$147 million saved by the home insurance industry in British Columbia over 2020

$ 146,744,538

...is the estimated amount that is to be saved by the home insurance industry over 2020 in British Columbia, because of the Covid-related restrictions taken across the province almost all year long.


selectedRegion.name

title['decrease']

selectedRegion['decrease']

title.difference

selectedRegion.difference


An overall decrease of 10.32 % in home insurance claims over BC

As the threat of a second epidemic wave materializes across Canada, 2020 already is a year marked by major changes in the domestic habits of British Columbians. In fact, due to Covid-19, a large number of households have had to spend a lot of time at home, either being on telework, temporarily laid off, or quite simply because of the restrictive measures taken by the authorities - especially in the spring and now again in some areas.

Thus, as the figures show, this context has greatly affected the number of home insurance claims made by the people:

10.32%
overall drop in home insurance claims

...across BC during the whole 2020 year

$ 85.1m
saved by home insurance providers


...only in the Metro Vancouver area

10.5%
the decrease in thefts and burglaries

...reported into claims received by home insurance providers in BC


Water, fire and theft damages decreasing, domestic accidents increasing

With many BC citizens forced to stay home during long months, domestic incidents decreased in a significant proportion since the beginning of 2020. Indeed, whilst being at home - working, on furlough or looking after kids unable to go to school - people avoided much home damages to happen - whether being theft, fire or water damage and other classic domestic damage that often usually occur when the house is empty. This is what say the numbers:

The below graph shows on which extent home insurance claims have dropped:

The savings made by the home insurance industry in BC per city

With regard to the distribution of savings made by home insurers in British Columbia, it is not surprising to see that the most populous agglomerations are also those where the amount of the savings made over personal goods and civil liability claims is the highest:

CitiesDecrease rate in home insurance claims (2019-2020)Home insurance savings in 2020
Vancouver Metro
11.30%$85 158 859
Surrey*
11.15%$17 665 294
Burnaby*
11.21%$7 982 072
Richmond*
11.20%$6 794 718
Abbotsford
10.35%$4 477 046
Coquitlam*
10.50%$4 474 057
Kelowna
10.22%$3 982 567
Delta*
10.30%$3 221 518
Nanaimo
10.07%$2 788 099
Victoria
10.03%$2 632 441
Maple Ridge*
10.30%$2 591 885
Chilliwack
9.50%$2 435 098
New Westminster*
9.50%$2 063 329
Port Coquitlam*
10.00%$1 793 071
Prince George
7.75%$1 754 535
Vernon
8.54%$1 048 061
Campbell River
8.85%$882 291
Penticton
7.62%$787 012
Kamloops
9.88%$272 872
Williams Lake
5.43%$178 624
Savings made on home insurance in BC in 2020 per city (HelloSafe estimates)
*Cities located within the Metro Vancouver area

A national perspective : $1.1 billion savings in home insurance payouts over Canada in 2020

Across Canada, the total savings on home insurance payouts for 2020 could amount to more than $ 1.1 billion. As shown in the graph below, which groups together the 4 most populous provinces in Canada:

Good to know

Note that you can also access :
- A version of this study focused on Canada, click here.
- To access the HelloSafe media room, click here.


telechargement

Antoine Fruchard, CEO & expert at Hellosafe.ca

« While many British Columbians found themselves spending the majority of their time at home in 2020, domestic claims have significantly decreased. However, BC home insurers have not yet initiated a response to this situation, which also exists for auto and health insurance products. However, it seems to me that the policyholders could be entitled to expect a reduction on their premiums, if only in the face of the economic difficulties which await British Columbia in the months to come. In addition, the changes induced by Covid-19 have brought major trends - such as teleworking for example, which risk lastingly transforming the relationship of people to their housing. Here too, insurance companies are expected to change and adapt their policies, in a fast-changing world.»

Our methodology

This study was built upon public (in particular from the IBC) and private sources. In addition, several of our insurance partners were able to provide us with anonymous statistics over the period studied. Under the term 'home insurance', we analyze here the ongoing trends in personal property and civil liability insurance. At this stage, these figures are still estimates, pending final results after the end of 2020. For more information on our editorial line, please click here.

About Hellosafe.ca

Hellosafe.ca is a comparison platform which is shaking up the insurance market – giving you access to the best Canada insurance deals in less than 30 seconds. Hellosafe.ca is supported and financed by Blue, an Insurtech Venture Capital firm. Blue already owns two leaders in the French insurance comparison market. These platforms help more than 10 million people with their insurance every year. We have developed a unique comparison technology that gives access to cover details and quotes without customers having to give their phone number or email address. This engine is the result of four years of hard work.

Get to know Hellosafe.ca

For all press enquiries, please contact :

new project

Alexandre Desoutter
Communications & PR officer