VIP Insurance in Ontario

VIP insurance, sometimes called high net worth or private client insurance, is a coordinated approach to personal insurance for individuals and families whose assets and liability exposures are more complex than a standard policy is designed to handle. Rather than insuring a home, a car and a collection as three unrelated policies, a private client program looks at how those assets and risks connect and builds coverage around the full picture.

This service tends to fit high-value homeowners, successful families, executives, business owners, collectors and luxury-vehicle owners, particularly anyone with more than one property, a vehicle insured for its collector or agreed value, valuable collections such as art, jewellery or wine, or personal liability exposure that overlaps with a business interest. There isn’t a fixed net worth threshold; the better indicator is whether your assets or exposures are complex enough that a standard policy would leave gaps.

There’s no single dollar figure that defines a high-value home across every insurer; it depends more on reconstruction cost, custom features, and the carrier’s own underwriting criteria than on market value alone. A home with custom finishes, a larger footprint, or unique architectural features often costs more to rebuild than its market price would suggest, which is one reason a proper reconstruction cost assessment matters more than a market valuation when arranging coverage.

Agreed-value coverage means you and the insurer settle on a vehicle's insured value when the policy is written, rather than the insurer calculating a depreciated market value at the time of a claim. This matters for collector, exotic and classic vehicles, where market value doesn’t reflect restoration work, rarity or condition the way a standard depreciation formula assumes.

Valuable items such as fine art, jewellery, watches and wine are generally scheduled individually rather than lumped into a home policy’s general contents limit. Scheduling documents each item's value and typically extends coverage worldwide, so a piece is covered while travelling or on loan, not just inside the home. If a scheduled item increases in value over time, for example a piece of art appreciating or a jewellery collection growing, it’s worth revisiting the schedule at your next portfolio review so coverage keeps pace.

Guaranteed replacement cost coverage rebuilds a home to its pre-loss condition even if the final cost exceeds the policy's stated limit, which matters given how much construction costs can shift between when a policy is written and when a claim happens. Reconstruction cost, the figure the coverage is based on, is calculated from the home's size, materials, custom features and current local construction costs, generally through a professional appraisal rather than an estimate based on market value.

Personal umbrella insurance sits above your home and auto liability limits, providing additional protection if a claim or lawsuit exceeds what those underlying policies cover. How much liability coverage a high net worth family needs depends on total assets, income, public exposure and risk factors like employing household staff or owning recreational vehicles and watercraft.

Concierge claims service means your broker is involved when a claim happens, helping coordinate the process rather than leaving you to manage it directly with the insurer alone. Where a loss touches more than one policy, for example a fire affecting both the home and scheduled valuables inside it, a broker can help coordinate the claim across those policies so nothing falls between them.

A private insurance portfolio is generally reviewed at least annually, and sooner after a significant change such as a new property, vehicle or collection, a major renovation, or a change in business interests. Assets and their values shift over time, and a policy that fit two years ago may no longer reflect what you actually own.

Specialty coverage for high-value homes, collector vehicles and valuable collections isn’t offered by every carrier, and terms vary meaningfully between the insurers that do offer it. As an independent, RIBO-licensed brokerage, BrokerUnion compares specialty carriers rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.

To put together a private client review, we typically need an overview of your properties (including any secondary or vacation homes), vehicles you’d like insured at agreed value, any valuable collections you’d like scheduled, and a general picture of your liability exposure, including any business interests that intersect with your personal coverage. From there, a senior broker can assess where a coordinated program would improve on your current coverage.

BrokerUnion works with private clients across Ontario, with offices in Pickering, Barrie, Mississauga, Whitby, Sudbury and Kitchener. Wherever your properties or vehicles are based in the province, a senior broker can put together a confidential VIP insurance review.