melloInsurance

Serving our clients, Serving our community

Lyndon Block

Spring allergies, are there any natural remedies?

Spring is an exciting time. Birds are chirping. Golf courses are getting prepared. Snow is disappearing and we can start our forgetfulness that winter ever existed. Time to enjoy our great summer. However, some of us have allergy issues as the snow mould reveals itself, plants begin to bloom and dust/pollen start to float around. What can we do about it?

There are some great over the counter drugs that can quickly help you with such issues: Claritin, Reactine, etc. However, if you’re looking for a more natural remedy, here are some suggestions:

  • Change your air filter in your home. Check if you  have a high quality hepa-filter installed in your furnace. These remove 99% of particles that are 0.3 microns in size. However, not all furnaces have the force to blow through such a thick filter, therefore you have to check into the MPR rating to find an Allergen Defense Furnace Air Filter. The Filtrete MPR 2200 has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon for an elite one or Nordic Pure if you are looking for more quantity.
  • Butterbur can be consumed as a tablet or in tea form. The extracts are used for headaches, fever and nasal allergies. It blocks the chemicals that cause swelling in the nasal passage, similar to an antihistamine but without the drowsiness. Other options to consume: Stinging Nettle Leaf tea or sip some Apple Cider Vinegar.
  • Probiotics – these are most known for our gut health and balancing our bacteria; probiotics have shown support to the immune system in children who suffer from allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
  • Nasal irrigation – flushing your nose with a “Hydrasense” system or “Neti Pot” will flush out the mucus and other bacteria caught in your nasal passage.
  • Breating in eucalyptus oil – this scented oil that comes from dried leaves of the plant, provides allergy relief due to its ability to reduce inflammation. It was beneficial to those who had respiratory issues such as asthma.
  • Acupuncture – this chinese medicine has proven to be effective in muscle tension relief along with helping patients with allergic rhinitis.

These are just some suggestions that may help you with this transition from winter to spring. Talking to a naturopath or doctor will provide much better results for any allergy issues you may have. This is generic information for everyone, where they will provide you with more specific advice that will directly apply to you and your needs. Take care of yourself and we will talk to you next week.

Do I need Flood Coverage, what is it good for?


With the warm weather, which is amazing by the way, comes the potential risks of “run-off” season. All the snow from our backyards, the roads and ditches to the top of the mountains is all going to be melting very quickly. With temperatures reaching 10 degrees by the weekend, it is safe to say this snow will all be gone in a hurry. This opens us up to the risks of flooding.

Many towns and communities are not designed or prepared for the event of a flood. Every year it seems like a new community is in distress to flooding circumstances. Recently, social media has been blowing up about the flooding in Nebraska. It is heartbreaking to see the people, homes, towns, animals that are all affected by the high waters and the damage it is causing. I’m sure nobody thought this would happen to them, and it is happening.

“So what can we do about this?”

There are small things that can be done to prevent damage to your home and vehicles. Such as removing snow from the perimeter of your home and shoveling off your roof to prevent ice damming, collapse and water seepage issues, connecting your downspouts and directing them away from your dwelling. Taking this a step further, during the spring and summer months, make sure the landscaping and slope of your yard is directed away from your home.

Another preventative measure would be to install a sump pump in your basement (if you haven’t already). By having a sump pump, it will remove the ground water from the high water table below your dwelling, and pump it out onto your lawn. This way any potential seepage issue of  water coming through your foundation, is eliminated. Adding a battery backup is important in case the sump pump is needed during a thunderstorm/downpour of rain and the power cuts out.

An in-line backup water valve is also important to prevent sewer backups. Sometimes the cities and town storm drain systems are unable to keep up with the water pouring into the system. This could cause a simultaneous backup of multiple homes around town/city. By having an inline valve, it will force shut when water comes back up the sewer pipe. This will block water from re-entering the dwelling and preventing a sewer backup.

