APOLLO Insurance Review

APOLLO Insurance is hoping to change the way Canadians buy insurance. Instead of shopping at a broker who only works business hours and may take days to find you a policy, APOLLO Insurance aims to cut that process down to just minutes. We reviewed APOLLO Insurance to see if this new Canadian company is worth a shot when you’re shopping around for different types of insurance. Keep reading to find out what we thought about it.

What Is APOLLO Insurance?

APOLLO Insurance is a Vancouver-based company founded in 2018 that touts itself as Canada’s largest online insurance marketplace. Founded by Jeff McCann, the company’s goal is to “make it easier for Canada’s small businesses to operate.”

APOLLO Insurance offers subscription-based insurance that Canadians can access quickly, easily, and affordably through the APOLLO Insurance marketplace. Gone are the long-form insurance applications and waiting to hear back from your insurance broker during business hours. Instead of an average of six weeks to acquire a business insurance policy, APOLLO Insurance can complete the process in as little as five minutes.

What Does APOLLO Insurance Offer?

APOLLO Insurance offers multiple types of insurance covering 500 classes of businesses on a single platform. Some types of insurance that you can purchase through APOLLO Insurance include:

Homeowner’s Insurance

If you’re a homeowner, you know that one of the most important monthly bills is your home insurance. Home insurance protects you against not just damage to the building itself but also the contents of your home and protects you if a visitor to your home becomes injured on your property. If you’re a condo owner, homeowner’s insurance has the extra benefit of covering you in case you damage other properties, such as if a pipe bursts and damages the condos below. Finally, if a disaster happens that makes your home unlivable, like a fire or flood, home insurance will also cover any temporary living situations like Airbnb or hotel stays.

APOLLO’s homeowner’s insurance offers good coverage to help you protect your property, with limits up to $1.2 million. APOLLO covers up to one rental unit per home, as well as earthquake coverage in British Columbia and Ontario. For personal liability, you are covered up to $3 million in personal liability coverage. Finally, damage by emergency entry is covered, with up to $20,000 for fire department damages. You can set up your homeowner’s insurance to withdraw monthly from your bank account or charge your credit card.

Owner-Occupied Condo Insurance

Similar to traditional homeowner’s insurance, owner-occupied condo insurance covers your condo in case the worst happens. While you might think that condo insurance isn’t necessary because your condo isn’t as susceptible to disaster as a regular home, you’ll still need good coverage to protect yourself from a variety of potential disasters. Owner-occupied condo insurance will cover the contents of your condo, and also if someone gets injured on your property. This insurance will also protect you if you cause damage to other condos in the building.

Finally, there are plenty of reasons why your condo might become uninhabitable, requiring you to seek out other accommodations for a time. APOLLO Insurance will cover you in this case, paying your Airbnb or hotel bills until your condo is livable again.

When you sign up for condo insurance through APOLLO Insurance, your policy will include up to $1 million in coverage for up to two self-contained suites. The building must be a Registered Condominium Corporation to qualify for owner-occupied condo insurance, and that coverage gets you personal liability coverage up to $2 million, property protection up to $150,000, and condo deductible protection up to $75,000.

Rented Condo Insurance

When you rent out your condo, it’s a good idea to require your prospective tenants to sign up for tenant’s insurance, but did you know that you should also get insurance for your rented premises? Rented condo insurance serves an important purpose to protect your condo from disasters like a fire, burst pipe, or any other emergency repairs. Rented condo insurance covers contents insurance if you keep personal possessions on the property and liability in case someone injures themselves on the property. It will also help cover damages caused to other units in the building and living expenses in case the condo becomes unlivable.

When you buy rented condo insurance from APOLLO, you’ll get coverage up to $500,000, optional vandalism by tenant coverage, property protection up to $100,000, lock replacement coverage, personal liability coverage up to $2 million, and coverage for the cost to find new tenants. To qualify for this type of insurance, the building must be a Registered Condominium Corporation and your tenants must be on a minimum 3-month lease.

