Surf, Sand
and Security
insurance needs for seasonal homeowners
By Carly peters
Cottage life is typiCally about sun,
sand and stress-free days. To make sure
that peace of mind isn’t shattered by a
mishap, seasonal homeowners need to
make sure they’re properly protected
with the right insurance for their
summer home and its contents.
Buying insurance for a cottage is
very similar to covering your home.
In fact, it’s a fairly standard insurance
practice to add a seasonal home as
a secondary property on someone’s
primary residence policy, so long as the
name on the title of both properties
is the same, explains Sherri Hamm,
property and casualty insurance
22
Summer 2018
cAA mANITOBA
broker for CAA Manitoba Insurance.
“If your cottage has plumbing and
heating, we can usually insure the
seasonal home just like a regular
home,” she says, pointing to three main
types of coverage: comprehensive,
broad form or standard.
Comprehensive and broad form
policies can include guaranteed
replacement cost on the building
and the replacement cost of contents
in most cases, depending on your
insurance company. Coverage would
also automatically include a percent-
age of coverage for detached private
structures like garages, boat-houses or
sheds, as well as their contents.
Broad form coverage provides lower
limits of coverage on some items, and
covers your contents on a “Named Per-
ils” basis. You are only covered for the
losses listed in your policy wordings.
In order for a cottage to qualify for
comprehensive or broad form coverage,
the seasonal home should be accessible
by an all-season road. It should also
be visited regularly throughout the
year—depending on the insurance
company, this could mean as often as
every 60 days, so be sure you ask about
any specific requirements.
If your policy does not require such
frequent visits, you should still check
on the cottage at least once during the
heating season. Plumbing and heating
must also be up to code; and a wood
stove or portable space heater cannot
be the main heating source.
If your cottage does not qualify for
comprehensive or broad form
coverage, the third coverage option
is a standard or fire-and-extended
coverage policy, whereby there is no
guaranteed replacement cost on the
building. Both the building and its
contents are insured for actual cash
value. This covers the cost to replace
or repair your damaged property—
with a deduction for depreciation,
reflecting its age and condition. With
this policy, you would have to choose a
value at which to insure contents and
any detached structures. And standard
coverage will only cover the perils
specifically listed in the policy.
If your seasonal home is on an island
or is in a remote area, Hamm adds, it’s
considered a greater risk and the cost
of premiums may increase to reflect
that. Not all insurance companies will
insure cottages on islands or in remote
areas. She cautions that every company
has varying guidelines and coverage
and it’s best to talk to your broker
about the details of your policy.
Treating your cottage as a home-
away-from-home means making
sure your coverage matches that
sentiment. Because accidents don’t
take vacations.
caamanitoba.com/insurance
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