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If you’re staying home or heading south this winter; plan ahead.

People around the world often wonder how we survive the harsh winter in this “Arctic circle” that we call “Canada.” Jim Carrey had a great comedy set on what it is like to live in Canada from his earlier stand-up comedy days. I have attached the link here for your enjoyment.

It is all about preparation. Parking your car in your garage (if you have one), or plugging it in outside. You need to buy all the gear –  jacket, toque, mittens, boots, ski pants and keeping those with you at all times. You never want to be caught without those items if you have vehicle trouble in a cold winter day in Canada. Winter seems to drag on, (as the movie “Canadian Bacon” would infer, 11 months of the year) so make sure you enjoy the winter activities to pass the time. Otherwise, if you dread winter, it’ll just make it longer. That’s a fact.

If you are able, some people like to save their money and go on a winter holiday to escape this cold weather. Mexico, Hawaii, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Florida, California are a few hot spots (literally). This helps to break up the winter nicely, so what do you need to know before you go on this vacation.

Make sure you scout out your destination. Many places were hit hard by the recent hurricanes. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected. Please help them out in any way you can as they work to rebuild. Next, check out the resort rating. Each resort has different amenities, so it’s important to do some research on what they offer beforehand. If you are a beach bum, make sure their beach is top-notch. If you are a “foodie,” make sure the resort has highly rated cuisine and a number of good restaurants nearby. Don’t expect all resorts to be the same and offer the same experience. Some are designed for younger people, some are for older people and some are for families; so pick the one that fits you best. 

Once you have the resort you need to plan your luggage, flights, etc. This can be done easily online or through a travel agent, if you want reassurance. Travel agents will suggest other things you may not think about. Such as Trip Cancellation Insurance, Lost Baggage & Health Insurance. We can offer these options in our office as well.

We have a variety of companies that we can offer to help out with your needs. Such as Blue Cross, Group Medical (GMS) and Allianz Global Assistance. Please give us a call before your trip so we can set this up in advance. The last thing you want is to get hurt or sick on your vacation and end up with a medical bill that costs more than your trip itself.

We hope you enjoy this winter, whether you stick around in the cold and play some hockey or go to Hawaii to find some ‘gnarly’ waves. We want you to be prepared and stay safe.

Snowmobile Safety Tips for this Winter

We live in Canada, one of the most amazing places on earth. One of the reasons it is so great, is we get the privilege of experiencing 4 seasons. Some may say this is a curse; and rightfully so. -50’C is not “family snowman building” weather; but it is a fun experience to share with people in Jamaica to see their jaw drop. 

That being said, there is some winter fun to be had. Skiing, Snowboarding, Skating and Snowmobiling are just a few activities we can enjoy. With every fun thing, there is always a risk, so make sure you wear helmets and don’t push your limits too far. Limits are meant to be tested, that’s part of the fun. Just be careful and maybe think twice before you try that double gainer flip in the terrain park. 

Snowmobiling in Saskatchewan has many freedoms along with it. You can drive from field to field (with the farmer’s permission) for miles and miles without seeing anyone or crossing any roads. However, there are times when you will need to get across a road or two and when you do, you need to make sure your snowmobile is licensed. Many people believe that they do not need to license their snowmobiles as they are operating only on private land. That may be true, but you need to realize that any crown land: pasture, ditches, lakes, rivers, roads, town limits, snowmobile trails and mountains all require your snowmobile to be registered. If you do not register your snowmobile and you drive onto crown land; not only can you be fined, but you can be held liable if you damage someone’s property or injure someone else; no insurance coverage will apply. 

In Saskatchewan, the registration does not cover any physical damage to your snowmobile or any injuries to yourself while operating the unit. If you want coverage for your snowmobile, you need to put a package policy on your sled. These snowmobiles are getting quite expensive, so make sure you take care of that investment. We offer packages that cover collision and comprehensive losses; if you want strictly fire and theft coverage, we can make that work for you as well. The insurance company, Oasis, actually offers replacement cost coverage on new snowmobiles for 2 years. Please contact us if you purchase a new snowmobile and we can get this coverage in place for you. 

With any sport, it is important to do your research before you jump into it with both feet. If you’re riding in the mountains, be sure to check the snow conditions and avalanche reports. Go to the local store and rent probes, avalanche packs and GPS beacons. Make sure you test these out and figure out how to use them beforehand, as these can save your life. In the prairies, watch out for fences and dugouts, these can sneak up very quickly at high speeds. So keep your eyes in front of you at all times. The winter can get very cold, so dress accordingly and pack an extra jerrycan for emergencies. 

