Ask the Experts - Insurance Advice

Automobile Accidents All drivers are rated for the number of consecutive years that they are accident free. Take care while you are driving to maintain your good driving record. Tickets Drivers without any convictions, benefit from lower insurance premiums. Drivers with convictions are subject to an additional premium, the level of which depends on the type and number of convictions. Discounts You may be eligible for a number of discounts to reduce your insurance premiums. The discounts vary from one insurer to another. Alarm System Discount For clients with specific alarms that disable vehicle operation. Dual Policy Discount For clients who combine their residential and auto policies with one insurance company. Experience / Good Driver Discount For drivers with more than 15 – 20 years driving experience. Loyalty or Renewal Discount For clients that have been with a particular insurer for at least three consecutive years. Mature Discount For drivers usually over the age of 40 or 50. Multi-Vehicle Discount For clients insuring more than one vehicle. Retiree Discount For clients who are retired. Short Commute Discount For clients who drive less than 5km to work. Bourgeois-Côté-Forget & Associates will gladly review your home and auto insurance to ensure that all discounts you are eligible for have been applied to your premium.

Home Insurance Select Higher Deductibles This is key to maintaining low insurance premiums, as to ensure you only claim under your policy for significant losses. Insurance companies offer discounts for increasing your deductible to $1,000.00 or more. Discounts You may be eligible for a number of discounts to reduce your insurance premiums. The discounts vary from one insurer to another. Alarm System Discount Applies to clients who have a monitored fire and/or burglar alarm. Claims Free Discount Applies to clients who have not had claims. Dual Policy Discount For clients who combine their residential and auto policies with the same insurer. Mature Discount Applies to clients over the age of 45. Loyalty or Renewal Discount For clients who have been with a particular insurer for at least three consecutive years. Mortgage Free Discount For clients who do not have a mortgage. New Home Discount Applies to clients with newer homes. Non-smoker Discount Applies for non-smokers. Loyalty or Renewal Discount Applies to clients who have been with a particular insurer for at least three consecutive years. Sprinklered Residences Discount Applies to clients who have water sprinkler systems installed in their homes to control fires. Superior Construction Discount Applies to clients whose homes are built of fire resistive materials.

When you see that symbol, you can be sure you are receiving advice from a trained professional. It also means that you are dealing with a broker, member of the Ontario Insurance Brokers Association, one of the largest network association in Canada. Your broker is well informed and is kept up to date with the latest news in the industry. Remember your broker is working for you and he is doing it by staying informed and educated.

Here are some of the accreditation of brokers:

CAIB Canadian Accredited Insurance Brokers
CIP Certified Insurance Professional
CRM Canadian Risk Manager

Time taken now will pay off in the future for you and your family. Without a detailed inventory, it is difficult to assess if you have enough insurance coverage.

How should you value items on your inventory list?

Most insurance policies pay claims on the basis of replacement cost (repair or replace without deduction for depreciation). When thinking about your inventory, use the price that the item would cost today. Please note that certain items such as, jewellery, furs and silverware are limited to a maximum dollar amount on your policy unless they are scheduled.

Always remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Take photographs or videos of your contents to assist you in describing your loss.

• Review your policies with your insurance broker to ensure you are adequately insured.
• Increase your deductibles for all policies. Accepting the risk for small losses can save you money.
• For your car insurance: avoid tickets and accidents; better your driving record, the lower your premium.
• For your house insurance, make sure your insurance broker is aware if you have a monitored alarm system. Did you advise your insurance broker that your mortgage is all paid. Are you a smoker or not? You need to discuss with your insurance broker to make sure that all the discounts were applied on your policy.
• For your commercial insurance, ask your broker to arrange a complete loss prevention audit to identify possible hazards and offer solutions to reduce exposure which will results in savings on your premiums!

