designates four, and the insurer treats them separately.

What is included as standard. Damage caused by a plumbing fixture, a bathtub, a washer, a water heater, and the breakage of a drinking water pipe, what the AMF calls the public water main. A pipe that bursts, a washer that overflows: you are covered with nothing added.

What requires an endorsement. Water that enters through the roof, the walls, a door or a window falls under the Eau au-dessus du sol endorsement, above ground water. Water that enters through the foundation or a basement window, or that backs up through a weeping tile or a sewer, falls under a different endorsement, Eau du sol et égouts, ground water and sewers. Two protections, two purchases.

Flooding. The BAC gives the exact definition: in insurance, a flood is the result of the overflow of a natural body of water that reaches your property. It requires a third endorsement, which the AMF says is not offered everywhere, before adding a sentence worth reading twice: emergency financial assistance from the government is not guaranteed and is often limited. In a flood zone, start with the checks to make before you buy; for the physical points of entry, see spring melt and basement water infiltration.

Deductible, endorsement limit and replacement cost: the three numbers on the cheque

A covered loss does not mean a full reimbursement. Three mechanisms reduce the indemnity, and they stack.

The deductible. The amount you agree to pay. The BAC indicates that it usually ranges between $300 and $1,000 in home insurance, and that it is deducted from the indemnity.

The endorsement’s coverage limit. The BAC is explicit: a water damage endorsement comes with a coverage amount distinct from that of your policy. If the house is insured for $500,000 and the ground water endorsement caps out at $25,000, that cap is what applies to a backup. Check it before, not after.

Replacement cost or value on the day of the loss. Your policy generally provides for reimbursement without applying depreciation, what is called replacement cost value. It comes with conditions, and that is the part nobody reads: the property must actually be replaced, or the house rebuilt on the same site. If you do not replace, you receive the value on the day of the loss, less depreciation. The BAC’s worked example is the clearest.

On top come limits by category, indicative and negotiable upward: stolen jewellery capped at $1,000, works of art at $5,000, cash at $200 on most contracts.

One last number, the building’s: the BAC reminds you that the amount of insurance is neither your mortgage, which includes the land, nor the municipal assessment, but the cost of rebuilding. The first premium is paid before you take possession, along with the other outlays priced by the closing costs calculator.

Declaring what aggravates the risk: articles 2408, 2411 and 2466

Article 2408 of the Civil Code requires you to declare all the circumstances known to you “which are likely to materially influence an insurer in the setting of the premium, the appraisal of the risk or the decision to cover it.” Éducaloi gives the example that touches a buyer directly: the fact that the basement has already suffered water damage is a past event to be declared.

Article 2410 makes misrepresentation and concealment punishable by nullity of the contract, “even with respect to losses not connected with the risk so misrepresented.” Article 2411 softens the penalty in damage insurance: unless bad faith is established, or proof that the insurer would have refused the risk, the insurer remains bound to the indemnity, but reduced in the proportion of the premium collected to the premium it should have collected.

The obligation continues after signing. Article 2466 requires you to promptly declare the circumstances that aggravate the risk and that result from your own acts. Once informed, the insurer may cancel the contract or propose a new premium in writing, which you have 30 days to accept and pay, failing which the policy ceases to be in force, under article 2467. Article 2468 sets aside two cases: non-occupancy of no more than 30 consecutive days and tradespeople’s work of no more than 30 days.

The contract also imposes concrete actions. The AMF’s example for a winter absence: the insurer may require that someone come by to check the heating, or that the water be shut off and the systems drained. Not respecting the condition means losing the right to claim for freeze damage.

Claiming: article 2470, the 60 days, and the backwater valve your city requires

Article 2470 requires you to declare to the insurer any loss that may give rise to coverage “as soon as he becomes aware of it.” No deadline in days: the rule is awareness. If the insurer is not informed and suffers injury as a result, it may invoke its forfeiture clause. Article 2472 is brutal: any deceitful representation entails the loss of the right to indemnity for the risk concerned, which the AMF translates into three consequences, refusal to indemnify, cancellation of the contract, difficulty insuring yourself afterwards. On its side, the insurer must pay within 60 days following the declaration or the documents requested: that is article 2473.

The municipal side, often forgotten. A sewer backup sometimes opens a second recourse, against the city, with a short deadline and a condition of entry. Montreal writes that its liability is not automatic for a backup if you did not have a backwater valve in good working order, and that a claim for material damage is filed within 15 days, the lawsuit within 6 months. Backwater valves have been mandatory there in all new buildings since 2011, under by-law 11-010. In Laval, section 3.03.02 of by-law L-5057 requires backwater valves on drain connections located below the crown of the street, then adds that if they are not installed or maintained, “the city is not liable for damage caused to the building and/or its contents as a result of flooding or sewer backup.”

The effect of a claim on the premium and on insurability

The BAC ranks claims experience among the premium factors, in two parts: the number and type of claims you have already made, and the crime and fire rate of the area where your home is located. For a buyer, the consequence is concrete. You do not inherit the seller’s contract: article 2475 of the Civil Code provides that an insurance contract may be assigned only with the consent of the insurer. So you have to insure yourself, and answer a questionnaire about a property whose history you do not know.

Let us be precise. No open official source describes a Quebec claims registry kept by address. What is verifiable is your own obligation: article 2408 forces you to declare the circumstances known to you, and Éducaloi counts among those the past events connected with the property, such as water damage in the basement. So ask the seller the question before the offer: you will then have to answer it yourself. The mandatory form touches on it, and its detail is explained in the seller’s declaration in Quebec.

Frequently asked questions

I have water damage protection. Am I covered for a backup? Not necessarily. Sewer backup falls under the Eau du sol et égouts endorsement, and infiltration through the roof under a different one. Ask in writing which one appears on your contract and what its coverage amount is.

Is it worth claiming for small damage? Do the math before you call. The deductible, usually $300 to $1,000, is deducted from the indemnity, the property may be subject to a limit, and the number of claims goes into the calculation of your future premium according to the BAC.

My basement flooded from a backup. Who do I contact first? Your insurer, as soon as you become aware of it, as article 2470 requires. Then open the municipal file in parallel if you believe the city is at fault: in Montreal the deadline is 15 days, and the absence of a valve in good working order blocks you.

To go further, read the hidden costs of homeownership and what makes a home hard to insure.

Torn between two properties and one has already taken water in the basement? Write to me. We list the questions to ask the seller and your insurer together, before the conditions are lifted.

Georges Matar

Residential Real Estate Broker · RE/MAX DU CARTIER INC.

Contact Georges