Intact Insurance launches new type of home insurance coverage for experienced homeowners

Intact Insurance has unveiled Lifestyle Advantage, a new type of home insurance coverage that the company says will provide experienced homeowners with the flexibility to “rebuild their lives the way they want” in the event of the total loss of their home or any loss to personal property.

“Customers will be under no obligation to rebuild their exact home or replace their contents to get full replacement value,” said Jean-François Blais, president of Intact Insurance, in a press release. “They can rebuild the same house or even downsize and take any leftover money. The choice is theirs.”

Tracy Laughlin, vice president of personal lines at Intact Insurance, added in an email that it’s important to provide options and choice to customers, recognizing that people’s needs change over time. “This product allows us to provide additional choice to the customer and to ensure that should they lose their home, they can choose the way they want to settle their claim,” she said. 

Laughlin added that most home insurance policies require that “to receive replacement cost, the home be rebuilt on the same site and along the same lines as the home that was destroyed. This endorsement allows customers to settle their claim on a replacement cost basis, but also lets them choose to take the money, build a home on a totally new location, downsize their home on the current location, etc. It really gives the customer the control to choose what best suits their needs.”

Lifestyle Advantage, launched on Monday, may be available on a homeowner’s combined home and car insurance policy, or on his or her home insurance policy. Benefits include:

• In the event a home is a total loss, the homeowner can choose to have the claim settled on a replacement cost basis (with no requirement to rebuild the exact home);

• Loss of home contents can be settled on a replacement cost basis, with the option to accept a cash settlement;

• Claims free protection on the property;

• The property deductible is waived on the homeowner’s first eligible property loss (excluding water or earthquake losses and applies to principal residence only);

• Coverage for a dependent residing in a healthcare facility;

• A waiver of auto deductible (direct compensation-property damage, all perils, collision, comprehensive or specified perils deductible) for covered total loss; and

• A waiver of auto deductible in the event of a hit and run (all perils or collision deductible (with over $1000 of damage)).

To be eligible for Lifestyle Advantage, the homeowner must be 50 years of age or older and living outside of Atlantic Canada, or licensed 34 years or longer within Atlantic Canada, and be three years free of property claims.

Intact Insurance, Canada’s largest provider of home, auto and business insurance for more than four million customers, is promoting the coverage with a new ad campaign featuring experienced homeowners answering the question, “If you lost your entire home to something like a fire, how would you rebuild your life?” The TV spots were taped at the recent Toronto Home Show and feature real visitors to the event. “Homeowners gave a variety of answers, which speaks to the fact that not all customers would make the same decision, but they could all benefit from having an insurance policy that offers them the flexibility of choice,” the release said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that in order to be eligible for Lifestyle Advantage, homeowners must be living outside of Canada. The correct requirement is that homeowners must be living outside of Atlantic Canada or licensed 34 years or longer within Atlantic Canada. Canadian Underwriter regrets the error.