The short answer
Private client insurance is a coordinated approach to protecting a household with significant assets, usually covering homes, vehicles, art and collections, boats and extra liability under one review. A specialised broker maps what the family owns, how it is held and how they live, then places cover with insurers who handle higher values. It is a service as much as a product, and starts with a full inventory.
- Families with a primary residence plus a cottage, a city apartment or property abroad
- Entrepreneurs whose personal wealth has grown quickly after a sale or a business success
- Households with valuable art, wine, jewellery, cars or boats
- People with public profiles who care about privacy and security
- Families that employ household staff, a nanny, a driver or a property manager
No broker in the network handles this yet. You can still prepare and save the request now. It is kept, and requests like it show us which brokers to find next.
Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Coordinated property cover
Homes, seasonal properties and rental units reviewed together, with consistent rebuild values, endorsements and claims handling, rather than a patchwork from different insurers.
Valuables and collections
Art, jewellery, wine, vehicles and other collections listed with appraisals and agreed values, and covered while stored, lent or in transit.
Excess liability
Sometimes called umbrella cover. It sits above the liability limits on home, auto and watercraft policies and responds to a serious claim that exhausts them.
Vehicles and watercraft
Cars, collector vehicles, boats and recreational vehicles viewed alongside the homes they are kept at, so liability and limits line up.
Household staff and people exposure
Cover and responsibilities relating to employees at the home, plus the protection for family members who travel, drive or live elsewhere, such as a student overseas.
Privacy, cyber and security
Personal cyber and identity protection, extra security and risk advice, and provisions for events such as threats or reputational problems. Availability varies, so ask for specifics.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- A list of every property: address, type, approximate value, use and who is named as owner
- How each asset is held: personally, jointly, in a trust, in a holding company or through a family office
- An inventory of art, jewellery, wine, instruments, collector vehicles and boats with appraisals
- Current policies and renewal dates for every property and vehicle
- Liability limits you now carry, and any umbrella or excess policy
- A list of household staff, drivers and regular contractors
- Details of travel patterns and time spent at each property
- Family members who live elsewhere, such as students or adult children
- Your accountant, lawyer or family office contacts, if you want them involved
A broker will ask
- What do you own, and how is each asset legally held?
- Which properties are lived in all year, and which are empty for long periods?
- Which collections, vehicles or boats are significant enough to schedule separately?
- What liability limits do you hold now, and who sits behind them?
- Do you employ household staff, drivers or private security?
- Does anyone in the family have a public profile, or travel to places that need extra planning?
- Who in your professional circle should receive copies of the policy documents?
- Is there anything planned, such as a purchase, a renovation or a move abroad?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A family with a house, a cottage, a boat and a car collection
Parents in their fifties own a city house, a lakeside cottage, a wooden boat and three older cars. Each is insured by a different company and renewed at a different time of year.
First steps. List every asset with the policy number and renewal date, then ask a private client broker to review them together. The review should look at liability limits across all of them and at whether excess liability is worth having, rather than at price alone.
An entrepreneur after selling a company
A founder sold her business and bought a larger house and a ski property. She holds some assets personally and others through a family holding company, and her lawyer has mentioned a trust.
First steps. Collect the ownership structure from her lawyer or accountant, and bring it to the broker. Ask how insurers deal with property held in a trust or company, whose name should appear on each policy, and how business and personal exposure should be separated.
A household with staff and a public profile
A well-known surgeon and his family employ a nanny and a part-time driver, host fundraisers at home and receive a lot of attention online. They are concerned about privacy and about who is responsible if something goes wrong.
First steps. Document the household staff arrangements, how guests are managed at events and what is already in place for security. Ask the broker about employer responsibilities, event liability, and personal cyber and reputation cover, and what each insurer needs to see.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Excess liability
- Extra liability protection that sits above the limits on your home, auto and boat policies. It pays only after those underlying limits have been used up.
- Extended replacement cost
- Extra room above a home's stated limit to rebuild if costs climb after a major loss. Whether it exists, and how far it stretches, depends on the wording.
- Risk survey
- A review of a property's security, wiring, water and fire protection by the insurer or a specialist. It is sometimes requested for high-value homes.
- Title holder
- The person or entity that legally owns an asset. When a home sits in a trust or company, the policy should name the owner that really holds title.
- Employer liability
- Responsibility when someone works in your home, like a nanny or gardener. It can overlap with workers' compensation rules, which differ by province.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Letting different policies renew with different insurers and no single person reviewing the whole.
- Assuming ownership structure does not matter for who is insured.
- Carrying liability limits set years ago that no longer match the household's circumstances.
- Overlooking household staff, event hosting and family members living elsewhere.
- Treating art, wine and collector vehicles as ordinary contents.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles private client insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What is private client insurance?
It is an approach to insuring a household with significant or complex assets as a whole rather than policy by policy. A specialised broker reviews homes, collections, vehicles, boats and liability together, then places cover with insurers that handle higher values and offer broader terms. The focus is on fit, service and claims handling more than on any single policy.
What is excess liability or umbrella insurance?
It is an extra layer of liability protection that sits above the limits on your home, auto and watercraft policies. If a serious claim exceeds those limits, the excess policy responds. The policies underneath must usually meet minimum limits, and conditions apply, so ask a broker how the layers connect.
Who needs private client insurance?
It tends to suit people with several properties, valuable collections, boats or vehicles, household staff, or public visibility. The point is not a particular net worth but complexity: when a household has more assets than one simple policy can hold, a coordinated review reduces gaps and overlaps. A broker can tell you whether it fits.
How is private client different from home insurance?
Home insurance protects one property and its contents. Private client combines homes, valuables, vehicles, boats and extra liability under one review, with broader wording and personal service. It also considers how assets are owned and who lives where. A luxury home policy may be part of a private client programme.
Can trusts and companies be covered?
Yes, but they need to be set up correctly. Property held in a trust or company must have the right named insured, or a claim can be disputed. Share the ownership structure with the broker and ask the lawyer or accountant to confirm the details. Do not assume that insuring in your own name covers the entity.
What documents do I need to start?
Bring a list of properties and how they are owned, current policies with renewal dates, appraisals for art and collections, vehicle and boat details, and a description of staff and household arrangements. You do not need everything at once. A broker can start with a summary and request the rest as the review progresses.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.