Lastly, you can purchase sewer/water protection coverage on your home policy. This coverage is available with most insurance companies. The amount of coverage and the price varies on: your location, your previous claims history and the history of the dwelling you reside in. If the home has a history of water claims, coverage for sewer backup or flood may be difficult to obtain, so it is important to have the above preventative measures in place. If you haven’t had a claim, and you have the above measures in place, please notify your broker as you may be able to reduce your premium for the water protection coverage.

Heavy rains, spring run-off and a high water table are some common cases of flooding and seepage issues. Risk management is important to prevent these types of losses. If you have any questions about these coverages, please contact your broker or feel free to give us a call. We want to make sure you have the best coverage available to you to properly protect your assets.  

Snowmobile Insurance, Safety & Underage Drivers


Well it seems like the winter season wants to continue to hang on. Like that toddler that won’t let go of your leg, or your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend that keeps blowing up your text messages. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!”

Since it’s still here, let’s talk about something winter related….again. Snowmobiling rules and insurance regulations. AWE FUN! Let’s do it with a fun Q&A format.

“Am I legal to operate a snowmobile?”

If you were born before 1989, if you are 12 years or older, you are allowed to operate a snowmobile without a snowmobile safety course. If you were born after 1989, and do not have a driver’s license (ages 12-15+), you are required to have completed the snowmobile safety course. This snowmobile safety course is similar to the boaters exam. You can take it online here, at a charge of $45. Upon completion of the course, you will obtain a certificate which will allow you to drive immediately. If they are under the age of 15, they are required to operate under supervision of someone who has a valid driver’s license.

Children ages 12-15 cannot drive a snowmobile on any travelled portion of a road or street, except to cross it. Operators that are 15 and hold a Class 7 learner’s licence can operate on the travelled portion of the road when permitted by a local bylaw; as long as they are accompanied or supervised by someone who holds a valid driver’s licence. Other than on streets and roads, these underage operators can operate snowmobiles under the same conditions as a licensed driver, provided they have successfully completed a snowmobile safety course and are supervised by someone who holds a valid Saskatchewan driver’s licence.

“Are there any limits on what type or size of snowmobile I can drive? Like there are with motorcycles?”

Currently, there are no limitations or restrictions on what type or size of snowmobile you operate as long as you are abiding by the licensing requirements.

“If I buy a snowmobile, what are the steps to getting it registered?”

Once you have a bill of sale from purchasing your new or used sled, you can bring that bill of sale into any SGI issuers office and register the snowmobile under your name. Make sure you bring in your driver’s license for photo identification. The snowmobile will be registered under whomever’s name the purchaser is on the bill of sale. The seller’s signature, date, year, make, model and serial number must be on the bill of sale. Just remember, with the Saskatchewan Governments changes to PST, you will be responsible to pay PST upon registration as ALL snowmobile sales over $5000 will require PST, unless previously paid to a dealer.

When the registration is purchased, $110 of the registration is designated for the Saskatchewan trail permits, safety, grooming/trail maintenance and growing Saskatchewan snowmobiling across the province. Your registration also includes $200,000 liability coverage in the event that you were negligent and damaged someone’s property or caused bodily injury to someone while operating the snowmobile. The registration DOES NOT include any insurance coverage for your snowmobile. It also DOES NOT include any injury coverage to the operator of the snowmobile.  You will receive a license plate to mount to your snowmobile. Most people attach it to the snow flap, however, this usually gets ripped off from driving. Be sure to secure it to a place that will not be damaged.

“So if I don’t have any snowmobile insurance on the registration, how do I insure my sled?”

In order to insure your snowmobile for perils such as: Collision, Theft, Vandalism or Fire, you will need to purchase an extension policy or “auto pak” on your snowmobile. The coverage, deductible and liability limit can be added/increased on this extension policy and can be designed to fit your needs. SGI Canada and Got Toys Insurance are great options for insurance coverage on your snowmobile. If your snowmobile is purchased brand new from a dealer, you can purchase “Replacement Cost” coverage on the unit for the first 2 years.

These policies vary in price depending on: Drivers Claims Experience / Driving record, year, size of engine & value of snowmobile, coverage selected, deductible selected and liability limit selected. Please contact your broker to obtain a personalized quote.

