'Shop around,' says expert about rising cost of tenant's insurance

Rent is one the major drivers of inflation on P.E.I., and now tenants have to worry about the cost of tenant's insurance as well.

In the last two years premiums for tenant's insurance are up an average of 11 per cent in Atlantic Canada, according to the group Applied Systems, which tracks insurance rates across Canada.

Connor Kelly, tenant co-ordinator with P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing, said increases like this are hard on budgets.

"I think on average most people who would be renting are either just barely breaking even or running a deficit from month to month, so they're going further into debt," said Kelly.

"That [increase is] like a couple of meals, or it might put an apartment out of someone's reach just barely."

Gloria Haydock, Atlantic manager of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said the higher rates reflect the cost of claims in the region and across the country in recent years.

There are more claims, she said, and the cost of those claims are going up.

"Weather is getting worse here in Canada, with climate change," she said.

"We've got the ongoing supply chain challenges, inflation, increased costs of rebuilding and replacing."

Those increased costs are eventually going to be passed on to customers in the form of higher premiums, said Haydock.

That doesn't mean tenants are powerless, she added.

"The best advice would be for people to shop around. Talk to an insurance professional who can compare prices for you."

"If you're looking to decrease the cost, ask them for ways to do it. Talk about it."