waterdamagequotesIndependent · every figure sourced
Water is in the house. What now?
Water got into your house. Before anyone can tell you what it costs, three things have to be established: where it came from, whether your policy answers for it, and how long it has been there. This site is those three questions, with a source under every figure.
We are not a restoration company. We publish, and companies that do the work pay a fixed fee to receive an enquiry. That is the whole business model and it is why you will not find a company named, rated or recommended anywhere here.
Start with what is leaking
The cause decides which part of your policy responds, what a restorer will do, and what the work is. It is the first question on every form on this site for the same reason.
The gap most Canadians find out about too late
A standard Canadian home policy is comprehensive about water that escapes inside the house. It is silent about the two ways water most commonly arrives in a Canadian basement.
The same diagram as a table
| Status | Peril |
|---|---|
| In a standard policy | Sudden or accidental escape from indoor plumbing, heating or air conditioning |
| Water damage from an appliance malfunction (not the appliance itself) | |
| Interior damage from a roof leak (not the worn roof) | |
| Only if you bought it | Sewer or drain backup — optional endorsement |
| Overland water — optional endorsement | |
| Service line / water main — optional endorsement | |
| Not covered | Storm surge and tidal wave |
| Ongoing or repeated ice dams | |
| Frozen pipes, where the heat was not maintained |
Source: Insurance Bureau of Canada, Water Damage and Flood Protection and Insurance Bureau of Canada, Flooding and Insurance.
Insurance Bureau of Canada, Flooding and Insurance · 2026
“Water damage in a basement due to a sewer backup is only covered if you have purchased specific, optional sewer backup coverage.”
Both of the perils in the middle column are optional endorsements you have to buy. Our insurance section goes through each one, what to ask before adding it, and what the policy asks of you in return.
One number governs the whole response
Not an urgency slogan. A published figure from Health Canada, and every timeline on this site is built backwards from it.
The same diagram as a table
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Hour 0 | Stop the water. Photograph everything before it moves. |
| Hour 2 | Call the insurer. Ask what your policy covers. |
| Hour 12 | Extraction and air movers. Drying log starts. |
| Hour 48 | Health Canada’s mould growth window closes. |
The 48-hour figure is Health Canada’s: “Mould will begin to grow in an area with excessive moisture within 48 hours.” Source: Health Canada, Guide to addressing moisture and mould indoors.
What your city will pay towards never doing this again
This is the part nobody writes about, because it takes reading four municipal websites rather than one. Four Ontario cities will part-fund the devices that stop a basement flooding, and the amounts are not remotely similar to each other.
The same diagram as a table
| City | Maximum | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Mississauga | $7,500 | Basement Flooding Prevention Rebate |
| Toronto | $6,650 | Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program |
| Ottawa | $3,000 | Residential Protective Plumbing Program |
| Hamilton | $2,000 | Protective Plumbing Program |
Why this site has fewer numbers than the others
The closest direct competitor to this site publishes cost tables under the line “estimates synthesized from public market data using AI research”. No sample size, no sources, no date.
We took the other road. Every figure here carries the document it came from and the date that document was read, and where we have no source we publish nothing rather than an estimate. That makes this a shorter site. It also makes it one you can check.
| We publish | Because |
|---|---|
| Municipal subsidy amounts, line by line | Four cities publish them. We link each one. |
| Health Canada’s mould thresholds and the 48-hour window | Published by Health Canada and measurable with a tape. |
| What a standard policy covers and excludes | The Insurance Bureau of Canada describes its own members’ product. |
| The ANSI/IICRC S500 category definitions, verbatim | Quoted from the consensus body’s own position statement. |
| Hamilton’s published contractor fee table | Five named firms, one city — and we say so rather than averaging it. |
| Not a national average restoration cost | We did not measure one. |
| Not insurance premiums or endorsement prices | Set per policy; we measured none. |
| Not what an enquiry is worth to a contractor | Never measured on this site. |
The full methodology, including what we could not reach and what we left blank.
Why this site has nothing to gain from your answer. We are paid a fixed amount for each enquiry, agreed before it is sent. It does not move with the size of the job, with whether you book anything, or with which company you pick. So there is no version of this page where steering you is worth anything to us — which is also why you will not find a company named, rated or recommended anywhere on this site.
Questions people actually ask
Is water damage covered by home insurance in Canada?
Partly. A standard policy covers sudden or accidental water damage from indoor plumbing, heating or air conditioning, damage from an appliance malfunction other than the appliance itself, and interior damage from a roof leak other than the worn roof. Sewer backup and overland water are optional endorsements you have to buy.
How long do I have before water damage turns into mould?
Health Canada states that mould will begin to grow in an area with excessive moisture within 48 hours.
What is this site, exactly?
An independent publisher. We write about Canadian water damage, cover and municipal programmes, and we sell advertising to restoration and plumbing companies at a fixed fee per enquiry agreed in advance. We are not a restoration company, we do not carry out work, we do not assess claims, and we do not rate, rank or vet the companies an enquiry reaches.
Does it cost me anything to send an enquiry?
No. The companies pay the fee, not you, and it is the same fee whether you book anything or not. No more than three companies receive one enquiry.
Why does this site not list any companies?
Because we do not rate, rank, score or vet them, and listing them would imply we do. We take a fixed amount per enquiry that does not change with the size of the job or with which company receives it, so there is nothing for us to gain by steering you.
Sources cited on this page
- Insurance Bureau of Canada, Water Damage and Flood Protection
- Insurance Bureau of Canada, Flooding and Insurance
- Health Canada, Guide to addressing moisture and mould indoors
- IICRC, S500 standard page
- City of Toronto, Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program
- City of Mississauga, Basement Flooding Prevention Rebate
- City of Ottawa, Residential Protective Plumbing Program
- City of Hamilton, Protective Plumbing Program
Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on September 20, 2026. How we check this.
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- Your answers go to restoration and plumbing companies that advertise for your area.
- No more than three of them may contact you, using the details you gave.
- You decide who, if anyone, you use. You are committed to nothing.
We are not a restoration company, we do not carry out work, and nothing sent through this form starts, alters or supports an insurance claim.