Ontario’s home insurance story is mostly about water and age. The province’s big cities have seen repeated urban floods, older parts of Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa are served by sewers that can back up in heavy rain, and a large share of the housing stock predates modern wiring and plumbing. Those three things, more than hail or earthquakes, decide what an Ontario policy costs and what it needs to include. What a standard policy covers is explained in the guide to home insurance in Canada; this page covers what is specific to Ontario and its largest cities.
What Ontario homeowners pay
No official source publishes an average home insurance premium for Ontario. The only provincial figure is from an aggregator survey: according to MyChoice’s 2026 home insurance outlook, which averages quotes in its own database, the average Ontario home insurance quote in January 2026 was $1,458 a year, compared with $1,343 across Canada. Within the province, rebuild cost is a major driver, so areas where construction costs more, such as the GTA, tend to pay more. Within any city, a century home with original systems or a house near a floodplain can cost far more than a newer house a few streets away. National comparisons are on the average home insurance cost page.
Basement flooding: sewer backup and overland water
The July 8, 2013 storm in the Greater Toronto Area caused about $925 million in insured losses, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), and flooding in May 2017 hit other parts of the province. Two optional coverages handle most of that damage, and a standard policy includes neither:
- Sewer backup pays when water and sewage come up through floor drains. Parts of older cities have combined sewers that carry both stormwater and sewage and can overflow in a downpour.
- Overland water pays when rain or a river enters the house at ground level. Insurers price it by risk and may limit or decline it for homes in mapped floodplains.
The IBC recommends a backwater valve and a sump pump with battery backup, and notes that some insurers give incentives for them. The City of Toronto runs a Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program that helps pay for backwater valves and sump pumps, and other municipalities have offered similar programs; amounts and availability change, so it is worth checking with your city.
Older homes: wiring, plumbing and oil tanks
Large parts of Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and older suburbs were built before modern building codes. Insurers price or restrict these features:
| Feature | Typical insurer response |
|---|---|
| Knob-and-tube wiring (used from the early 1900s to the 1940s) | Many insurers won’t provide or renew coverage; some require replacement first |
| Aluminum wiring (homes built from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s) | Some insurers require an ESA inspection, repairs and an ESA Certificate of Acceptance |
| Galvanized steel plumbing | Surcharge; some insurers want it replaced |
| Clay or cast-iron sewer laterals | Higher sewer backup risk |
| Oil tank, even decommissioned | Surcharge or exclusion |
| Stone or original foundation | Higher water-intrusion risk |
A pre-purchase inspection that checks the electrical panel, wiring type, plumbing material and sewer line helps a buyer price insurance before firming up an offer. Replacing knob-and-tube wiring is expensive, but it can reduce the premium and open up insurers that would otherwise decline the home. The renovations that lower insurance premiums guide covers which upgrades insurers reward.
Ice storms and wind
Freezing rain is a recurring Ontario risk, especially in the Ottawa Valley and eastern Ontario, which were hit hard by the January 1998 ice storm. Structural damage from the weight of ice and trees falling on the house are generally covered under a comprehensive policy; whether food spoiled during a long power outage is covered, and up to what limit, depends on the policy. Wind and hail damage are also generally covered by a comprehensive policy.
City by city
Toronto
Toronto’s premiums are driven first by rebuild cost. The dwelling limit has to reflect what it would cost to rebuild the house, not its sale price: as an illustration, a house with a $1.2 million market value might cost $600,000 to rebuild, and the rebuild figure is the one to insure. Neighbourhoods with larger, more expensive houses pay more because their rebuild costs are higher, not because they are riskier. Parts of the city sit in river floodplains, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Flood Plain Map Viewer shows whether an address is in one. Older neighbourhoods can combine old wiring with combined sewers. Toronto also has a large condo market; unit owners need their own condo insurance alongside the corporation’s policy.
Ottawa
Ottawa’s distinctive risk is river flooding. The 2019 Ottawa River flood led the city to declare a state of emergency, with evacuations in Constance Bay; homes in flood-prone areas along the river can face high overland water premiums or none on offer. The Ottawa Valley is also ice-storm country. Older central neighbourhoods carry the old-home surcharges above. Desjardins, based in Quebec, also sells home insurance in Ontario.
Hamilton
Hamilton’s older housing, much of it in the lower city below the Niagara Escarpment, carries the older-home issues above, while newer subdivisions avoid them. Gore Mutual, based in nearby Cambridge, became Gore Insurance Company when its merger with Beneva took effect at the start of 2026; the Gore brand remains in use during the move to the Beneva name.
Mississauga
The Credit River runs through Mississauga, and checking the local conservation authority’s flood hazard information before buying near it is worthwhile. Intense rain can overload storm sewers anywhere in the city, which makes sewer backup coverage worth having, and houses built from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s may have the aluminum wiring described above.
Ontario insurers
Every national insurer sells in Ontario, alongside regional companies such as Gore Insurance (now part of Beneva) and broker-only insurers such as Pembridge, which sells home and auto insurance through select brokers and is backed by Allstate Insurance Company of Canada. According to the IBC, brokers work with several insurance companies while agents represent a single insurer; a broker with access to several markets can help with an older home that has wiring or flood issues, while direct and online insurers can suit a newer, straightforward home.
Before a renovation
The IBC advises contacting your insurance representative before you renovate or make upgrades. Coverage can be restricted while the home is under construction or unoccupied, and a finished basement or addition raises the rebuild cost, which the dwelling limit has to follow.
Complaints and regulation
Ontario’s insurance companies and agents are regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), and property and casualty insurance brokers by the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO). A homeowner who cannot resolve a complaint through the insurer’s own process can take it to the General Insurance OmbudService (GIO). Ontario renters have a separate guide, tenant insurance in Ontario, and how tenant insurance works is explained in the national guide.
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- giocanada.org: GIO HOME - GIO