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auto pak

Keeping your family secure with an Auto Pak.

There isn’t anything more important than family. That’s what I tell myself, when my newborn is screaming at all hours of the night or my Grandfather tells me that “I had it easy.” “Life was so much harder back then.” He’s not wrong. I just wish I didn’t have to hear about it all the time. I think today is easier in the sense of a “physical demand” on our bodies. However, with the online world, it brings its share of struggles as well. #CyberBullying #FailVideos – You make one mistake and you will relive it for the rest of time.

That is all completely unrelated to what today’s topic is about, other than the word family. We’re talking about “Family Security.”

What is Family Security?

It is a coverage that is usually included on every Auto Pak Extension Policy. When you purchase an auto pak and have this endorsement, it extends to your family in your vehicle while you are in operation. It covers you if you are a pedestrian and are hit by a motor vehicle, and it also covers you while you are riding in another persons vehicle.

What this coverage does is protect you in the event you are hit by an uninsured motorist or an underinsured motorist. For example: A drunk driver or someone with a suspended license.

If you are hit by someone like that, they will not have any liability coverage to pay for the damages you suffer. You will be taken care of by SGI, if you have the no fault coverage for injuries, but any additional income or pain and suffering would have to be collected through civil court, which may amount to nothing. This is where Family Security steps in. If you carry an auto pak with 2 million liability, you will have $2 million of Family Security coverage to pay for the additional costs incurred for you and your family as your recover from this accident. Any additional costs for trips to the doctor, medications, loss of income or other expenses in excess of what SGI, Workers Compensation or Disability plans would be covering can be claimed under this plan.

When you buy a package policy, you will automatically obtain liability coverage to extend to your vehicle operation in case you were ever negligent. The family security coverage matches the limit of liability you carry, up to $2 million.

This is something that is not “sold” to the customers who carry an auto pak. But it is a needed coverage if you are involved in an accident with a person who shouldn’t be on the road. This is a simple way to protect yourself and your family from potential costs that are not in your control.

Talk to us about adding a package policy to your vehicles. A liability/family security policy on your vehicle can be as little as $4-5 per month. It’s a small cost that could pay big benefits if something tragic were to happen.

Keep you and your family protected with an Auto Pak policy.

We live in a province of government auto insurance. This is simple, yet complicated. Many people believe that when they purchase their driver’s license and registration from SGI that they are properly insured and completely covered. However, there are scenarios you need to be aware of that can put yourself at risk, if you do not carry an extension auto policy.

When you purchase your registration from SGI, you are accepting a $700 deductible on any type of physical loss to your vehicle, and $200,000 liability if you are found negligent while operating that vehicle. If you are comfortable absorbing $700 in the event of claim, that is completely fine, however, the liability amount is the main concern.

Most people think that we have “no fault” insurance coverage in Saskatchewan. While that may be true, there are certain scenarios where you can be still found at fault and on the hook for the damages. This includes actual property damage caused by the use of your vehicle. If you hit a building or another vehicle, those damages to the other vehicle/house are covered using your liability coverage. Now most losses are covered under 200,000 limit, however, there have been situations where people have derailed trains or have overturned semi trucks that were carrying harmful products causing damage to the environment. If you are found at fault, these physical losses are your responsibility and will come out of your liability limit. In both these scenarios, the losses amounted into the millions; which is horrific. With an extended liability policy you can purchase 2 million liability coverage for as little as $4 per month ($46 / year).

You can also be sued for additional income losses. Let me explain what that is. SGI has a cap on how much they can pay for annual income if someone is severely injured and can no longer work.  If you injure someone in a vehicle accident who is making more than the $94,587 cap. They can sue for the additional income that they were making prior to the loss. So if you hit a lawyer or doctor who makes 250k per year and they can no longer work. They can sue you for the additional 140k for the next 25 years (Or however long their career would have been for). This particular scenario ends up being $3.5 million. These types of claims can end up crippling a person or family for a very long time. Liability is by far the most beneficial product on the auto policy. Make sure you call our office and make sure you are properly protected as these are the claims that can cause huge financial problems.

Other products you can purchase on an auto pak are the following:.

