melloInsurance

Serving our clients, Serving our community

canadian winter

How to snap that cold spell and hopefully not your pipes.

With the weather hitting -50’C last week. It was a nice reminder of how fortunate we are to not have any mosquitos nearby. That being said, a lot can go wrong at these temperatures. Vehicle trouble, heating problems in the house, power outages – equipment does not like to work in these temperatures.

We are lucky we live in a place where we have people/companies who are quick to respond to emergencies or we have access to backup heating appliances to protect ourselves from these types of problems. Here are some insurance tips to make sure you’re prepared for these “conditions.”

  1. Leaving for extended time

If you are leaving on a vacation or for an extended period of time, you must either drain your water lines or line up someone to check on your house daily. This is to make sure if your heat goes out, that your water lines do not freeze and rupture. A day or two of minus 40 and a house can cool down in a hurry. These are requirements of most insurance companies when leaving your house for more than a couple days during the heating season. Some thermostats & smart home systems allow you to monitor the temperature of your house from your cell phone.

  1. Backup heating system

If you live in a rural area, sometimes the power can go out for an extended timeframe before it gets fixed. In the rural areas, your heat is usually limited to electric, oil, or propane; and most furnaces run on electricity so unless you have a backup generator, your furnace will not run without power. Therefore, many people install a wood stove, fireplace or some type of auxiliary heat in their house as a backup for these scenarios. If you decide to install a wood burning appliance, please contact your insurance broker beforehand to see how this will affect your insurance. If you have an old fireplace you haven’t used in while, make sure you have it cleaned properly before you fire it up.

  1. Power Outages

As already mentioned, power outages can directly affect the heating in your house. There are other areas it can affect, such as keeping your fridge and deep freezers running (in winter this shouldn’t be a problem), keeping your block heaters going in your vehicles that are plugged in outside, etc.  In rural areas again, there are other important areas such as the watering bowls for your cattle, or septic tank systems for your sewer that relies on power to pump out the tank which will prevent a sewer backup. It might be worth looking into a power source such as a generator or something that would backup your power for these types of situations.

When everything runs great, we never have to worry about any of these things. However, these extreme temperatures can cause a ton of problems. We need to be prepared for them. We live in Canada and we should know that -10’C is a dream temperature. We live in reality and the temperatures can change drastically overnight. All the more reason to hire your neighbour to check on your house and fly to Mexico. 🙂

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.