Once upon a time, fire losses were the most common type of insured property loss.  In fact, most modern multi-peril insurance policies were once fire insurance policies that just had new things added over time.  The Insurance Act in most provinces still refer to "Fire Insurance" policies although there are very few insurers who sell strict Fire Insurance policies to homeowner's, condo owners, or tenants. 

Today, water losses have replaced fire losses as the most common type of insured loss.   This change is a result of changing weather patterns, aging municipal infrastructure and a long-term trend towards maximizing living space by having finished basements.   The decline in fire losses is due to improved fire prevention technology and construction and greater reliance on forced-air gas, oil or electric heat as opposed to wood-burning heat solutions. 
First of all it is important to know what the water risks are in the area that you live.  Perhaps you are on the floodplain of a river or perhaps you just live in an area that gets a high volume of rain, maybe you live in an area that has a high volume of snow and subsequent melting.   Municipal websites are often great sources of information about water loss risk and mitigation strategies.  

Next, it is important to know what your policy covers because no two policies are exactly the same, and you want to choose coverage that meets your needs.   Insurance policies are generally designed to respond to sudden and accidental events.  Accordingly, losses that occur over time, such as the seepage of water through concrete walls will not be covered by an insurance policy.   If these types of losses are a concern for you, then in the case of seepage losses the best advice is to take pre-emptive measures such as ensuring proper grading around your property and investing in mitigation strategies such as multiple sump pump systems with battery backup, backflow valves and proper and effective eaves trough solutions.   There are also very few policies that cover overland (flood) water.  If flood is a concern for you where you live, you can shop for that coverage but will be unlikely to find it since it is less likely to be available in areas that are prone to flooding.    A better strategy is to ensure that your most valuable properties are kept out of the path of likely damage by keeping valuable objects up off the floor and perhaps choosing to avoid finishing your basement altogether.  

Sewer-backup coverage is a type of coverage that is usually available to you, but again the coverage can vary widely between insurers in terms of both price and scope of coverage.   A sewer-backup typically refers to a situation where literally a municipal waste water line backs up into your home or when your sump pump system simply cannot manage the volume of water away from your property.   Some policies will include sewer backup as part of your basic coverage.  You will need to purchase this coverage as an additional item on other policies.  The price of the coverage will vary from insurer to insurer and there may be options for how much coverage you can buy or absolute limits on how much the policy will pay in the event of a loss.   It is very important therefore to consider your own risk.  $5,000 in coverage might have been perfectly fine when you had an unfinished basement with nothing in it but old boxes and a washing machine but that coverage will not be adequate if you have a loss after investing $50,000 in your perfect basement man-cave.  
There is no such thing as a policy that covers everything no-matter-what, so as a savvy consumer you need to know what you are buying.  You cannot look at a policy of insurance as though it is a commodity.  When you see a price difference between two insurers for any kind of policy, your first reaction should always be to look for the differences between the two products.  The differences may be tangible differences in coverage, or there could be differences in how they provide claims service in the event of loss or otherwise serve to protect what is important to you.

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