We want you to enjoy this winter, so make sure you take care of yourself, your sled, and those around you – even if your buddy wants to “Send it!”

Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on those who gave up their lives for our freedom.

On November 11th, Remembrance Day, we take a day to reflect on  those who sacrificed themselves for our freedoms that we use everyday. Many soldiers, medics, pilots, men, women & children, gave their lives and their freedoms up for their country so that we would be able to continue living in a free country.

Now I’m not going to get into the history behind Remembrance Day, as there are plenty of better sources to read about our country’s history. However, I just want to touch on the meaning of this day and what it stands for.

These wars may have happened many years ago, but the meaning behind the war is still relevant today. The people fought for those who could not fight for themselves, they fought to stand and protect their people and their country. They fought because they believed in freedom not slavery. They fought because they believed Canada was a place of refuge and peace, not war and genocide. These people had courage beyond all measure, and if we do not remember them, then we have forgotten what we stand for.

We need to remember this in today’s world. There are still many people in our country and in other countries that are slaves of this world. Their voices are not heard and their freedoms are denied. We need to be their voices and help those that we can. I think that is what it means to be human. To help our fellow man and woman. To take care of our children and help raise them to be stewards of people and this earth. I think that is what freedom and peace are all about.

The expression ‘Lest we forget’ is often associated with this day of remembrance. It means “it should not be forgotten.” We do not know what condition our country or world would have been in, if these people did not step up and defend our rights. But we do know because of their sacrifice we get to enjoy all the simple freedoms of life that we simply overlook. Let’s not forget. Let’s take the time November 11th, and every day for that matter, to remember what those people gave for our freedom; and let’s use that as fuel to help those without freedom today.

Reasons why you should keep a record of your belongings on hand.

Remember the game “Memory?” Where you had to flip over matching cards on a table full of identical upside-down cards? You remember seeing the picture at some point, but to remember which exact spot the matching one was, becomes difficult. This is similar to when you experience a fire or theft in your home/business/workshop and you are trying to remember which items you had before the loss.

A fire can be devastating, you can lose everything very quickly and now you have to start from scratch. Your photos, computers, mobile devices, everything could be gone and how do you even start to remember what you all had. Certainly, there will be major items that stand out. The fridge, grandpa’s priceless watch, the TV. However, there are many little things that can be forgotten. With your insurance policy, you will most likely have replacement cost coverage for your belongings. However to receive that replacement value, you need to physically replace the items you lost. So if you can’t remember them, you won’t be receiving replacement value from the insurance company. To avoid this, we recommend you take some measures to make sure that if there is a claim, you have steps in place to help with the process.

The easiest step, is to download our app. This may not be easy for everyone, as not all of us are on mobile technology. However, with our app, there is an easy feature that allows you to input a list of belongings, tools, etc. directly into the app. You can be as detailed as you want. It also allows you to attach a photo to that item’s description, so you have evidence of the item and its condition.

home-inventory-2-phonesNow, we’re not saying you need to go take a picture of every fork and towel in your house. But if you have certain items of significant value, please take a picture and document those items. For the rest of your belongings, we recommend you going through each room and taking pictures of those rooms. Closets, Bathrooms, Mechanical Room, Garage – All of them. Then write a brief description of the items in that room and a replacement value for those items. With this information, you will have a very good idea of what you had in those rooms and you will end up with an accurate estimate if something awful happens.

All the photos and data are saved within our app and stored online under your locked username and password. If your phone happens to be destroyed, you simply download the app onto another device, sign in, and you have all that information back at your fingertips. This is an amazing tool for you to use; to make sure you have your precious belongings accounted for.

Record of belongings Another way to protect yourself from this problem, is to make detailed lists of your items. This can be quite cumbersome, and will take more work than taking photos, but it is effective. Keeping this list off-site, such as in a safety deposit box, would be a good idea.

This simple task, is something very few people do. Please take 15 minutes out of your day, download the app, and take some photos of your house, business, shop and save yourself a potential headache later. How a future claim is handled can start here; so let’s work together to make sure that if you experience a claim, it is handled as smoothly as possible. If you have any questions about the app, please come in and talk to one of our brokers.

