Canadian liability, explained candidly
Your policy stops at $1 million. Canadian lawsuits don't.
Courts here have awarded $12 million and more against ordinary families — for car accidents, backyard injuries, a dog, a boat wake. Everything a judgment awards beyond your limit comes out of your house, savings, and future income. We show you the gap, and how surprisingly little it costs to close it.
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$18.4M
Awarded in a single Ontario car-accident case (MacNeil v. Bryan, 2009). The driver's policy covered $1M.
$1M
The liability limit most Canadians carry — usually because nobody ever suggested more.
~$20/mo
Typical cost of an extra $1M in umbrella coverage. It's one of the cheapest policies in insurance — when you can find someone to sell it to you.
Start here
- Guide
'Total Coverage' vs Liability Limit: Reading Your Canadian Home Policy
Different numbers. 'Total coverage' means rebuild cost; your liability limit — often just $1M — is the separate cap on lawsuit protection.
- Guide
$2M Auto vs $1M Auto Plus a $1M Umbrella: Which Is Better?
Raising auto liability to $2M costs $20–$50/yr; a $1M umbrella over $1M auto costs $200–$300/yr but adds home, boat and cottage coverage too.
- Guide
11 Things Umbrella Insurance Won't Cover in Canada
Umbrella insurance adds $1M+ of protection for about $200–$300 a year, but excludes business use, your own property, and 9 other things.
- Guide
2 Million vs 5 Million Liability Coverage: How to Choose
Going from $2M to $5M in liability coverage costs roughly $150–$225 more a year (estimate) — cheap against Canadian awards topping $12 million.
- Guide
A Fender Bender and a Million-Dollar Claim: Why the Numbers Don't Match
Canada's pain-and-suffering cap sits near $450,000 today, but covers only non-pecuniary damages — uncapped care and income costs built an $18M case.
- Guide
Am I Liable for What My Kid Does?
Ontario, Manitoba and BC cap parental liability for deliberate property damage at $50,000, $10,000 and $10,000. For injuries, no such cap exists.
The site that tells you what your insurer won't
Umbrella insurance in Canada is only sold through brokers, and most people have never been offered it. We read the policy wordings and the case law, publish the numbers, and if you want, connect you with a licensed broker who can actually write the coverage. That's the whole business — no premiums, no commissions on your policy.
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