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Small Cabin Forum / Properties / Insurance


Author	Message
Diya Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 03:02am Reply Hi I'm looking for a broker in the North Bay area. I just bought a property (vacant land and small cabin) and I would like to add insurance. Looking for recommendations. Thanks

Tim_Ohio Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 08:31am Reply A lot of times, if you own a home, you can get an umbrella policy that covers liability on everything, including the property. As for the cabin, if it is not high dollar, self insure it with your own money. Or, I should say, don't insure it and fix it yourself if something goes wrong. As for personal property, if you have something really expensive there, like a high dollar tractor, then you can get an inland marine attachment on your investment which will cover it for theft. Insurance is a tough one, since the potential for a loss needs to be in the high dollar range before it is worth it. Now, of course, if you borrowed money from a lender and they require you insure it to basically protect them, then you will have to have it. This is my opinion, by the way. I'm not an insurance guru. I basically described the way I had to do it. Tim Ohio

gcrank1 Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 10:48am Reply A 'rider' added to my homeowners policy covers us for liability as well as theft and vandalism, but not the structure for fire loss, etc. It was really low cost.

Diya Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 11:42am Reply Quoting: Tim_Ohio A lot of times, if you own a home, you can get an umbrella policy that covers liability on everything, including the property. As for the cabin, if it is not high dollar, self insure it with your own money. Or, I should say, don't insure it and fix it yourself if something goes wrong. As for personal property, if you have something really expensive there, like a high dollar tractor, then you can get an inland marine attachment on your investment which will cover it for theft. Insurance is a tough one, since the potential for a loss needs to be in the high dollar range before it is worth it. Now, of course, if you borrowed money from a lender and they require you insure it to basically protect them, then you will have to have it. This is my opinion, by the way. I'm not an insurance guru. I basically described the way I had to do it. Tim Hi thanks I'm closing on the property tomorrow. I took a small loan from a private lender who requires that I get insurance ðŸ˜© I have a property which is covered by Intact insurance but they said they don't cover insurance for small cabins

WILL1E Moderator	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 11:51am Reply What sort of loan did you take out? Was it a mortgage based on the small cabin or was it a recreational land loan? Most lenders won't do the mortgage unless the cabin is habitable as a home (water, sewer and electric). Therefor if it's not a mortgage, you probably only need to insure the land to satisfy their need for coverage. Like Tim, they (State Farm) added the land onto my primary residence policy. When i told them i was building they created a separate policy for the cabin with an adder of builders insurance which covers the structure until it's completed.

Diya Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 12:51pm Reply It was a small mortgage (land and cabin) from a private lender. To release the loan I have to get insurance. My insurance is from the city and they (Intact) said that they don't do small cabins and mortgage from private lenders. I have been shopping around. No luck yet Thanks for sharing I'm in Ontario

Diya Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 12:55pm Reply The lender might waive the clause... I'm keeping my finger crossed âœŒï¸

Diya Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 05:03pm Reply If anyone can recommend a reasonable insurance company please let me know Thanks

FishHog Member	# Posted: 14 Oct 2021 06:16pm Reply State Farm covered my place near Sudbury for a reasonable price

Diya Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 06:38am - Edited by: Diya Reply Quoting: FishHog State Farm covered my place near Sudbury for a reasonable price Thanks will try.ðŸ™ The good news, the lender gave me the loan. But the insurance clause is still pending. So I'm able to close today ðŸ˜€ðŸŒ¿ðŸ‘ðŸ‘Œ

toyota_mdt_tech Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 08:00am Reply DIYA, are you looking for insurance to cover the cabin and yourself or just protect yourself from lawsuits? I have a policy from a Woodland owners Association (in the US) that is to protect me from lawsuits if someone gets hurt on my property, nothing more. Very reasonable, not sure if there is an association in Canada that is similar. Mine was the NWOA I see they have made adds for equipment ie ATV etc. So might be able to get a storage building with contents in it (a cabin not finalized for habitation)

KelVarnsen Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 08:20am Reply Quoting: Diya I have a property which is covered by Intact insurance but they said they don't cover insurance for small cabins I'm in Ontario. My home is covered by Intact and I have my small, off grid, cabin included in my policy.

Diya Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 12:34pm Reply Quoting: KelVarnsen I'm in Ontario. My home is covered by Intact and I have my small, off grid, cabin included in my policy. ðŸ˜³ðŸ˜³ðŸ˜³ I was told that by the broker. If you donâ€™t mind can you recommend me a broker thanks

Diya Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 12:36pm - Edited by: Diya Reply Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech DIYA, are you looking for insurance to cover the cabin and yourself or just protect yourself from lawsuits? I have a policy from a Woodland owners Association (in the US) that is to protect me from lawsuits if someone gets hurt on my property, nothing more. Very reasonable, not sure if there is an association in Canada that is similar. Mine was the NWOA I see they have made adds for equipment ie ATV etc. So might be able to get a storage building with contents in it (a cabin not finalized for habitation) No, I donâ€™t care for the insurance but because I took a small loan from a private lender they require I get insurance. It is one of the clause. Iâ€™m closing today Fingers crossed as Iâ€™m nervous ðŸ˜¬