Let’s have a fun and safe Halloween

Every year, we have the same problem. How much candy is enough? Not only for us adults to eat, but also to hand out to the kids coming around the block. Next question, how old is too old to go trick-or-treating? (I could sure use a stache in a pillowcase at home). This is the time of year kids go crazy for candy, and it is one of the funnest things to do with your children, so enjoy it.

However, like anything, there are potential risks involved during the trick or treat festivities. You will have constant traffic of kids up and down the streets. Please make sure when you are driving you are paying close attention to the children walking around. They will likely be hopped up on sugar and could (will) make sporadic decisions and movements. So please keep a close eye on them.

Also, as a homeowner, you will also have the constant foot traffic of little kids up and down your driveway, to your house to collect candy. With children walking up and down your driveway, you need to make sure you don’t have anything that could cause them to trip or fall. With Halloween, it’s hard not to have scary decorations out, just make sure they aren’t placed in a way that could cause potential injury. Having a well lit driveway for the children to see clearly, would be a big help as well. With a homeowners policy, you will have liability coverage included on your policy. If you happen to be negligent and an injury occurred on your property, you would have the coverage. However, it is better to take precautions to avoid these types of scenarios.

Turning your pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns is another Halloween must; putting your artistic creative abilities to the test. However, placing actual candles in the pumpkins can be a potential hazard if it were knocked over. You can purchase small electric candles to place inside to help prevent those hazards while still providing that glow-in-the-dark eeriness.

Unfortunately, there is still the trick portion to Halloween. While this can be fun to pull a small trick on someone, this can also end up being taken out of context and resulting in more severe types of vandalism. To protect yourself all year round, you may wish to consider a security system, cameras or a big guard dog (or a small dog, with a big bark!). Just make sure the dog stays inside while the little trick-or-treaters are coming to collect!

This is a fun night for everyone, let’s make sure everyone stays safe for it.

We aren’t wedding planners, but we can help you take care of some of the little things.

Getting married is are one of the biggest highlights in a person’s life. It is a public display of one of the biggest decisions you’ll make. So we bring in all of our friends and relatives to share it with and then have a party to celebrate!

For most of us who attend a wedding, we just show up eat a fancy dinner, listen to a program, try to two-step and go home. However, for the bride and groom and some family members, there is a lot of sweat and tears that go into this big special day.

The big decisions happen early in the engagement. Reception venue, Church, DJ, Dress, etc. Along the way, little parts start to unfold: Centerpieces, programs, party favours, etc. These take a lot of time to nail down and make sure they fit who you are as a couple..

So, again, we aren’t wedding planners, so I have no idea the time and effort that goes into all these decision. I have a slight idea, but pinterest wasn’t around when I got married, so it was an easier time back then. However, we do know insurance, and like anything there is risk involved in every situation, even the most joyous day of your life.

Not all venues require you to carry insurance, as they have absorbed the liability with the rental agreement you have signed. Some venues do require you to carry your own insurance on the event; and some venues, might not even think to ask about it. When you have a reception/party that you are hosting for people to come out, you can be found liable if one of your attendees gets out of hand and causes injury or damage to someone else.

How can this be? Well, it’s complicated and the courts do not make it any less grey. In a nutshell, each person in life should carry an insurance policy; a tenant pak (if you rent) a condo or home pak (if you own). With those policies, you are given liability coverage to cover you personally if you are negligent and cause property damage or injury to someone else. This liability limit follows you everywhere in the world. Now, the catch here is, you have invited these people to come to a party, and most likely there is alcohol served at these events. If people are not responsible and they get to drunk and start causing problems, or choose to drive home drunk; you can be held responsible as you were the host of the party.

They will likely sue the drunk person as well, but he may not carry liability coverage, or if he was driving, he won’t have any as the insurance carriers do not cover drinking and driving. So the lawsuit might extend to where the problem originated. You’re wedding reception. This sounds dark, and I apologize, but things can happen that are out of your control and we want to make sure that nothing could damper your special day.

We have insurance carriers that specialize in wedding event insurance policies. They have packages that can also extend coverage to your wedding gifts, photo recovery, honeymoon cancellation, rings, lost deposits, etc. These are things most people don’t think of, and they shouldn’t have to. There are much bigger things to think about, so it’s our job to think of this for you.

We want your wedding to be the day of your dreams. Ask us about this coverage if you are getting married or if you know someone who is, maybe refer them to this blog to see if it’s something they wish to pursue. We want to make sure you are looked after.