Moving & settling in
Home insurance and utility setup
By Bo Yu, Broker, Right at Home Realty, Brokerage · Verified/updated August 2026
Home insurance is the one closing requirement people leave to the last week. Your lender will not advance funds without a binder showing coverage effective on the closing date, with the lender named as loss payee.
Around the same time you open accounts for hydro, gas, water and internet. Individually small; together they're a few hundred dollars of set-up charges and first payments in the days around your move.
- Who charges it
- Your insurer; Hydro Ottawa or Hydro One, Enbridge Gas, the City of Ottawa, and your internet provider.
- Who normally pays
- The buyer.
- When it's paid
- Insurance: bound before closing, first payment usually at or just before the closing date. Utilities: on account opening and first bill.
- Cash or financed
- Cash, spread across the weeks around closing.
- Typical range
- $90–$180 a month, first instalment before closing; $0–$300 in connection and account-opening charges
How it's calculated — and why it varies
Insurance premiums depend on the rebuild cost, the age of roof, wiring and plumbing, claims history, and whether there's a finished basement, a wood stove, or an oil tank.
- Typical Ottawa detached home: roughly $90–$180 a month, paid monthly or annually.
- Condo unit owner's policy: often $30–$60 a month, since the corporation insures the building.
- Overland water and sewer backup endorsements cost extra and are worth pricing in older neighbourhoods.
- Hydro Ottawa account opening, security deposits where credit history is thin, and final-read charges: $0–$300.
- Internet installation: $0–$150 depending on the promotion.
- Rural properties: budget for a propane or oil account transfer and possibly a tank inspection.
Exemptions, refunds and when it doesn't apply
- You cannot skip insurance if you have a mortgage — it is a condition of funding.
- A cash purchase doesn't require insurance legally, but going uninsured puts your whole equity at risk.
- Insurers can refuse or surcharge homes with knob-and-tube wiring, 60-amp service, aluminum wiring, or an aging oil tank. Find that out during your conditions, not the week before closing.
- Bundling home and auto usually beats standalone pricing, but shop it — Ottawa premiums vary widely by insurer.
A real Ottawa example
A $650,000 detached home in Orleans: $128 a month for home insurance, bound two weeks before closing, with the first payment on the closing date.
The same week: $0 to open Hydro Ottawa (no deposit required), $60 internet installation, and the water account transferred with the City at no charge. Call it $190 in the first month beyond the mortgage.
How this shows up in the calculator
Home insurance appears in the calculator's monthly-cost panel, not in closing costs, because it is an ongoing expense. Utility setup charges are small and highly variable, so the calculator leaves them out — add $100–$300 to your moving-week budget.
Open the calculatorOfficial sources — verified/updated August 2026
Rules and rates change. These are the first-party pages this one was checked against; confirm anything that matters to your purchase directly with them.
Every figure on this page is a planning estimate for general information only, based on the assumptions shown, and are not legal, tax, mortgage or financial advice or an offer of credit. Actual rates, payments, taxes, fees and values vary — confirm the numbers with your lender, lawyer or accountant before relying on them. Full disclosures.
This page is general information about how a cost works in Ontario, not legal, tax, mortgage or accounting advice, and not a quote. Your lawyer, lender and accountant confirm what actually applies to your purchase.
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