Your brampton Home may Be Worth far More Than Insurance Policy Thinks.
A $1 million renovation. A $6.2 million appraisal. A mass market insurer that never knew the difference.
READING TIME: 5 minutes
BRAMPTON, ON — It is one of the most common gaps in high-value home insurance — and one of the most costly to discover. A home is renovated, expanded, or upgraded significantly. The policy renews at the same limit it always has. The insurer applies the same formula it always has. And the gap between what the property is actually worth and what a policy would pay quietly widens, year after year.
The moment this gap becomes visible is almost always a claim.
How Standard Insurers Assess Your Home
Mass market carriers work at scale. When a home insurance policy is written or renewed, a rebuild value is assigned based on a formula — square footage, basic construction type, geographic location. Nobody visits the property. Nobody asks about the imported stone in the foyer, the custom millwork in the kitchen, the smart home infrastructure built into the walls, or the premium materials that define a genuinely high-quality home.
The formula was not designed for a home like yours. It was designed for the average one.
For homeowners in Brampton's premium communities — families who have invested in their properties with intention — the gap between formula and reality can be substantial. In today's construction environment, where labour costs and premium materials have increased significantly, that gap is wider than it has ever been.
A Real Example From Our Practice
"I was already working with this client on his commercial vehicles. After a liquidity event, we moved his assets from commercial to personal policies — and that naturally opened the door to reviewing his home insurance. His policy had him covered for $2.5 million in rebuild value. He already knew something was off. He'd just completed a $1 million renovation — a full gut of the home."
The gap between what the policy reflected and what the property was actually worth needed to be established properly. The next step was placing the home with the right carrier.
"When we placed the policy with Chubb and the home appraisal happened, I was there. I make myself available to be on site for every private client appraisal. The home came in at $6.2 million post-renovation. That's the number the coverage needed to reflect."
A $3.7 million gap.
Sophisticated Families Know What's at Stake
It is worth noting what this situation was not. It was not a family that had been careless or uninformed. It was a sophisticated client who understood exactly what kind of exposure he was carrying.
"These clients are sophisticated. They know exactly what kind of exposure they're carrying when they're not insured to value. I didn't need to convince him. I just needed to make sure the right carrier and the right program were in place."
This is an important distinction. The coverage gap in this case was not caused by a lack of awareness — it was caused by a policy that had never been reviewed in the context of what the home had become. The client had the right instincts. What he needed was an advisor with the right relationships and the right carrier access to act on them.
What a Private Client Carrier Does Differently
Carriers like Chubb and Intact Prestige approach high-value properties differently from the outset. Rather than applying a square footage formula, they conduct proper valuations — accounting for the actual cost of rebuilding a premium property with premium materials in today's market.
Both carriers offer complimentary home appraisals post-binding, typically within the first 30 days of a new policy. That appraisal establishes the insured value with precision — and becomes the foundation of the coverage from day one.
For a family that has invested $500,000 or $1,000,000 in renovations, this matters enormously. The appraisal captures what a standard renewal never would: the upgraded finishes, the custom work, the systems, the premium materials that make the home what it actually is today.
The Industry Truth — The Claims Process Reveals Everything
This is not a problem unique to one client or one neighborhood. It is one of the most consistent patterns in high-value home insurance — and one of the most avoidable.
"I've been in this industry for 15 years. I've been privy to a lot of horror stories. Insurance 101 — the truth always comes out in the claims process. And by then, it's too late."
The renovation gap is almost always fixable. A proper review, the right carrier, and a broker who asks the right questions can close it entirely. The challenge is that most families don't know the gap exists until they need to activate their policy — and at that point, the conversation changes completely.
The Role of the Advisor
There is no judgment in this work. Families arrive with policies that don't reflect their reality for many reasons — a previous broker who didn't ask the right questions, a coverage that was set years ago and never revisited, or simply a situation where the right carrier relationship wasn't available to them.
"My role as a private client advisor is to listen, advise, and execute — without any judgement. Sometimes it's simply a matter of the client not having had the right advisor in their corner. Someone with the relationships and the expertise to provide the guidance they actually need."
The Question Every High Value Homeowner Should Be Asking
When was the last time your insurance file was updated to reflect what your home is actually worth today?
If you've renovated, expanded, or significantly upgraded your property — and your insurer doesn't know about it — there is almost certainly a gap. A proper review starts with understanding what it would actually cost to rebuild your home today, with today's materials and today's labour costs. From there, the right carrier and the right coverage can be put in place.
It is a straightforward process — when you work with an advisor who asks the right questions and shows up to make sure the answers are reflected in your coverage.
About Maverick Insurance Brokers
Maverick Insurance Brokers is Brampton's Private Client Insurance Advisor — a boutique independent brokerage built for community leaders, entrepreneurs, business families, and creatives who are protecting something significant. Founded in 2024 and rooted in Brampton, Maverick takes a relationship-first approach to coverage, designing protection that moves with clients as their lives and assets grow. For more information visit maverickinsurance.ca.
About Chubb
Chubb's Masterpiece program is widely regarded as the global benchmark for private client insurance coverage. From high-value homes and collections to personal liability and watercraft, Chubb delivers dedicated claims specialists, agreed value settlements, and risk consultation services that go far beyond what standard market carriers offer. For more information visit chubb.com.
Book a Private Consultation with Bram Bains
If you've renovated your home recently and haven't had your coverage reviewed — or if something in this article reflected your situation — that conversation is worth having.
No sales pitch. No obligation. Just a straightforward discussion with an advisor who has your best interests at heart.
