Do Condo Owners Need Sewer Backup Insurance?

Yes, condo owners often still need sewer-backup coverage of their own, but not because the condominium corporation's policy necessarily excludes sewer backup. In Alberta, the opposite is important: condominium corporations must insure prescribed property against specified perils, and those prescribed perils include water damage caused by sewer backup. The real issue is that the corporation's policy and the owner's policy protect different property and different financial interests. In Alberta, a condominium corporation generally insures the units and common property against the perils required by the Condominium Property Regulation. Sewer backup is one of those prescribed perils. For a residential unit, the corporation's minimum property coverage is tied to the replacement value of the unit and the fixtures and finishing described in the applicable standard insurable unit description, often shortened to SIUD.