This virtually universal problem was just demonstrated in a survey specific to that Canadian province.
The results of a survey conducted by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has shown that a strikingly large number of homeowners insurance policyholders in the province of Quebec do not have a solid understanding of the ways in which their homes and properties are protected.
About half of the people surveyed erroneously felt that they had coverage against an overflowing body of water.
As one in every two people in Quebec feel that their homeowners insurance would protect them against rising water, when this coverage was not present, the misunderstandings about the ways in which they were covered did not stop there. In fact, an even larger group – 65 percent of the respondents in the survey – felt that their policies would protect not them if their homes were ever to experience damage from sewer backup, wind, hail, or an earthquake.
This IBC homeowners insurance survey involved the participation of over 600 policyholders in Quebec.
According to a press release from the IBC, “The survey results also revealed that, even today, one in two policyholders believe their home insurance covers them against damage from an overflowing body of water, a risk that is not insurable.” The purpose of the research was to help to determine the level of knowledge that policyholders have about their own coverage, as well as the perception that they have regarding their risk exposure.
Among all of the participants in the survey, only 8 percent were concerned about a sewer backup. In fact, they not only did not feel as though they were at risk of this type of event, 81 percent felt that their policy covered them against that type of event. Another 73 percent felt that they had coverage if water were to seep through the roof of their homes, and 33 percent felt protected in the event of an earthquake.
The IBC was careful to point out that while these types of coverage are available to protect consumers against damage from these types of perils, they are not automatically included within the standard homeowners insurance policy. Instead, these individual forms of protection “must be added in the form of an endorsement.”