Tenant/Renters Insurance

If you’re a tenant, your landlord will maintain insurance on their building, but that insurance only covers their property. There are a number of ways to protect yourself as a tenant, and purchasing renter’s insurance is one of them.

For example, your personal property is not protected by their policy, so you’ll need to buy insurance for that. APOLLO’s renter’s insurance protects your valuables like laptops, gaming consoles, and jewelry from theft or damage. If there is a break-in to your apartment, flood, or fire, renter’s insurance will compensate you for repurchasing or repairing your damaged possessions.

Renter’s insurance will also protect you from personal liability, for example, leaving the water running and damaging both your apartment and your neighbour’s. Liability coverage also protects you if someone is injured while at your apartment, for example, a slip and fall that causes injury that leads to lost wages.

If you don’t think you own enough high-value items to justify renter’s insurance, take a walk around your apartment and tally up the cost to replace high-value items like electronics. Renter’s insurance policies are very affordable, usually costing in the vicinity of a cup of coffee per day or less.

Get a quote for Renter’s Insurance from APOLLO Insurance

Miscellaneous Professionals/Freelancer Insurance

Most professionals and freelancers need insurance coverage, but many forgo it because they think their insurance needs are minimal – they aren’t a large business and perhaps don’t maintain commercial premises. This is a misconception, and APOLLO Insurance has assembled an affordable suite of insurance products designed specifically for professionals and freelancers.

The suite of insurance coverage offered to professionals and freelancers includes:

For each of these insurance types, you can select your coverage level. Coverage ranges from as low as $250,000 to as high as $5,000,000, depending on your unique needs. You can secure this coverage for as low as $28 per month and pay your premiums monthly or annually. APOLLO Insurance offers this type of insurance to businesses with up to 20 employees, and over 100 classes of professions and trades are protected.

Get a quote for Freelancer’s Insurance from APOLLO Insurance

Technology Services

APOLLO Insurance also offers a unique class of insurance specifically for those in the technology sector. Their Technology Services category of insurance is designed for any tech company providing services and products. Some examples of businesses that qualify include those selling computer hardware, computer maintenance and repair, IT project management or consulting, package software or subscription-based software, video game developers, and web development. This type of insurance provides a wide array of coverage that a typical tech company might need, including:

Technology services insurance offers monthly and annual premiums starting at $28 per month, up to $300 per month, depending on the coverage you choose.

Get a quote for Technology Services Insurance from APOLLO Insurance

Builder’s Risk/Renovation Insurance

If you are a new home builder or home renovator, you know that construction projects come with an element of risk. APOLLO Insurance offers builder’s risk and renovation insurance for small commercial and private builders with a minimum of two years of experience and projects with lengths of 24 months or less. Wood frame only construction is covered, and the projects may consist of:

Builder’s risk insurance covers project values up to $2,00,000, including premises liability, additional living expenses, and a variety of additional coverages and extensions, depending on what is suitable for your situation. Premiums start at $750 for residential projects and $1,000 for commercial projects.

Get a quote for Builder’s Risk Insurance from APOLLO Insurance

Professional Liability

Also known as errors and omissions insurance, professional liability insurance protects your business against negligence claims or any other failure to perform your professional services. Professional liability insurance is a good idea to have even if you are very conscientious because it covers you even if the claim is unfounded and you are innocent.

General Liability

General liability insurance covers your business if someone is injured or if you damage someone’s property through the course of your business operations. This coverage is an essential type of business coverage because you may be accused of this type of negligence even if you did nothing wrong or weren’t at fault.

Contents & Equipment

If your business has property like computers or inventory, contents insurance will cover you if these items are damaged. You won’t have to pay out of pocket to repair or replace these items, which will help you get back to business faster.

Non-profit Directors & Officers Insurance

If your company or organization has directors and officers, this insurance type will protect you against their honest mistakes. Non-profit directors and officers’ insurance will cover any amounts you have to pay if you are sued and pay your legal fees and court costs.

