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Guidelines for Water Damage Excess Deductible Coverage

BROKER REGISTRATION PROCESS

**PLEASE NOTE** You can only register by clicking on the registration instructions below.

  • If you encounter any issues registering, please email: deductiblebuydown@chutteruw.com

  • All brokers must first register to gain access to the online system.  

For Full Registration Instructions Click Here.

For Brokers who have already registered and have online portal access, Sign in Here.

APPLICATION & QUOTE PROCESS 

  • If you encounter any issues registering, please email: deductiblebuydown@chutteruw.com​

  • An application must be completed in full for each request for coverage.

  • For Residential Condo’s there must be a separate condo unit owners policy in effect which provides a minimum of $25,000 deductible buydown coverage.

  • For Commercial Strata’s the policy has a $50,000 self insured retention.

  • Required information about the Residential unit owner’s insurance policy includes:

    • The water damage deductible buydown coverage limit

    • The name of the insurer

    • The policy number

    • The effective date

    • The expiry date

  • Required information about the Commercial Strata unit owner’s insurance policy includes:

    • The water damage deductible buydown coverage limit

    • The operations of the insured

    • The effective date

    • The expiry date

  • After submitting the completed application, a quote will be generated which includes a PDF quote document which you can download and provide to your client.

  • Note that you can edit a quote by clicking on the pencil icon in the quote section of the platform.

  • There are pre-determined options for excess water damage deductible coverage which are dependent on the strata corporations water damage deductible and the limit of coverage provided by the unit owners policy.

  • For Residential Condominiums the Maximum limits of coverage available are as follows:

    • $25,000 primary up to $75,000 excess​

    • $35,000 primary up to $65,000 excess

    • $50,000 primary up to $200,000 excess 

    • $75,000 primary up to $175,000 excess

    • $100,000 primary up to $150,000 excess

  • For Commercial Strata Unit Owners the Maximum limits of coverage available are as follows:

    • $25,000 self insured retention up to $75,000 Excess

    • $50,000 self insured retention up to $200,000 Excess

    • $75,000 self insured retention up to $175,000 Excess

    • $100,000 self insured retention up to $150,000 Excess

  • Please note the Minimum Retained Premium for this Product is 100%

  • Please note the commission payable is 15%

WATER DAMAGE / FIRE DAMAGE DEDUCTIBLE BUYDOWN (RESIDENTIAL ONLY)

In a number of cases not only have insurers increased the “Water Damage” deductibles on the strata corporations they have also increased the “All Loss” deductibles to extremely high levels. 

 

We have now added this feature to the options available when quoting and obtaining a policy.  This coverage is in addition to the water damage deductible buydown coverage. If you wish to have the peril of fire included on your policy, it will increase the premium for the policy. 

 

If you already have policies in effect that require this additional coverage, a new policy will have to be put into place. In that case we will cancel the old policy on a pro-rata basis.

POLICY & BILLING PROCESS

  • In order to bind coverage and generate a policy you need to click on the “Accept Policy” button which is on the online quote document.

  • A complete policy is then generated which you can download and send to the Insured.

  • Please note that you cannot backdate coverage. Therefore you must ensure that you generate the policy documents before the effective date of coverage.

  • All policies issued during the month will be shown on your normal monthly billing statement issued by Chutter Underwriting Services.

RENEWAL PROCESS

An email will be sent to the individual who created the original policy 45 days before renewal advising them that the policy is due for renewal.  Please go to the policy in the website, there is a “Renewal” button on the policy. Click on the “renewal’ button and the application will open up already filled out for you. Please carefully review the information in the application making any corrections that might be required. Once you have done this click on “I accept” and a renewal quote will be generated for you. You will also be able to bind coverage from this section.

For Sample Residential Unit Declarations Page and Policy Wordings Click Here.

For Sample Commercial Unit Declarations Page and Policy Wordings Click Here.

ENDORSEMENTS / CANCELLATION & OTHER REQUESTS

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

​For Residential Condominiums: 

  • Available for unit owners living in their unit.

  • Available for seasonal condos which are used solely by the unit owner.

  • Available for units rented to a single family with a signed annual lease.

  • Coverage is not available to unit owners offering short term rentals of less than 1 year.

  • Coverage is not available when there has been a prior water damage loss which originated from the unit within the last 5 years. In these instances, please refer the loss information to deductiblebuydown@chutteruw.com and our underwriters will provide you with a separate quote.

  • Available only in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

  • Coverage is in excess of the deductible coverage afforded under the primary unit owners policy, and will only be triggered once payment has been made under the underlying unit owners policy and the available limits are exhausted.

  • A minimum $25,000 water deductible coverage must be provided by the unit owners condo policy and claims are to be reported immediately when they occur.

​

​For Commercial Strata Unit Owners: 

  • Available for all unit owners.

  • Available for units rented to others.

  • Units offering short term rentals such as AirBNB, VRBO qualify for coverage under this section.

  • Coverage is not available when there has been a prior water damage loss which originated from the unit within the last 5 years. In these instances, please refer the loss information to deductiblebuydown@chutteruw.com and our underwriters will provide you with a separate quote.

  • Available only in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

  • Coverage is in excess of a self insured retention of $50,000 and claims are to be reported immediately when they occur.

BROKER RESPONSIBILITY 

  • It is the responsibility of the broker to verify the accuracy of all information, including the unit owner’s policy information.

  • It is anticipated that the broker who is providing the Water Damage Deductible Buydown coverage will also be the broker providing the unit owners policy and so will be able to verify and/or provide the required unit owner’s policy information.

  • If the submitting broker does not have direct access, a current copy of the unit owner’s policy must be obtained and kept on file.

CLAIMS PROCESS 

In the event you think that you have had a claim that originated in your unit, please contact Northbridge General Insurance Corporation. Their claims department can be contacted either by email or by telephone, Contact information is as follows:

 

Email:           westernclaims@nbfc.com

Phone:         1-855-621-6262

 

Please include the following information when contacting the claims department:

 

  • Your contact information

  • Policy Number

  • Date of loss

  • Cause of loss

  • Contact details for the Strata Corporations Property Manager.

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