Personal Insurance

Homeowners Insurance

Detached Home Insurance

Structure of your House – Your policy pays to rebuild or repair your house if it, or a related structure on your premises, is damaged or destroyed by fire or by other perils included in your policy.

Household Contents and Personal Property – Your policy covers your furniture and personal contents if they are destroyed or damaged by fire, theft or other perils included in your policy.

Additional Living Expense Protection – Your policy covers the cost of alternative accommodation, meals, and similar expenses in the event that you are unable to occupy your home due to an insured peril.

Personal Liability Protection - This coverage protects you against your legal responsibility for bodily injury or property damage that you or members of your household cause to others.

Condominium Insurance

Unit Improvements – Your policy covers permanent improvements made by you or a previous owner to your unit, such as wall coverings, flooring, kitchen or bathroom renovations which are no longer covered by the strata building policy, if they are destroyed or damage by fire or by other perils included in your policy.

Strata Special Assessments – Your policy covers your unit owner’s share of the cost of special assessments arising from insufficient strata building policy coverage.

Household Contents and Personal Property - Your policy covers your furniture and personal contents if they are destroyed or damaged by fire, theft or other perils included in your policy.

Additional Living Expense Protection – Your policy covers the cost of alternative accommodation, meals, and similar expenses in the event that you are unable to occupy your home due to an insured peril.

Personal Liability Protection - This coverage protects you against your legal responsibility for bodily injury or property damage that you or members of your household cause to others.

Tenant’s Insurance

Household Contents and Personal Property - Your policy covers your furniture and personal contents if they are destroyed or damaged by fire, theft or other perils included in your policy.

Personal Liability Protection - This coverage protects you against your legal responsibility for bodily injury or property damage that you or members of your household cause to others.

Earthquake Insurance

Earthquake protection in particular can be a controversial issue but we believe that it is a core coverage for anyone owning property in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. We recommend the following link to the Insurance Bureau of Canada website to view the results of a major study on the question of damage and destruction resulting from a major earthquake in the Greater Vancouver area.

Download EQ Study Result at a Glance

While Earthquake coverage involves substantial premiums and substantial deductibles, you will be very thankful to be among those who have protection against the devastation and disruption, if the “BIG ONE” occurs during your tenure as a property owner.

What to do During an Earthquake

Helpful tips from Insurance Bureau of Canada website 

• Drop, cover and hold on…take cover under a heavy table, desk or other solid furniture. Avoid doorways and areas under windows.  Protect your head and face.
• If you are indoors, stay indoors.  If heavy furniture is not available, additional safe places are in halls and corners, and under archways.
• If you are outdoors, stay clear of buildings and wires.  Look out for falling debris.
• If you are in a wheelchair, lock the wheels and protect the back of your head and neck.
• Avoid elevators. If you are in an elevator when an earthquake starts, hit all of the floor buttons and get out of the elevator as soon as you can.
• If you are in a vehicle, drive away from a building, exit a bridge or overpass, and pull over to the side of the road.  Stay inside your car, if safe to do so, and listen to your car radio for instructions from emergency officials.
• Remain in a protected place until the shaking stops.  Anticipate aftershocks soon after the first quake.

What to do After an Earthquake

 

• Check for injuries and administer first-aid as needed.
• If safe to do so, check your home for structural damage and other hazards. Secure it against intruders.
• If you are evacuating, bring your disaster safety kit with you.
• Do not shut off utilities unless they are damaged.  Don’t light matches or turn on light switches unless you are sure that there are no gas leaks or flammable liquids in the area.  Don’t flush the toilet if you suspect that nearby sewer lines may be broken.
• Wear gloves, protective clothing and sturdy shoes.
• Be cautious of debris, particularly broken glass.
• After looking after your family, check on your neighbours, if you are able.
• If you need assistance, place “HELP” signs in all your windows.  Turn on your battery powered, hand cranked or car radio for broadcast emergency instructions.
• Don’t use your land line telephone or your vehicle, except in an extreme emergency.
• Stay at least 10 metres away from downed power lines.
• Avoid waterfront areas because of the threat of large waves and currents.
• Beware of secondary effects, such as landslides and flooding.

Personal Excess Liability

Personal Excess or Umbrella Liability provides protection in excess of $1 million limit on your Home, Automobile, and Watercraft policies. Coverage can range from $1 million to $5 million, in excess of the limits on those underlying policies. In addition, the Personal Umbrella Liability policy covers some exposures normally excluded from Homeowners Personal Liability coverage, such as:

• Libel.
• Slander.
• Defamation.
• False arrest.

Our Process: The GNK Client Experience

In the event that you have to file a claim, GNK is determined to go the extra mile to meet all of your needs. GNK often is able to get a claim paid where clients had initially been denied coverage by their insurance company.

The basis of a Homeowners Policy is the replacement value of the structure of your house. Your GNK Representative will work with you to assess the replacement value of your house, so we will need to put together a complete description of your house including measurements of the main floor, the overall measurements of both the occupied and unoccupied portions of the house as well as the home's level of finish, quality and special features.

You will be asked to estimate the replacement value of your home furnishings and personal belongings to be certain that adequate coverage is available to cover the worst case scenario of a total loss.

Your GNK representative will discuss the alternative solutions to your insurance requirements including the Insurance Company, levels of coverage available and, of course, the cost of coverage.

There are many things that your policy will cover and some things that are simply uninsurable. We will do our best to point out the coverage highlights to you but will ultimately ask that you review your policy in detail and ask us for the answers to the questions you will have.

Property coverage deductibles range from $500 to as high as $5,000. The higher the deductible the lower the premium! Some people choose to self-insure with a higher deductible and save on premium costs.

We will work with you to select the coverage package that offers the coverage you need and the coverage you wish to have at very competitive prices.

• Broad Form Perils.
• Earthquake Protection.
• Water Back-Up Protection.
• Identity Fraud Expense.
• Built-in Inflation Protection.
• Building Guaranteed Replacement Valuation.
• Replacement Cost Valuation.
• Increased Special Limits.
• Increased Coverage on Special Property (such as Jewelry, Furs, Fine Arts, Coins, Collectibles, Bicycles, Watercraft).
• Increased Personal Liability Limit.
• Home Freezer and Food Spoilage Protection.
• Credit and Bank Card Protection.
• Fire Department Charges.
• Home Based Business Coverage.
• Rental Property Coverage.
• Seasonal Property Coverage.
• ...other available options.

TALK TO YOUR GNK INSURANCE CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE FOR FULL DETAILS OF THE VARIOUS COVERAGE OPTIONS SO THAT TOGETHER YOU CAN CHOOSE THE PLAN THAT IS BEST FOR YOU.