  • Wildlife Waiver of deductible – if you hit any type of wildlife your deductible is waived.
  • Road Hazard Glass – If you buy a package policy you can add on this endorsement to cover stone chips or cracks to your windows.
  • Replacement Cost Coverage – If you purchase a brand new vehicle, you can obtain replacement cost coverage on the vehicle for the first few years. If something terrible happens and the vehicle is written off, you will receive a brand new vehicle similar to the one you had prior to the loss.
  • Loss of Use coverage – if you are in an accident and you need a rental vehicle to continue your day to day operation while your vehicle is being repaired, this coverage will pay for the costs to rent a vehicle. $1000 or $2000 limits are available. You can choose the limit that will work best for you.
  • Family Security – This coverage is automatically added with the liability coverage. This covers your family if you are hit by an uninsured or impaired driver who has no insurance coverage.

There are many other benefits to purchasing a package policy. Such as – coverage will automatically extend to a personal vehicle of similar nature, that you do not own, but are currently operating (ie. rental car or borrowed vehicle). Higher liability limits when you travel outside Saskatchewan and become higher risk of a potential lawsuit if there is an accident.

We are a community minded business and all we want is to make sure our friends and relatives are properly covered, in the event something awful happens. We all know someone who has likely been involved in some kind of accident; and unfortunately, we cannot see into the future to prevent them. However, at least with this coverage you can have peace of mind knowing you’ll be taken care of if something terrible does end up happening.

As we wind down our summer activities, this is what you need to know for fall!

It is September 26th, 2017. The days are officially getting shorter. That is sad, but on the plus side…..yes there is a plus side! We can start binging Netflix without feeling like we’re wasting the day! Okay, I tried….that was a stretch at best; this summer was far too short as always.

On that note, we have fall work ahead of us all and we will shed some light on some things you’ll likely need to get done for the winter and some insurance advice for you to make sure you are looked after.

Some fall projects to take care of:

  1. Blowing out your sprinklers – if you fail to blow out your lines, they will likely freeze and cause cracking or damage to the lines which will result in leaking the following year; which could be difficult to find underground.  
  2. Winterize your boat & camper – both of these items have water in them or likely did; if they aren’t stored in a heated shop, you will need to make sure they do not have any water left in them to freeze. Again this will cause problems come next spring if not handled correctly.
  3. Look into getting some winter tires for your vehicle to help you with the icy road conditions ahead of us. No tires can stop reckless driving, so be safe out there.  
  4. Roof Repair – during the winter it’s hard to get on your roof and hard for the shingles to stick down properly. Make sure the roof is in good shape and tarred down, so that if there is a bizarre amount of snow or an ice dam, you know your roof is up for the challenge.
  5. A furnace inspection – this is never a bad thing to do just for a maintenance check. We have some pretty harsh winters and the last thing you want, is to be without heat. Have someone take a look at your unit to make sure it’s up for the task this winter.

Now that those fall projects are taken of, there are some helpful insurance tips, we would like to mention. We want you to be as prepared as possible for this upcoming winter so you can make the most of it. Whether it’s eating pumpkin pie & turkey, jumping in a pile of leaves, or enjoying a warmer climate down south; we want you to have an amazing fall..

  1. When you store your RV / Camper trailer, make sure you put a package policy on it. This package policy will insure the trailer for the storage duration; while you aren’t using the trailer. It is a more reasonable price than keeping it licensed and will have some additional coverages you may need; such as vermin or potential freezing damage.
  2. Get your snowmobile licensed and put a package policy put on it. A plate on a snowmobile gives you liability only, so you need a package policy to have coverage on the unit. Theft of these machines is happening more and more, so it’s important to have coverage on it. If you plan on operating the unit on crown land, you must have the unit registered. Crown land includes: Lakes, rivers, ditches, parks, trails, etc. If you ride on those areas, you must have it licensed to be legal and to have your insurance policy apply.
  3. If you plan on going on a warm holiday this winter, plan ahead and have someone check on your house daily. This is required by your insurance carrier, as they need someone to be checking on your heating system to make sure there isn’t a possibility of the water pipes freezing. You can also blow out your lines or some companies allow that you have a third party monitoring system installed that monitors the temperature in the house.
  4. Ice Damming on low sloped roofs has become quite the problem. With the snow, then the temperature bouncing around from mild to cold. The snow melts and creates ice dams in valleys and along the edge of the roof. This can cause water to crawl up the shingles and penetrate the roof causing water damage in your roof / ceiling / gyproc. Please try and remove any excess snow on the roof and keep an eye out for any ice building up on the edge of your house.

We want you to be as prepared as possible for this upcoming winter so you can make the most of it. Whether it’s eating pumpkin pie & turkey, jumping in a pile of leaves, or enjoying a warmer climate down south; we want you to have an amazing fall.