melloInsurance

Serving our clients, Serving our community

Lyndon Block

Saskatchewan Summer Storms

In the Province of Saskatchewan, wind is a part of everyday life. However, the frequency of the recent storms we’ve been having, are not. These storms have brought tornado warnings, plow winds, hailstorms and torrential downpours. With these severe risks, we need to make sure we are properly covered so that if one of these events hits us close to home or by the lake, we are properly covered.

Most basic insurance home policies include the wind and hail perils automatically, but there are some coverages that may be available to top up your policy. An insurance company  is responsible to repair or replace the damage to your house. If hail and wind damage one side of your dwelling, they will fix that side. However as siding and shingles age over time, the new material may not match the remaining three sides that were left undamaged. SGI Canada has a Prestige policy which removes this “obsolescence clause” to help cover those remaining 3 sides to make sure your house goes back to the way it was designed to be. This is normally not covered under most home policies. There are some requirements to qualify for Prestige coverage, so please contact our office if this would interest you.
With these thunderstorms, there may be a lot of water that comes with it. MMFI, SGI Canada and Wawanesa have created Flood/Water Protection coverages to help protect you from a flooding situation. This never used to be covered, but now you can buy this new coverage. Insurance companies also recommend installing automatic sump pumps and backwater valves in your main sewer line to prevent water claims. These preventative measures may result in a potential discount on your policy. The rates/eligibility will vary depending on your location; but with the recent flooding in Lloydminster, Calgary, High River, it may be worth looking into. Contact us to see what’s available for you.

As for your vehicles, it is important to always carry a package policy. The main reason is to carry a higher liability limit in case there was ever an injury or serious collision. The other reason is to have a reduced deductible in the event of a loss. Some of the plow winds up north have caused a ton of damage to people’s campers, trailers, boats and their trucks and cars. If you had to pay a $700 deductible for each of those losses, it would end up being quite expensive, but if you have a package policy, your deductible can be as low as $50 for that type of situation. Please ask us about an auto pak policy to help make an auto claim a little bit easier. These extension policies will also cover the vehicle and trailers during the winter months while they are in storage. For as little as $5 a month for a cabin trailer policy; it is worth looking into. Give us a call so we can help you out.

Summer storms can be volatile and you need to be prepared in the event that a storm occurs near your house or while you’re on vacation. If you have any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Ask us about small business insurance, it’ll provide you peace of mind.

You may wonder, “Why do I need business insurance?” It comes down to more than just what you own; your inventory, vehicles, buildings, equipment, etc. Although those items are extremely important to insure and keep track of, there are many other areas that you can be exposed to; the main exposure of course, is liability.

Before we get into the liability section, let’s get into those other areas. Insurance companies design policies that will benefit each business individually. A hair salon, for example, will require insurance on their stock, inventory, building (if they own it), and equipment such as chairs, clippers, etc. However, there are endorsements that insurance companies may wish to include, or can add on, that you may not think of; such as: outdoor sign coverage, accounts receivable, business income coverage, money and securities, data or cyber compromise, equipment breakdown, and many others. These types of coverages “fill the gap” on an insurance policy to make sure you are properly covered in the event of a loss.

Not all business types have these “pre-made” insurance packages available, so it’s important for us to have detailed conversations with you on how your business operates so we can create a policy that will meet your needs. Then if you make any changes or take on other types of business we will be able to amend the policy and make sure we have your business insured accurately. For example, some framing companies, will also take on business for other trades like roofing or concrete. They begin to do these lines of work on top of their framing jobs. That change can make a difference on your insurance policy, whether it is the different equipment and vehicles that you’d be purchasing or the new liability risks that come with roofing and concrete work.

As for liability insurance, it is important for us to have a discussion with you in detail about what your business operations are. How you operate, what type of work you will be doing, how many employees, etc. This information helps us determine what type of risks you will incur and what type of liability coverage will work for you to maximize your coverage. Liability losses can amount to extremely high costs if a major claim occurs, so it is important to make sure your policy is up to date with us.

We are interested in your business and want it to succeed; therefore we need to make sure your insurance needs are well looked after. By having an accurate policy in place, it will give you the peace of mind you need so you can focus on what really matters, your clients. If you have any questions about new or existing business insurance or would like to know more about options that can be added to your existing policy, please contact one of our insurance experts. We would love to connect with you.

Join us for Ag In Motion – An Agricultural Trade Show Like None Other!

We will be attending the exciting Ag IN MOTION expo on July 18-20, 2017. Ag in motion is located 15 minutes NW of Saskatoon between our two neighbouring towns of Langham & Borden.

The agricultural trade show will have field demonstrations, crop plot demonstrations, and livestock demonstrations. This event will also be debuting some of the newest agricultural technology in our space, so this will be one for the books, folks. The whole event will be taking place outdoors, on 320 acres of their prime agricultural land, which they are quite proud of. It will be the perfect setting for us to get a hands-on look at some of the new equipment they’ll have to offer in the field, and we are excited to see what will be in store this year. This is the Ag in Motion’s third trade show, and we were impressed with what was brought to the table in the past.

We will have a booth set up for you to come visit us and learn more about our business, who we are, what we represent. Please feel free to visit us at the Block’s Agencies booth and say hello to our team!

We have partnered up with My Mutual Insurance for this trade show. They are one of our Farm Insurance experts, so if you have any questions about Agro Insurance, we are there to answer any questions or help you out with anny of your insurance needs.

Whether you are a Grain, Cattle, Mixed Farmer, or if you’re more specialized in Dairy or Poultry, stop by our booth and ask what we can do for you, as we have the expertise to design a policy to meet your needs.

The show times will be from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM on July 18-20, and admission is only $20 for adults and $10 for youth (for kids and teenagers from 13-17 years old). Registration is on site, and admission is cash only for those interested in attending. For more information on the event, you can visit the “Ag in Motion website. And for any additional updates, be sure to check out Ag in Motion on Facebook and Twitter.

We hope you can join us, and we look forward to seeing you there!

 

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Our Referral Program

I would like to take the time to let you know about our referral program. Back in July, 2017 we kicked off our new program to help grow our business and to also thank you for your support.

For every referral that results in a quote for one of the policy types below, we will send out gift cards to those who referred them to us. So please let us know if you have referred someone to us, and when they come in we will be sure to send you a gift card as a thank you!

So here are the details:

– For every referral that ends up with a quote for an Auto Policy; your next coffee is on us! ($5 Tim Horton’s Gift Card)

– For every referral that ends up with a quote for a Home Policy; your next lunch is on us! ($20 Subway Gift Card)

– For every referral that ends up with a quote for a Farm or Commercial Policy; you’ll receive a $50 Gift Card from Petro-Canada.

We want to thank you for all your current and past business and hope to be of service to all the future customers you help bring in.

Thank you for your continued support!