“Now that I’m ready to ride, is there anything else I should know?”

As previously mentioned, snowmobile registration does not include any injury benefits with the registration. Typically this is covered under our “No Fault” insurance for our regular vehicles. However, they have excluded it under snowmobile registration and it is your responsibility to purchase injury/disability coverage on your own. Maybe your employer has coverage for you under your benefits package. Check with them to find out if their policy would cover your recreational activities outside of work.

Your snowmobile needs to be registered while operating on any crown land: Lakes, Rivers, Ponds, Roads, Ditches, Highways, etc. If you are unregistered and operate on any crown land, you can be fined for driving an unregistered vehicle AND if you cause an accident, you can be personally liable for ALL injuries and damages. Please make sure you are protecting yourself from these types of risks.

“What type of gear and safety measures should I be aware of?”

With our cold weather, it is important to wear multiple layers of clothing to keep yourself warm. There are different types of layering material that will benefit you. Many brands like “FXR” or “KLIM” will have a great selection of under layers, jackets, pants, boots, balaclavas and gloves to make sure you’re warm no matter what the weather. A good helmet is also important. Always carrying some food and an additional jerry can of fuel and matches is important to make sure you will be able to stay warm if you get stranded. Your phone may not always work in the areas you are riding, so make sure people are expecting you and know the route you are coming from. It is always best to be prepared and think ahead.

With that all being said, it is important to ride safe and enjoy the rest of the winter. I mean, it’s not going to last forever…..we hope. Have fun & take care!

The Cyber world, am I exposed?

With the reading week / winter break underway. There is nothing better than kicking your feet up and reading a blog about cyber coverage. Am I right? (I know I am). Well let’s begin.

What are the risks?

With business becoming more and more prevalent on the internet. We are exposing ourselves online, by giving personal information to the general public. Whether it is through social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), through emails or through website data collection. Businesses are needing to do most of their collection through online portals to compete with other online companies. Therefore, with this data, it is possible for hackers and other con-artist enthusiasts, to access your data and start on their process to leverage it against you.

Some malware through spam emails or other pop-up websites, lock down your computer and charge you a “ransom” for you to access your data again. This “ransomware” can cost a lot of money, and if that data is valuable, you may have to pay it to obtain it. There is very little you can do once this ransomware locks your computer. Talk to your IT guy to see what you can do to prevent this, otherwise, the data may be lost.

Other exposures are through the methods of identity theft and credit card fraud. There are so many ways people can do this, that it is almost impossible to prevent it. If you have any suspicions whatsoever, close your browser or email and go directly to the source to see if the “phishing expedition” is actually legit or not. Anytime people ask you to re-confirm your identification or your credit card, you should have your guard up. If you don’t filter through these types of requests, it can end up costing you a ton of money to recapture your identity and prove that you are who you say you are. This maybe sounds easy, but through people’s past experiences that we have seen firsthand, you are pretty much guilty until proven innocent and the process is grueling.

How can I protect myself?

These examples are a very small sample of what is possible online, and the methods people use to hack into your online world. We can’t prevent everything. As fast as we learn about it, someone is hacking a different way. However, we can protect ourselves from the loss that occurs when someone does attack you. Cyber coverage is available with almost every insurance company. Through your personal home, farm or business policies, you can purchase cyber coverage to protect your personal identity and data as well as the information stored by your commercial business. A data breach could strongly affect your business, by attacking the stored customer information on file. There are many implications to this, including: costs to reach out to your clients to inform them of the breach, the costs to recover the data or pay the ransom along with all the public relations costs that will occur, due to the breach. It is one thing when the data breach results in the loss of your information, it is a completely different ballgame when they steal customers information under your care and control.

What does this data and cyber coverage actually insure me for?

