Strata InsuranceJuly 9, 2026 · 6 min read

Why Is Strata Insurance So Expensive in BC?

Why did BC strata premiums explode? The reinsurance squeeze, water-damage claims, flood risk in areas like Richmond, and what the market looks like in 2026.

What people mean by the "strata insurance crisis"

If you own a unit in a smaller BC building, you've probably watched your strata's insurance line jump at budget time and wondered what on earth happened. You're not imagining it, and it isn't your council mismanaging the file. Over the past several years, British Columbia went through what the industry calls a "hard market" for strata (or condo) insurance — a stretch where premiums climbed steeply, deductibles ballooned, and some buildings struggled to get coverage at all. That's the shorthand behind the phrase "the strata insurance crisis BC" owners keep hearing.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that things have cooled somewhat by 2026 compared with the worst of it. But premiums are still high relative to a decade ago, deductibles remain eye-watering, and the underlying pressures haven't disappeared. Understanding why helps your council budget realistically and stops the annual renewal from feeling like a mystery. Your insurance premium is a big chunk of what your strata fees actually cover, so it's worth knowing what drives it.

The forces that pushed premiums up

There's no single villain here. BC's premium spike came from several pressures stacking on top of each other at the same time.

Reinsurance got expensive. Your local insurer buys its own insurance — reinsurance — from global companies to backstop large losses. When wildfires, floods, and storms drove up claims worldwide, those global reinsurers raised their rates, and that cost flows straight down to BC strata policies.
Rebuild costs climbed. Strata buildings are insured for what it would cost to rebuild them, not their market value. Construction labour and materials got dramatically more expensive, so insured values rose — and premiums rise with them.
Water damage claims, over and over. Water is the quiet budget-killer of BC strata insurance. A single burst pipe or overflowing dishwasher can send water through several floors, and these claims are frequent and costly. Insurers responded by raising both premiums and deductibles. We dig into this in water damage and the strata deductible.
Fewer insurers competing. As losses mounted, some insurers pulled back from the BC strata market entirely. Less competition means less downward pressure on price.
Catastrophe risk. Coastal BC sits in an active earthquake zone, and the coverage math for a potential major seismic event feeds into pricing too. That's a separate conversation worth having — see how strata earthquake insurance works in BC.

Put those together and you get the sharp increases owners saw. It wasn't one thing; it was everything at once.

Why your building's claims history matters so much

Here's where two identical-looking buildings can pay very different premiums. Insurers price your policy heavily on your loss history — how many claims your strata has made, how large they were, and how recently.

A building that has filed several water-damage claims in a few years looks risky on paper, even if each one felt like bad luck at the time. That reputation follows the corporation into every renewal. Insurers may respond by raising the premium, pushing up the deductible, adding conditions, or in tough cases declining to renew.

This is why claims discipline matters, especially for smaller stratas where a single big loss weighs more heavily on the record. Councils that maintain the building well, fix small leaks before they become floors-deep disasters, and think carefully before filing a small claim they could absorb tend to fare better at renewal. It's also why keeping your deductibles at a sensible level is a strategic decision, not just a number on the policy — we cover the ranges in strata insurance deductibles in BC.

Location and flood risk: why Richmond isn't Kelowna

Where your building sits changes the price. Insurers look hard at geography, and BC has some genuinely high-risk pockets.

Flood exposure is the clearest example. Much of Richmond sits at or below sea level on the Fraser River delta, protected by an extensive system of dikes and pumps. That engineering works well, but it also means insurers view low-lying delta and floodplain locations as carrying real water risk. The Fraser Valley's 2021 flooding was a sharp reminder that overland flooding is a live threat, not a theoretical one — and that shows up in how buildings in flood-prone areas are priced and what flood coverage costs (or whether it's readily available at all).

Seismic zones, wildfire-interface areas, and older neighbourhoods with aging infrastructure all factor in too. None of this is a knock on any community — it's simply that a boutique low-rise on a Richmond floodplain and a townhouse complex on high ground in the Interior present different risk profiles, and the premium reflects that. Location is one of the few big drivers your council genuinely can't change, so it's worth understanding rather than fighting.

What's changed by 2026

The picture in 2026 is calmer than the peak of the crisis, but "calmer" doesn't mean "cheap."

The market has softened somewhat: more insurers are writing strata business again, and the year-over-year increases many buildings faced have eased compared with the steepest years. That's real relief for councils. At the same time, deductibles that jumped during the hard market have largely stayed high — insurers have shown little appetite to bring those back down, so a large water-damage loss can still leave your strata funding a substantial deductible before coverage responds.

On the regulatory side, BC has continued to fine-tune the rules around strata insurance and disclosure, and the broader push toward proper long-range planning — through depreciation reports and healthier reserves — indirectly touches insurance too, because well-maintained buildings with funded plans are easier to insure. Because the specifics around minimum coverage, disclosure requirements, and deductible-recovery rules can shift, treat any figure or deadline you read as something to confirm with your broker or a strata lawyer rather than bank on. The direction of travel, though, is steady: more transparency, and more expectation that stratas plan ahead.

What your council can actually do about it

You can't control reinsurance markets or where your building sits, but you have more levers than you'd think. Maintain the building and fix water issues fast; keep your risk information and building records current and accurate so your broker can present you well; think twice before filing small claims you could self-fund; and shop the renewal properly with a broker who knows strata. We walk through the practical moves in how to lower your strata's insurance premium in BC.

One more thing every owner should do: carry your own condo owner's insurance. The strata's policy doesn't cover your belongings, your upgrades, or a deductible charged back to you — and with deductibles this high, that gap can be very expensive to leave open. For the full picture of where the strata's coverage ends and yours begins, see what strata insurance actually covers in BC.

This article is general information about the BC strata insurance landscape, not legal, financial, or insurance advice. Premiums, deductibles, coverage rules, and the market itself change, and every building is different. Confirm your strata's specifics with a licensed insurance broker and, where needed, a strata lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Why is strata insurance so expensive in BC? Premiums rose because of several forces at once: costlier global reinsurance, higher building rebuild costs, frequent and expensive water-damage claims, fewer insurers competing, and catastrophe risk like earthquakes and flooding. Your building's own claims history and location layer on top of all of that.

Is the BC strata insurance crisis over in 2026? It has eased from its worst. More insurers are writing strata business and year-over-year increases have moderated, but premiums remain high compared with a decade ago and deductibles have largely stayed elevated. The underlying pressures haven't fully gone away.

Why do buildings in Richmond or the Fraser Valley pay more? Flood exposure. Much of Richmond sits on the low-lying Fraser delta behind dikes, and the Fraser Valley saw major flooding in 2021. Insurers price water and overland-flood risk carefully, so buildings in flood-prone areas often see higher premiums or harder-to-get flood coverage.

Does our strata's claims history really affect the premium? Yes, significantly. Insurers price heavily on how many claims you've filed, how large they were, and how recent. A run of water-damage claims can raise your premium, push up your deductible, or make renewal harder — which is why maintenance and claims discipline pay off.

Can a small strata do anything to lower its premium? Yes. Maintain the building and fix leaks fast, keep records and risk information current, avoid filing small claims you could absorb, and shop the renewal with a strata-savvy broker. See our guide on lowering your strata's insurance premium.