$1.1 billion saved by the home insurance industry in Canada over 2020
$ 1,103,216,162
...is the estimated amount that is to be saved by the home insurance industry over 2020 in Canada, because of the Covid-related restrictions taken across the country almost all year long.
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An overall decrease of 10.26 % in home insurance claims across Canada in 2020
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 Canucks. 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 November in some parts of the country.
Thus, as the figures show, this context has greatly affected the number of home insurance claims made by Canadians:
Water, fire and theft damages decreasing, domestic accidents increasing
With many Canadians 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:
- Theft and burglaries are expected to decrease by 13.77% over 2020 in Canada, meaning a $128.1 million discount for home insurance providers in payouts
- While being home, people can avoid natural causes to make damage into their homes. Indeed, fire (-11.83%), weather (-11.62%) and water (-12.83%) damages are expected to go down in 2020 across Canada
- On the contrary, we were able to estimate a 12.01% increase in accidental damages in the country, because of people being more at home.
The below graph shows on which extent home insurance claims have dropped:
The savings made by the home insurance industry per province
With regard to the distribution of savings made by home insurers in Canada, it is not surprising to see that the most populous provinces are also those where the amount of the savings made over personal goods and civil liability claims is the highest:
- Ontario accounts alone for around $439 million of the savings in payouts made over Canada in 2020 by the home insurance industry (corresponding to a 10.67% decline in claims)
- With just under $ 263 million in savings, Quebec ranks second among the Canadian provinces with the strongest savings, ahead of British Columbia (146.7 million) and Alberta (130.4 million).
The Northernmost provinces less impacted
As shows the table below, the Northernmost provinces of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut has been less impacted by the Covid-related restrictions, with lower savings made there by the home insurance industry. Indeed, in those 3 provinces, the home insurance claims decreased is estimated to be inferior to 4 %, which is relatively low in comparison with the rest of Canada:
| Provinces | Home insurance decrease rate (2019-2020) | Estimated savings to bemade on home insurance payouts over 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 10.67% | $439 117 920 |
| Quebec | 10.52% | $262 854 698 |
| Alberta | 10.48% | $130 420 372 |
| British Columbia | 10.32% | $146 744 538 |
| Manitoba | 9.03% | $35 354 112 |
| New Brunswick | 8.60% | $19 702 841 |
| Saskatchewan | 8.40% | $28 189 325 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 8.23% | $13 101 238 |
| Nova Scotia | 8.20% | $23 196 390 |
| Prince Edward Island | 7.80% | $3 439 769 |
| Northwest Territories | 3.50% | $451 752 |
| Yukon Territory | 3.20% | $344 192 |
| Nunavut | 2.78% | $299 017 |
Good to know
Note that you can also access :
- A version of this study focused on Ontario, click here.
- A version of this study focused on Quebec, click here (in French)
- To access the HelloSafe media room, click here.
Antoine Fruchard, CEO & expert at Hellosafe.ca
« While many Canadians found themselves spending the majority of their time at home in 2020, domestic claims have significantly decreased. However, Canada 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 Canada 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.
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