Identify theft happens when someone (the identity thief) uses another person’s personal information such as name, social insurance number, date of birth to fraudulently obtain credit cards or loans, open a chequing account or otherwise gain access to money or goods. Almost every man, woman or child is a potential target! Unfortunately, it can be fairly simple for identity thieves to obtain other people’s personal information.

For example, suppose you lose your wallet. In your wallet are your driver’s license (with your name, address and date of birth), multiple credit cards, ATM cards (if you are forgetful, with associated PIN numbers), medical benefits cards (with your social insurance number as the identifier) Some people even carry personal chequebooks and their actual SIN cards in their wallets. All the information an identity thief needs is right there in one place!

Identify thieves can also obtain your personal information through a midnight garbage activity known as dumpster diving. Thieves will go through your garbage and look for information such as cancelled cheques, bank statement, utility bill statements, credit cards receipts and those pre-approved credit cards offer.

As a victim of Identity Theft, you can feel lost. Most of the insurance companies offer an endorsement to cover some expenses related to identity theft. They will offer identity theft assistance through the maze, financial and legal information, financial assistance to replace Canadian government-issued identification, the cost of credit profiles, reimbursement for legal fees associated with recovering assets.

Talk to your broker!

Travel Insurance usually covers lost luggage, missed flights, illness, emergency evacuation, accidents and the return of your body if you die. A basic level of travel insurance, to cover medical treatment, and perhaps repatriation in case of emergency is always recommended. Assess your potential risks to determine your needs:

• Is your luggage expensive and does it contain expensive items?
• Are you in good health or are you likely to experience a health emergency?
• Does your current health insurance or homeowners insurance offer you any coverage?
• Are you traveling to a risky location?
• Have you paid for the majority of your holiday up front?

Canadian insurers are closely supervised and regulated by federal and provincial statutes. Their investments are allowed only in secure, low risk portfolios and monitored by the provincial Superintendents. They are not allowed to invest in high risk, volatile markets as we have seen recently in the U.S. In 1992 The Insurance Companies Act formed the Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation (PACICC) which protects all consumers in Canada.

Driving is one of the skills you will probably use the most in your lifetime. In order to acquire the necessary skills to stay out of collisions you need to look for a quality program. A driver education course should teach a variety of collision avoidance skills to enable drivers to detect potentially hazardous situations. By taking an MTO approved Beginner Driver Education Course at a driving school, G1 license holders may qualify for a four-month reduction in the 12- month minimum G1 licensing period. There is also a potential reduction in insurance premiums.

Travel insurance:

Purchase travel insurance before you go to cover emergency hospital/medical expenses. Be aware that most of the time, expenses related to pre-existing health problems are not covered. Only few companies are covering pre-existing conditions. Ask your broker about it!

Home insurance:

Check your home insurance policy and the effective date to make sure it doesn’t expire while you are away. Many policies will cancel coverage if your property is left unoccupied or unattended for extended periods of time. Your must arrange to have your home inspected regularly when you are away to ensure that heat is maintained and that, if there are damages, someone can act promptly.

Automobile insurance:

Check the effective dates of your driver’s license and license validation sticker to make sure they don’t expire while you are away. If you plan to rent an automobile, it might not be necessary to purchase the supplementary insurance coverage with the rental company, in North America, if you have the endorsement OEF27. Ask your broker about it! If you plan to take your automobile outside of Canada for more than 30 days, advise your broker to ensure you have the proper coverage for the jurisdiction where you’ll be travelling. If you are leaving your automobile at home and it won’t be used by anyone, consider suspending certain coverage from your automobile policy to save some money and make sure to add back the coverage before using the automobile when you return.

I’d like to point out a few coverages that you should carry on your auto insurance policy:

1 ) Ontario Endorsement Form #27 – Liability for Damage to Non-Owned Automobile(s) Providing Other Coverages When Insured Persons Drive Other Automobiles – this endorsement extends coverage for liability for loss or damage arising to any automobile not owned by the insured.

