Only some of it. Damage from a burst pipe inside the home is normally covered. Water that arrives from outside is not: overland water and sewer backup are optional endorsements that most Canadian insurers now offer, but they are not part of a standard policy and have to be added. Storm surge and tidal water are excluded even where the endorsement is available, which is the point that matters most on a coastal Nova Scotia property. Availability is also risk-rated, so a home in a mapped flood area may find the endorsement expensive or unavailable. We check what your current policy actually carries before recommending anything.

The corporation insures the building and the common property, and in Nova Scotia the boundary is set by the standard unit description registered for your development — that document decides which components the corporation insures and which are yours. Your own policy has to cover contents, any improvements and betterments above that standard unit, personal liability, loss assessment, and your share of the corporation’s deductible. That last one has become the important one: corporation water deductibles now reach six figures, while a standard unit owner’s policy may only reimburse a small fraction of one. Higher deductible assessment limits are available, and we will tell you what yours is set at.

Nova Scotia’s statutory minimum is $500,000 — the highest in Atlantic Canada, where New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador all sit at $200,000. It is still a low ceiling against a serious injury award. Most brokers in this market write $1 million or $2 million, because the cost of the increase is small relative to what sits behind it, and because anything above your limit comes out of your own assets. The matching piece is Family Protection, which steps in when the driver who hits you carries less than you do.

For an ATV or snowmobile in Nova Scotia, yes, and it is a legal requirement rather than a recommendation. The Off-highway Vehicles Act requires a motor vehicle liability policy of at least $500,000, plus accident benefits and uninsured coverage, for anyone operating on land they do not own or occupy, and the machine has to be registered. Riding only on your own property is the exception. Boats are different: no law requires insurance, but a home policy’s watercraft extension carries horsepower and value ceilings that most real boats exceed, and marinas and lenders generally require proof of cover. Above those ceilings you want a standalone marine policy, with agreed value and lay-up terms you have actually read.

Schedule it. Every standard Canadian homeowner form caps jewellery, watches and furs at a sub-limit — depending on the wording, somewhere between roughly $1,000 and $6,000 in total, not per item. Cash, bicycles, coins, stamps, collections and business property kept at home all carry their own separate caps. Scheduling puts a named item on the policy at an agreed value, usually with no deductible, so a total loss pays the agreed figure rather than the sub-limit. Insurers ask for an appraisal above certain values; below those, a detailed description and a value are normally enough. Keep the values current — metal and stone prices move.

You deal with us. The broker who placed the policy is the one who reads the wording back against what happened, deals with the adjuster and tells you honestly where the policy stands. That is the practical reason to keep the household’s policies in one office rather than spread across three portals — when a loss falls between two policies, somebody has to be looking at both of them.