Small Business Insurance

There are many reasons to purchase insurance for small businesses, such as protecting yourself and your business from liabilities or copyright issues. With APOLLO Insurance, there are over 250 types of small businesses that qualify to buy small business insurance online. Some of these are:

If your business isn’t mentioned, you can search on the APOLLO Insurance website for a more comprehensive list to see if your profession is covered.

Get a quote for small business insurance from APOLLO Insurance

How to Apply

The typical process for buying business insurance is to go to a broker, fill out an application, and wait for a quote on the insurance cost. This process could take several days or longer if you don’t have a preferred broker. With APOLLO Insurance, the process is entirely online and takes as little as five minutes. Let’s break down the process into a few steps.

1. When getting insurance with APOLLO Insurance, the first step is to find your industry or profession from over 250 options.
   

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2. Once you find your profession, you’ll be asked for necessary information like your name, email address, phone number, and business name.
   

   ImageSource: APOLLO Insurance

3. After this step, you’ll be asked how much professional liability insurance you’d like to buy and your deductible. If you aren’t sure how much insurance you need, you can call APOLLO Insurance’s helpline from Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST.
   

   ImageSource: APOLLO Insurance

4. Next, you’ll have the option to add additional insurance like general liability, non-owned auto liability, contents coverage, business interruption coverage, privacy, and security breach coverage.
   

   ImageSource: APOLLO Insurance

5. APOLLO Insurance will then ask you how much your gross revenue was for the last fiscal year and the start date of your insurance.
   

   ImageSource: APOLLO Insurance

6. Finally, after you’ve entered this basic information, you’ll receive an instant quote from APOLLO Insurance. There is no waiting for a broker to get back to you, and you’ll instantly know how much your insurance policy will cost.
   

   ImageSource: APOLLO Insurance

Fees and Rates

Since every business is different, rates through APOLLO Insurance will also vary. Many factors determine your insurance quote rate, including how much coverage you need, the types of insurance you need, and your deductible. Fortunately, obtaining a rate quote takes about five minutes, so if you are curious about the rate for a specific type of insurance, that information is just minutes away.

It’s worth noting that its renter’s insurance rates are very competitive, and when reviewing the service I was able to obtain rates that were on par with rates from other insurers.

APOLLO Insurance does charge administrative fees for its services. For the two quotes that I requested, the administrative fees ranged from 8% to 20% of the total premium. These fees are clearly laid out on the quotation screen.

Why Go with APOLLO?

APOLLO Insurance offers several benefits that you won’t find with a regular insurance broker, including:

• Instant quotes: Obtain your renter’s or business insurance quotes within five minutes— no need to wait for a broker.
• Competitive pricing: Both the renter’s insurance and business insurance are priced competitively.
• Variety of business insurance: If you are a small business owner, APOLLO has a wide selection of insurance to meet your unique needs.
• Highly customizable: Choose only the insurance coverage and amounts that you need. Almost every type of insurance is customizable.
• Reputable: APOLLO Insurance is a well-known insurance platform with thousands of Canadians using this platform for their business and tenant’s insurance needs.
• Transparent: Each quote breaks down the fees clearly and displays how your overall premium is calculated, so there is no confusion and no hidden costs.

Pros and Cons

Final Word

APOLLO Insurance makes shopping for insurance a lot more simple and accessible for Canadians looking for tenant’s insurance and business insurance. I like that you can obtain an insurance policy through APOLLO Insurance instantly without having to find or wait for a broker to get back to you. The quotation process is easy and highly customizable, and the entire process takes about five minutes. Not only is the quotation process easy, but you can also actually sign up for your insurance online. Often, online quotations are then transferred to brokers, who complete the paperwork. With APOLLO Insurance, the process is entirely automated.

APOLLO Insurance has one downside: there isn’t much advice on how much insurance you’ll need, so if you aren’t sure what you should be buying, take some time to research before requesting your quote. Overall, APOLLO Insurance is a great addition to the insurance industry. I know that many Canadians and small business owners will find this service helpful for their business and tenant’s insurance.