Houska Member	# Posted: 15 Oct 2021 05:50pm Reply This is heavily jurisdiction-dependent. In Ontario, liability insurance is generally extended automatically to fully vacant property from your (primary) homeowner's policy (though of course be sure to check!). If there is a structure on it, you have to get a separate policy. If the structure is either minimal and you can claim it is not really habitable, just an "outbuilding". And you don't care to insure the value of the structure, just liability, many insurers will write such a policy. Easiest to go with your home insurer. If it's a full, built-to-code, on the grid secondary residence, you will have no trouble getting a secondary residence homeowners policy, and paying for it accordingly. The trouble is in the middle, with a small, "semi-habitable" off the grid cabin. Where you want a bit of coverage but not much. Some people have reported success with the a rider to their primary policy, some with a separate policy same insurer. In our case, our insurer couldn't see a way to make it happen. In that case, consult an agent in your area familiar with rural properties. We got coverage with Co-operators. Since you're in a hurry, I'll share our agent was Paul Spinelli in Perth, but I suspect you'll have better luck with a local agent in North Bay.

KelVarnsen Member	# Posted: 17 Oct 2021 12:21pm Reply Quoting: Diya If you donâ€™t mind can you recommend me a broker https://www.disfinancialgroup.com/

Diya Member	# Posted: 18 Oct 2021 12:48pm Reply Thank you, will try those ðŸ™ðŸ‘

TranquilMan Member	# Posted: 21 Oct 2021 04:28pm Reply I'm in an unincorporated area of NW Ontario. I just found out on renewal that my insurer no longer covers damage from bear break-in. I have been fortunate to have had only one bear break-in over 28 seasons. Fortunately, the noise of my arrival scared him off before he did too much damage - just a small window and quite a mess. It's a 2 beer story. Good idea to read the fine print. Now I take more precautions. TranquilMan

robbyoutdoors Member	# Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:07pm - Edited by: robbyoutdoors Reply Diya, were you able to get a policy from the above, DIS financial group? I live in Wisconsin and have purchased a small chunk of property in an unorganized area outside of Dryden, Ontario; I plan to build the cabin mostly myself and I too am having a dicker of a time finding a company to insure the structure. If any other readers have any "new" info, please let me know.

Diya Member	# Posted: 22 Feb 2022 05:03pm Reply Diya, were you able to get a policy from the above, DIS financial group? @robbyoutdoors No, I havenâ€™t any luck. No insurance offered anything. Great news , I was able close Good luck!

Gregoire guy Member	# Posted: 21 Nov 2022 05:29pm Reply Hello. we have a family homestead property which was built in 1925 on a 'homestead program' to help develop northern Ontario. The original log cabin, which is 27 x 30, is still very sound and we have made this our retirement residence. we are completely off grid, have great water supply (found with witching sticks) by my great grandmother. Septic is a camp septic which works fine. power is solar, with 4 200ah lithium batteries and a 3000w inverter / charger. we dont scrimp on energy. This is where my Great Grandparents settled when they immigrated from Finland. 3 kids were raised here, and closest neighbour is 4km away. All that to say, we have 0 insurance atm. since we've sold our house, we have nothing that we could add a rider to. i'm more concerned with liability insurance, or if we could have minimal content insurance, to get a 'restart' if we ever required to do so. We are near Kapuskasing Ontario, and i see a few names on here of places to try for minimal coverage. Great site !

TranquilMan Member	# Posted: 21 Nov 2022 08:00pm Reply Diya, Our home is in Winnipeg Manitoba and off-grid cabin is in an unincorporated area in NW Ontario. The cabin is boat access so only used during the May to October period therefore seasonal use. Our insurance for both home and cabin is with Wawanesa Insurance Co. based in Winnipeg. They have an office in Thunder Bay, Ontario (1 (807) 624-5670. Give them a call and see if they can connect you with a broker close to where you are at.. The only problem might be if you don't live in Canada. Anyway, a good place to try if you haven't had any luck yet. TranquilMan

Diya Member	# Posted: 21 Nov 2022 08:41pm Reply Thank you both ðŸ™ðŸ¼ I bought my property over a year ago. I was able to close without insurance. To date I havenâ€™t purchased any insurance. I wonâ€™t be getting insurance any time soon. Iâ€™m enjoying my property for now ðŸŒ±ðŸŒ±ðŸ™ðŸ¼

Diya Member	# Posted: 21 Nov 2022 08:41pm - Edited by: Diya Reply Thank for all the repliesðŸŒ±ðŸŒ±ðŸ™ðŸ¼

Gregoire guy Member	# Posted: 23 Nov 2022 08:54am Reply Thanks Diya, we're near Kapuskasing ON, which is approx 5.5 hrs from Thunderbay. i will give Wawanesa a call to get advice. appreciate the reply, very informative site. Cheers, Dan