Dig Deeper
Fire insurance & taxes are big chunk today. $7,000/yr for the 2, how long before $1k/month????
Home insurance premiums are up sharply in wildfire-prone parts of B.C. — doubling in Kamloops and rising sharply in Kelowna, according to a Toronto-based insurtech firm.
MyChoice, in partnership with a digital real estate platform called Wahi, found that home insurance premiums have jumped 98 per cent in Kamloops and 52 per cent in Kelowna. Kamloops had the biggest increase in the country, while Kelowna’s was third highest.
According to the study, Kamloops’ average premium is now $3,743, which is up from $1,893 two years ago. The monthly payment now represents 9 per cent of a typical mortgage.
“That is quite significant,” said Vitalii Starov, MyChoice’s vice-president of product growth. “It’s becoming an important financial factor for people who want to live in Kamloops.”
In Kelowna, the average premium is $3,424 this year compared to just $2,250 in 2023. That payment is 7 per cent of a typical monthly mortgage payment in the city, which is up from 4 per cent two years ago.