New findings from a Léger survey conducted on behalf of Allstate Insurance Company of Canada suggest many Canadians put reading their home insurance policy at the bottom of their to-do list.
Only 40% of respondents ranked reviewing their home policy among their top three preferred tasks. By comparison, spring cleaning (81%), completing an income tax return (80%), assembling furniture with unclear instructions (53%) and even having a dental filling replaced (47%) were more likely to make the list.
“This says to me there are aspects of insurance that compete for attention within the lives of Canadians, and it can often lose,” said George Ljubicic, agency manager at Allstate Canada. “Most people want to feel confident about their coverage, but insurance documents aren’t always written the way people talk or think about their homes. That’s why meeting customers where they are, with simple explanations and real human support, really matters.”
Understanding home insurance is critical to avoiding coverage gaps and ensuring expectations align with reality when a claim occurs. While 64% of survey respondents said they understand at least some aspects of their policy, that confidence did not always translate into accurate knowledge.
Asked to identify which statements correctly reflected typical home insurance coverage, just 42% were able to pick two accurate options out of five without also selecting incorrect ones.
A second, separate survey commissioned by Allstate found that when questions arise, Canadians are more likely to seek help than to consult their policy wording directly.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they would contact their broker or agent, 44% would call their insurer’s customer service department, and 35% would visit the company’s website. Only 30% said their first move would be to turn to the policy document itself.
Most respondents (82%) reported reviewing their policy at least once in the past year, typically at renewal, at purchase or when coverage first takes effect. Among those who choose not to read their policy in detail, two-thirds (67%) said they would rather speak directly with someone, while 22% found the documents too difficult to understand.
That behaviour underlines the importance of front-line distribution and service staff. If policy wordings remain dense, the quality of advice from brokers, agents and call-centre teams becomes a critical factor in managing expectations and reducing post-loss friction.
The findings intersect with a broader regulatory push in Canada and other markets toward clearer, customer-friendly disclosure. Regulators have increasingly emphasized fair-treatment principles, suitability of cover and plain-language communication, particularly for retail products such as home insurance.
Misunderstandings about what is or is not covered are a recurring theme in consumer complaints, especially following major weather events. As climate-driven catastrophes and secondary perils continue to pressure personal property books, any mismatch between what policyholders think they bought and what the contract actually provides can quickly turn into reputational and regulatory risk, as well as higher complaint-handling and legal costs.
Improving comprehension is therefore not only a customer-experience goal; it has direct implications for loss adjustment, dispute frequency and overall expense ratios.
To help bridge the gap between confidence and comprehension, Allstate Canada has begun introducing new, simplified documents for select home insurance policies in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Alberta, supported by personalized guidance from agents.
According to the company, survey respondents who reviewed the revised, simplified documents demonstrated higher levels of understanding than those who reviewed existing materials, suggesting clearer, more accessible wording can improve how prepared and protected people feel.
“Making insurance simpler doesn’t mean oversimplifying – it means being clear and more human,” Ljubicic said. “Insurance documents that are easier to understand, paired with real guidance, can help Canadians feel confident that their coverage actually reflects their needs.”
