melloInsurance

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Lyndon Block

Packing up and moving? This is what you need to know!


The weather is warm, the real estate market is getting hot, and this years home inventory is flying off the shelf. It’s moving time. You’ve either sold your home or decided not to renew your lease and now you’re moving into your new digs. 

Now what!?

You may have a moving company coming to pack up your life and move it, or you may be doing that yourself. Make sure you label your containers and boxes, otherwise you might have a hard time knowing which box is which.

You might even be lucky enough to have your possession dates line up and so you can just move from one house to the other OR you may have a more difficult road and you have to live in limbo while you wait for your new home to be vacated. Whatever the scenario, there may be a time when you don’t know if or where your belongings are going to be and if they will be insured while they are there. Questions might come into your head like: “When do I start insuring my new home?” “When do I cancel insurance on my old home?” 

Your possession date is typically when you want to start or cancel your insurance. That’s an easy one to remember. However, if you sell your house today, but don’t get possession of your new house until the end of the month, this may complicate things. You’ll likely have to store your stuff all over the place. For example, you take the large items to your dad’s shop, PLUS you’ve moved your small furniture and belongings to a commercial storage facility, PLUS you have some personal belongings with you; as you are going to be temporarily residing with your Great Uncle Ned. “How is this supposed to work?” “Am I properly covered for this?” “What do I do?”

Talk to your insurance broker. 

When in doubt, give your broker a call. They can help make sure that your belongings, stored in all these random locations, are properly protected. Most insurance companies even allow a 30 day extension of coverage for the duration of the move. That means, you can leave everything “as is” on your policy and you are covered for the first 30 days, up to the limit insured on your policy. If the value of your new home is less than your old home, they may drop the limit slightly to reflect the new value.

“Okay, that’s great, but I’m building/renovating a house, so it’s going to be more like  6-8 months, not 30 days.”

With these situations, you are going to have to make changes to your insurance policy. You will have to put a tenant pak or renters policy on your belongings for where you will be residing temporarily. You will have to add on a “belongings in storage” endorsement to your policy for each location the belongings are stored in. Such as: the commercial storage facility and dad’s farm workshop. It is important to note that for this endorsement, your belongings may not have theft coverage, if stored in a detached garage, shop or outbuilding. Most companies will only extend theft coverage if it is located in a locked/gated commercial compound or an attached garage of an occupied residence. So keep that in mind when storing your high value items.

“I’m moving across the country, and movers are taking my belongings, do they insure my stuff while in-transit?”

Typically, if you have hired a reputable mover, they will carry some type of Cargo Insurance while they are in possession of your belongings. However, it may be worth while keeping your insurance policy in place, just to be sure your stuff is covered during the transportation. 

Moving comes with its fair share of stress. You don’t need another headache by having your belongings stolen or destroyed while in transit or storage. Be sure to inform your insurance broker and have them look after that for you. That’s what we’re here for. Happy Moving!

Saskatchewan Sporadic Weather Activity


As you have likely seen, there were tornadoes that recently touched down by the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. We have had some wild windstorms across Saskatchewan which have been accompanied by some decent sized hail as well.  These aren’t huge surprises as we live in Saskatchewan and these storms seem to be an annual occurrence. However, when it does strike your area, it can not only be terrifying, it can be devastating as well.

What can I do to protect my family and my assets in these storms? 

Having a proper emergency protocol is always important. Whether you have a designated room in your basement or you just hide under your staircase, it is important that your family knows what to do in the event of a storm. Avoid going near any windows as broken glass can cause serious injury. 

Having your roof secured with “hurricane straps” to the trusses helps keep your roof firmly attached to your dwelling. For your outbuildings, making sure your bins are anchored and any other structures are on a solid foundation and anchored down is important as well.

If the winds are strong enough, it may not matter how secure your buildings are. In this case it is important to carry the proper insurance coverage to insure your property from these types of windstorm claims. 

Tornadoes and Plow Winds can do serious damage, whether it is by causing direct damage to the buildings, vehicles or equipment, or indirectly, by blowing trees down and then the tree severely damages your property. Having an insurance policy for your home, buildings, vehicles & equipment can make sure your property is covered so you are not in a serious financial loss after the storm subsides. 