Every company has different variations of this coverage; these are the highlights:

  • Costs of recovering from the computer attack, such as: recovery of data, repair of systems, loss of business and public relations expense.
  • Protection in the event of a third party suit or claim from policyholders first party triggering event.
  • Forensic IT and legal consultation expenses
  • Expenses related to notifying affected individuals and regulatory authorities
  • Fraud alert and case management services to affected individuals
  • Costs to recover data and restore systems
  • Payments and assistance in responding to Cyber Extortion
  • Covers online fraud that results in direct financial loss

With this online world, there are so many opportunities to grow your business and stay globally connected. However, with that ability to connect with others, it gives online criminals the ability to take information out of your “back pocket” without you knowing. Give us a call if you want to learn more or have this coverage added to your policy. Make sure you are doing your part to protect yourself, your family and your customers.

The “Need-to-knows” for Solid Fuel Heating

-52, -46, -38, -37, -42; Those are just some of the recent temperatures we have been gifted. As a whole, the winter has been surprisingly gentle. However, when these winter temperatures arrive with little warning, we need to be prepared. This goes a step further than scheduling your thermostat in your home to a few degrees warmer. As a precaution, many people install backup heating in their house in case of these low temperatures, especially if they come alongside a power outage. We recommend having a backup plan in case this situation were to ever arrive. Blowing out your water lines to prevent freezing/rupture would be a good idea if you are unable to warm your home. If you are deciding to add a solid fuel heating device to your home for backup heating, this is what you need to know.

Step 1 – What should I buy or install?

If you are deciding between a fireplace or woodstove, here are some things to note. If you install a zero clearance fireplace (whether it is wood, propane or nat. gas), we do not need to inspect the unit, and it does not add a surcharge to your policy. We do, however, need to be notified that this has been added to increase the replacement cost of your home, and to notify the insurance company that there has been a material change. Any time you make changes to your policy that have been defined as “substantial,” you need to immediately notify your insurance broker as this may increase the risk of insuring your property. If you do not notify the insurance company, this change could potentially VOID your coverage due to the changes.


If you decide to purchase a wood stove, here is some information you’ll need to know.

  • The unit must be CSA, ULC or Warnock Hersey approved
  • The unit will need to be installed to meet manufacturers specifications
  • The unit must sit on a non-combustible floor pad meeting CSA requirements
  • If an unapproved unit is being purchased, you must follow B365-17 requirements of an unapproved installation.
  • Any wood stove used as auxiliary heat comes with a surcharge that is added to their home insurance. This can range between 10 – 35% of your home insurance premium.
  • A high-temp CSA approved chimney is required to be used for the wood stove, meeting manufacturers requirements.
  • If you are purchasing a used unit, make sure the unit has been ONLY burning wood. Some people use these units to burn garbage or other items that can cause distress to the integrity of the stove as the burn more inconsistently than wood.

STEP 2 – Installation

When you install your new or used unit, you need to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines stipulated on the manual of the wood stove. If your unit does not come with a manual, these clearances are indicated on the back of the stove on a steel decal riveted to the stove. NOTE: If the stove does not have that decal on the stove, the unit is NO LONGER CSA approved and you will have to follow the unapproved clearances listed in the B365-17 manual. A example of this decal is shown in the photo below. 


If you want your unit WETT inspected, please contact a WETT inspector near you. Lyndon Block in our office is WETT certified and can do that inspection for you. If you have your insurance policy with our brokerage, he will inspect it as a service to you. Otherwise, there is a small charge for the costs incurred to do the inspection. Some things an inspector will look at include:

  • Installation of unit, stovepipe and chimney meeting manufacturers requirements
  • Stove pipe construction, direction of piping and angle/slope.
  • Stove pipe joint security and allowance for flexibility
  • How many elbows (max 2 elbows – 180 degrees of change)
  • Non-combustible floor pad (construction, clearance)
  • Distance to fuel/combustibles
  • Wall pass-through & ceiling bucket installation (thimble)
  • Chimney clearance above roof and other neighbouring roofs
  • Installation & material of wall shielding to reduce clearances of stove and stovepipe to combustibles (Diagram below)

Those are the main things, however, every installation and situation can vary, please contact your broker or WETT inspector to find out more information on how to properly install your unit.