2 ) O.E.F. #20 Coverage for Transportation Replacement – provides for the rental of an automobile while the insured vehicle is out of use due to a covered physical damage claim. Once again, your policy covers this unit and you do not have to purchase additional insurance.

3 ) O.E.F. #43 Removing Depreciation Deduction – this waives depreciation for your new vehicle for the first 24 months that you own or lease.

4 ) We recommend liability limits of 2 million dollars to our clients. Your policy is valid in Canada and all of the United States. Often, family or friends get together for a holiday and share the driving. Anyone with a valid drivers license and permission of the owner of the automobile, becomes as fully insured under your contract, as you are. Have a safe summer holiday. Enjoy.

Remember 2008 – Near Record Snowfall!

Don’t get caught at the last minute this year. Prevention is always better. The collapse of a roof is usually covered under an all-risk policy BUT! It is up to YOU the homeowner to maintain your property and take the necessary steps to prevent losses, therefore make sure the load of snow on your roof is not too heavy. Be alert for the signs like cracks in the ceiling or doors that no longer close properly. And above all, use professionals to remove the snow. We don’t want you to fall from the roof and hurt yourself, home insurance won’t cover your own injuries.

Let’s talk about water also. Yes this snow will turn to water! Ensure your eaves troughs and downspouts flow properly and that your window wells are cleared. Your basic insurance policy will not cover sewer back-up. It MUST be added on by endorsement. Check your insurance and make sure you have it. Have a good and safe winter.

As each season ends and another one begins, it seems that there are always tips on how to make the best of what nature has to throw at us. Over the past years, water damage has become a major issue in all regions. I am sure that Orleans residents remember July 3rd 2006 rainfall! Heavy rainfalls are becoming more frequent and severe, many exceeding the capacity of street sewer systems.

Here are some tips on flood prevention that may help you avoid a potentially unnecessary headache:

• Sewer back-up is a standard exclusion on most insurance polices but coverage can be added with an endorsement. Make sure you have the coverage on your policy.
• Have your sump pump checked to make sure it is working.
• It may be beneficial to install a “High Water” sensor which is connected to your home’s Fire/Intruder alarm system.  Contact your alarm company for more information on this device.
• Consider the installation of a backwater check valve to prevent sewer back-up.
• If you notice water stains or leaks in your home, have a contractor identify the cause of a problem and fix it before it gets worse.
• To ensure that your eaves troughs and downspouts flow properly and are not plugged or disconnected, have them checked before winter and in the spring. If the downspouts discharge to the ground surface, they should extend to reach at least six feet out from the side of the house.
• Have a roofer check the condition of your roof every year and fix problems as they occur.
• Even if you do your best to prevent flood in your home there is still a chance that one may occur. Make sure your family is safe and turn off the Hydro if the electrical panel is accessible without wading through water. If possible, start to move items out of the water to a dry place. Call your insurance broker to report the damage.

There is a complex interaction among the amount of heat loss from a house, snow cover and outside temperature that leads to ice dam formation. The snow on a roof surface that is above 0ºC will melt. As water flows down the roof it reaches the portion of the roof that is below 0ºC and freezes. Voilà! an ice dam. The water backs up behind the ice and remains a liquid. The water finds cracks and openings in the exterior roof and flows into the attic space, into the exterior walls or through the ceiling insulation and stain the ceiling finish. More water infiltration damages also your contents.

If you have a comprehensive homeowner policy, your insurer will cover your damaged contents and the ceilings or walls that are damaged but won’t replaced the roof because most of the time, the roof is not damaged. Therefore, as soon as the temperatures start playing again between snow, warm and cold temperature, it could start all over again. In this situation, it is not a matter of insurance but a matter of maintenance. What can you do to prevent this? Well, first step is to remove the snow and have you roof checked. Contact a contractor for this, they are the specialists. Often, the ice shield on the roof is not adequate. And once again, talk to your broker!