Wind & Hail are covered on majority of insurance extensions as it is a named peril. Make sure you confirm with your broker what coverage you actually have on your policy. In some instances, people assume they have coverage and cancel their license plate insurance off their trailers/RVs when they are parked in a year-round seasonal site. Make sure you phone your broker to make sure your extension auto pak covers you during this time, as some policies need to be amended for such a scenario. 

Shingles are commonly damaged when it comes to these elements. It is important to note that insurance companies have started depreciating your roof, if the shingles are over 15 years old, as they wear over time. Doing an annual inspection of your roof (whether it is you or a professional) would be a good thing to do, to maintain and fix any small amounts of damage and make sure your roof is still in good condition for another year of wind, rain, hail, ice & snow. It would be a good idea to clean out your eavestroughs at the same time as these can get blocked up by debris and prevent water from draining properly.

Keeping your property maintained and well looked after, is very important, not only to you, but to your insurance company as well. By looking after your property, you reduce the chance of having a claim and that can benefit your relationship with your insurance company and result in accumulating claims free & loyalty discounts.

These storms can be very scary and can cause an exorbitant amount of damage. Make sure you  have measures in place to keep your family safe, and policies in place to keep you financially safe. Take care out there.

Canada’s birthday is coming up, what do you have planned?

Can you believe July long is this weekend? Crazy how time continues to speed up. (Insert cliche statement about ‘time’ here). However, these long weekend checkpoints are a nice reminder to stop and smell the roses once in a while. 

As Jazz Fest is winding down this week, our question remains, what do you have planned for this weekend’s summer kickoff? We would love some feedback on what your favourite memories were on this weekend. With that in mind, we have put together some great ideas for you to try, if you have not already made a game plan. Here we go!

If you live around Saskatoon, you can partake in Optimist Canada Day at Diefenbaker Park. The schedule is here and it is loaded with the activities, such as: 

  1. Pancake Breakfast  8 – 11:00am
  2. Sask Intercultural Association 11:30 – 1:30pm
  3. Pavlychenko Dance Ensemble 2 – 2:30pm
  4. Media Stage Entertainment (Michele Dubois & Chris Henderson) 3:15 – 5:45pm
  5. Transcontinental Blues Band   6:15 – 7:00pm
  6. Tucker Lane Band   7:30 – 8:30pm
  7. Stuck in the 80’s Band   9:00 – 10:30pm
  8. Fireworks presentation by NUTRIEN.   10:40pm

There will be food trucks, children’s activities (including: face painting, tattoos, amusement rides, etc.) and a Flea Market all day long. The recipe for a hooting good time. Warman is also having a similar lineup of events.  

Or maybe you want to view the fireworks from the water. You can book a specialty cruise here, and for $80 you can watch from the river. Check to see if there is availability. 

For those who maybe want to escape the city, you may wish to explore some of our great Saskatchewan Parks & Lakes. Check out these more remote areas for some Canada Day festivities:

There are all kinds of activities, in Saskatchewan, during this Canada Day weekend. Sometimes it’s nice to have a quieter weekend away with family and friends and just go camping, or have a nice evening outside on the patio. Kick up your feet, you’ve worked hard.

Saskatchewan is known for its living skies and it’s nice to take it in when you can. Whether it’s sunsets, rainbows, thunderstorms or northern lights; we get our share of spectacular activity in the skies. Those living skies will now include a variety of fireworks shows this weekend, so keep an eye out for those. 

We are very lucky to live in this amazing country called Canada. We are a melting pot of diverse people from all walks of life. Despite our differences, we come together and we support one another. We were very fortunate to have our very own Toronto Raptors win the NBA Championship just a few weeks ago, and it was great to see the country united in that victory. Let’s take time this weekend to remember and reflect on what we love about our amazing country and how we can continue to make Canada the greatest nation on earth. Happy Canada Day everyone!

 

Congratulations, you’ve Graduated!!! Now what?

This is a monumental moment in your life. You have graduated high school and are on to the next chapter of your life. This is the part of the novel that you get to write. You get to “choose your own adventure,” so to speak. However, there are a lot of voices out there telling you what you should do, your mom, your dad, your brother or sister, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your grandparents, your guidance counsellor or teacher. The question remains, what do you want to do? Hopefully this blog helps clarify what you should do, now that you’ve graduated.