STEP 3 – Insurance Approval

To insure the new unit, your insurance broker/company will need to have someone inspect the unit and take photos indicating the clearances and installation matches the requirements indicated by your wood stove manufacturer. Once the company has approved the installation, ONLY THEN are you allowed to start using it. Talk to your broker to see what the insurance company you are currently with charges for having a wood stove installed in your dwelling.

If you are installing a wood stove in your cabin or seasonal cottage, this has very different implications. A surcharge is very rarely applied as this will be used more infrequently, sometimes an inspection is not even required, depending on the company and the situation. Having your broker review some photos is usually a good idea to show the installation and confirm there isn’t any potential fire hazard.

STEP 4 – Using the solid fuel heating device & maintenance

Burning only wood, (particularly seasoned/low moisture wood) helps burn more effectively, giving your home a warmer, cleaner burn. By having a cleaner burn, you reduce the chance of creosote building up in the chimney/stove pipe. It is important to clean the unit and chimney regularly. Having a chimney sweep done before and after the heating season is a good habit to have. Also, DO NOT burn any accelerants, or garbage of any kind in the stove as this will hurt the integrity of the stove and reduce life expectancy of the stove greatly.

There is a lot that goes into installing a solid fuel heating device. A lot of preparation to make sure the unit is a good fit for your home, your home insurance and if you are prepared for the financial implications that come along with it. This may seem like a lot of work and red tape, but there is a reason for everything, and we want you to make sure that the installation of your unit is done properly for you and your family’s safety. Stay warm and stay safe.

Is it time for my roof to be updated?

In Saskatchewan, we have many elements of weather. Whether (no pun intended) it is wind, hail, snow, ice, cold, hot or all of the above. We get hammered with it all at different times of the year. To have a building withstand all these elements is quite an accomplishment. However, it does result in a quicker lifetime for many materials in this climate. I don’t know about you, but if I’m working in -30’C or in gale force winds, my efficiency and work ethic takes a bit of a hit. Here is some information for you and how it affects your insurance policy.

Effective 2018, SGI Canada and many insurance companies decided to take a new approach to adjust roof claims. They were now going to apply “depreciation” to roofing materials/labour if damaged by wind or hail. Depreciation is the loss in value due to wear and tear on that particular item.  The reason for this change was that that there is a direct result of the roofs of buildings being worn down due to years of brutality from the elements and factors in our Canadian climate. This causes the life expectancy of our building materials (particularly roofs) to drop.  Here is comparison between an architectural shingle and a typical 3-tab shingle. 

If you have a roof that is 16 years or older, and you have a roof claim for wind or hail, a certain percentage will be deducted from your settlement based on the roofing materials installed on the roof. The table below shows what kind of depreciation will come off your roof in an insurance claim, depending on the materials used. If you are unsure about whether your roof should be replaced or not, contact a contractor through our Kijenga app on our claims section, or find a local roofing contractor to give you an estimate. You don’t want to have a “seepage” issue in your home due to old shingles leaking. Seepage is typically not covered on most policies. 

Roofing Material Used Annual Depreciation
% after 15 years
Asphalt/fibreglass composition shingles (Class 1-3)

10%
Asphalt/fibreglass composition shingles (Class 4)

7%
Architectural Shingles

7%
Membrane Roofing

5%
Metal, Rubber, Synthetic, Polymer, Tiles, Slate, Concrete

2%
Wood Shingles or Shakes

4%
Built-up (Tar & Gravel)

30%
Other

9%
Soffit, fascia, eavestroughs, downspouts connected to eavestroughs

5%

NOTE: Maximum depreciation is 80%, regardless of age.

For example, you have a 19 year old roof with architectural shingles. In this case, SGI Canada would pay to have your roof repaired or replaced, minus 28% depreciation (7% per year for 4 years).

If you have qualified and purchased the SGI Canada “Prestige” policy this would not apply to your home and you would qualify for full replacement coverage for the damages. Please contact us to see if you qualify for this package or want to know more about it. Next week, we will discuss more about this Prestige package and what protection it can offer you and your family.