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?
Two ways to combine limits for $2M of auto protection: raising auto liability alone ($20–$50/yr) vs adding a $1M umbrella over $1M auto ($200–$300/yr). Not a standalone pricing guide — it's about which structure fits.
- 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: Cost and How to Choose
$5 million of umbrella coverage costs about $150–$225 a year more than $2 million in Canada: $400–$600 vs $250–$375 (estimates, not quotes).
- 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.
- Guide
Average Personal Injury Settlement in Canada: Real Numbers
Most Canadian injury claims settle under $100,000, but reported catastrophic awards exceed $18 million — why the 'average' misleads on both ends.
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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