Most people will tell you, “You need to go to university or post-secondary.” And while there is much value to secondary education, you can spend a lot of money doing it. It’s very important to know what schooling is right for you so you can focus your $$$ in the right direction. Jumping into “Med School” or “To be a lawyer” or “Teacher” sounds like the right and “responsible” thing to do, but if 3 years in, you feel like it’s not for you, that is a lot of time and money spent in a direction that may not be beneficial to you.

Getting a job is always a good idea. Even if it is part time or an intern role. Getting some on the job experience can help add to your resume, no matter what job field you may wish to enter. If you can get a job in an area that you enjoy, this can help you decide if this is something you are passionate about and wish to pursue further, and you’ll likely be getting paid for doing it. Then you can apply for additional education to further advance yourself into a more promising career.

Volunteering, travelling or working abroad. You’ll need to have some savings to do this, but working abroad or volunteering can be an amazing way to find out what your calling is. Sometimes we need to separate ourselves from our bubble we have lived in, to see what is out there. There are many groups to connect with that will do volunteer work in countries all over the world. If you still want to earn a paycheck while travelling, you can apply for a “working visa” and get paid in a country that you wish to explore. Travelling the world really helps broaden your perspective and helps you grow with more life experience. Take photos, start a blog and remember what you learned during your travels.

Investing in your passion. Whether you love painting, writing, acting, playing basketball or the piano. This is a time where you need to invest in what gives you energy and makes you happy. What you love to do. There will be plenty of time to work when you’re older and have more responsibilities. For example, if you love sailing or rock climbing. Try getting certified in those fields and lead hikes up mountains to rock climb or take tourists on sailing trips. This is a time to do what you love while you have the time and flexibility to do it. You may be putting “life” on hold, but these experiences can not be replaced. These are the stories you’ll be telling your friends, and likely your kids, for years to come.

There are so many options out there, being a nanny, doing research projects, or becoming an entrepreneur. What works for you, only you will know. Find out what you’re passionate about and figure out how you can make a living out of it. The one thing we want out of this world is happiness, and it doesn’t always come easy, so find out what sparks that in you and work your butt off to attain it.

How to get your homebuilt trailer or trailer without a serial number, on the road.

In Saskatchewan, we are the “Jack of All-Trades” province. We know how to handle warm summers, long winters, heavy snowfalls, heavy equipment and relentless mosquitos. We are not afraid to get our hands dirty, whether it’s pulling wrenches or plowing a garden. With that same mindset, people are taking it upon themselves to build their own trailers – Homebuilt trailers.

There are many ways to design and create your homebuilt trailer. When you start your build,  it is important to follow the Saskatchewan Regulations for Vehicle Standards. In this guide, it indicates the safety requirements you have to follow when building a vehicle (dimensions, material, brake lights, turn signals, etc).

Now that you’ve built your road-worthy trailer, how do you get this registered so that it is legal to drive on our “Holey” highways? #potholeprovince.

  • We need to apply for a serial number (VIN) to your new trailer. In order to do this, you need to apply through assignedvin.ca. This is new as of 2020 as SGI recently partnered with VIN Verification Services Inc to provide this service to their customers. 
  • Every VIN examiner is a former or current law enforcement agent. These staff members are experienced and have substantial training in their field. The collective knowledge represented by VIN verification services includes investigations related to stolen vehicles, cloned or fraudulent VINS, polygraphy, economic crime and organized crime.
  • Sometimes we have trailers that no longer have a serial number, they’ve worn off over time or the decals have fallen off. When this happens, you may need to contact assignedvin.ca or your local law enforcement to find out the proper protocol is.
  • Once it is registered, we always recommend adding additional liability coverage to this trailer, that way if it ever disconnected while driving, or some other situation arose, that the trailer caused injury or damage to someone’s property, you would have adequate coverage.

Make sure you have adequate limits and coverage for your trailer. Sometimes values go down, sometimes they go up. You can choose your value, make sure it is as accurate as you don’t want to pay too much or be underinsured. SGI’s standard personal trailer deductible is $500. You can bring this down on your auto pak as well, if you choose to.

If you have a trailer, you are thinking about purchasing a trailer or you are wanting to build a trailer, make sure you know what you’re getting into. Call your broker ahead of time, to help advise you on the process, so you are prepared for the obstacles. Take Care.

Purchasing a vehicle outside of Saskatchewan?


Many people take the opportunity, of our neighbours out west, to purchase a vehicle at a lower price. However, there may be some implications when doing so. We have outlined the process of what it takes to purchase a vehicle out of province, as well as the regulations you need to follow when bringing the vehicle back into Saskatchewan.

One common misunderstanding is that you will save money on the PST. This is not the case. When you bring in your bill of sale to register your vehicle with SGI, you will be asked if the PST was collected on the vehicle (which would be indicated on the bill of sale), if it does not show the collected PST by the seller, you will be charged PST on the red book value or bill of sale value, whichever is greater (some exclusions apply). If you have questions about PST, visit our PST blog here or contact the Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance.

You will also likely want to do a lien check and VIN search on the vehicle to make sure there aren’t any outstanding liens or damage/claims status on that vehicle.

You’ve made the deal and purchased a vehicle. How are you bringing it home?

Here are a few options to consider.

  • Permit – You can purchase a temporary insurance card (TIC) from our office prior to purchasing your vehicle out of province. The TIC insures you for 7 days for your newly purchased vehicle. This can be applied to any (one) vehicle you purchase – So if you change your mind and purchase a different vehicle than you originally planned, this TIC will still insure it. Then you can take that Temporary Insurance Card and your bill of sale, into an Alberta registry (or other province) to get your permit to legally drive home. The TIC is approximately $11 for this type of transaction.
  • Plate – SGI has allowed a temporary 28 day registration for vehicles purchased out of province. This is not available to all vehicle types, so make sure you ask prior to purchase. This plate allows you to travel legally back into Saskatchewan. You will not be able to renew this registration after it expires, unless you’ve completed the required inspections (if applicable).
  • Plate transfer – If you are trading a vehicle in, to an out of province dealer, you can take your plate off your traded in vehicle and put it on the newly acquired vehicle. With this transfer you have 7 days of coverage without having to notify SGI. You need to keep a copy of your bill of sale showing the disposal of your old vehicle and the acquisition of the new one. You need to keep a copy of your old registration and you will need to also purchase the temporary insurance card ahead of time to be insured out of province for 7 days. The TIC for this transaction is approximately $2. So it is relatively inexpensive.
  • If you are a dealer and have access to a dealer plate, you can use this to put on your newly acquired vehicle, however the dealer plate can only be used for 48 hours out of province. So keep that timeline in mind.

I’ve got the vehicle home, now what?

  • You will likely need to complete the “First-Time Registered (FTR) inspection for the newly acquired vehicle as it was purchased out of province. SGI requires that the vehicle be inspected to meet their vehicle standards and safety requirements. SGI explains the different types of inspection requirements here.
  • Some vehicles that are brought into Saskatchewan are exempt from undertaking an inspection. If the owner of the vehicle is moving to Saskatchewan and the vehicle was previously registered in AB or BC, they could potentially use the inspection exemptions under the New West Partnership Agreement created in 2010 between Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan, which is: If the light vehicle is less than 4 years old from the date of manufacture or has been inspected by a NWP government inspection program in the last 90 days they are exempt from an additional mechanical inspection in Saskatchewan. 
  • Don’t know where to start with an inspection? Here are some certified vehicle inspection stations.
  • Once you’ve completed the inspection (or you were exempt), you can bring in the bill of sale, NVIS (if it is a brand new vehicle) and inspection certificate into an SGI Issuing office to get your vehicle registered and insured. Purchasing an extension policy should be part of this process as you will want additional liability and you’ll likely want to lower your deductible, purchase glass coverage or add replacement cost coverage to your new vehicle.

What if my vehicle fails inspection?

Unfortunately, if the vehicle fails the inspection, this will be on your dime to fix. You will need to make the recommended repairs and take your vehicle for a second inspection. This is why it is important to do a VIN search prior to purchasing to see if there could be any potential issues/damage with the vehicle prior to purchasing it.

Can I tour around the countryside on my 7 day in-transit permit?

You’d have to ask the jurisdiction you’ve purchased the permit from, but typically the in-transit permit, is designed to get you from Point A to Point B and you aren’t allowed to deviate from the most direct route home. You do not want to be touring around on a permitted vehicle way off course and have an accident, this could cause serious issues during the claim process.

Many questions arise from the sale or purchase of a vehicle outside Saskatchewan. It is important to always contact your broker prior to leaving to make sure you have the necessary documents in place ahead of time. We want you to enjoy your new purchase, so let us help you cross your t’s and dot your i’s, so you aren’t scrambling during the sales process.