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fire insurance

What are the most common causes of fire damage to your home or business?

For many years, it has been called “Fire Insurance” for a reason. Up until recently, Fire was the number one cause of insurance losses in Saskatchewan and Canada. More recently, water losses have surpassed this peril, however, it is still one of the primary reasons for loss.

Whether it is your home, business, vehicle, equipment, hay/feed, machinery, fire can occur and directly impact almost everything. Concrete, steel, wood, asphalt, styrofoam, and almost every other material (if hot enough), can be destroyed by fire.Too often we hear about someone removing insurance off of a structure built out of steel or concrete with the idea that it can’t burn. However, as we have seen time and time again, if it gets hot enough, or there is an accelerant nearby, everything and anything can be severely damaged.

What are the most common losses when it comes to fire?

  • Cooking
    1. This is the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, causing over 20% of home fires, according to the Canadian Firefighter data of 2012. It is also the leading cause of loss in restaurants.
    2. Grease vapour produced from cooking can accumulate throughout the kitchen and cause a high exposure for fire. Grills and deep fryers can contribute to the spread of fire and how easily it can engulf a restaurant kitchen. This is why insurance companies require an automatic fire extinguishing system and regular maintenance on the extinguishers and ventilation systems.
  • Heating
    1. Heating equipment fires account for 10-15% of all home fires, following cooking losses.
    2. The leading factor contributing to home fires was failure to clean and maintain the unit and chimney (primarily solid-fueled heating equipment, aka. Woodstove, wood fireplace, outdoor wood boiler).
    3. A main contributor to ignition of these home fires, is having equipment too close to combustible materials, such as furniture, clothing, mattress or bedding.
  • Arson / Intentional Fires
    1. These are important to mention as your insurance can be handled very different in this situation. If they prove that you were intentionally set fire to your property, they can deny your insurance coverage. If you were vandalised and you had no connection to the arson, your insurance would cover the loss. The fire inspector will do a thorough investigation to see the cause of the fire and if he sees that there were accelerants used or other signs that may point to arson, this will open up a serious investigation into why.
  • Electrical 
    1. This happens in many outdated structures. Sometimes the wiring or breaker boxes are old and the connections have started to wear and have become faulty. This can cause arching issues. 
    2. Sometimes people use high wattage appliances in outlets that don’t support that wattage.
    3. Plugging in too many appliances into one extension cord. This happens frequently, especially around the Christmas holidays as people will plug in lights and christmas trees into one extension cord. If the cord is worn or tattered, these should be replaced as well.
    4. Using older appliances. These use more power and can sometimes overheat and start a fire.
    5. Space Heaters – Make sure these units are kept away from flammable material and objects. If these are your primary heat source for your home or building, unless they are hard-wired into your building, most insurance companies will not allow them as a primary heating source.
  • Smoking
  • Candles
  • Appliances
  • Child fire-play
  • Combine / Baler Fires – Commonly due to heat from dry straw gathering near hot bearings, belts or wiring. 

How can I help prevent these major types of losses?

Not all of these items are easy to prevent. If you are subject to an act of vandalism such as an arson fire, there is little you can do to anticipate such an incident.

Here are some things you CAN DO, to help prevent a fire in your home.

  • Cooking
    1. While cooking, make sure you always stay in the kitchen when frying on the stovetop. If you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and carefully remove the pan from the burner. Smoke is a dangerous sign that the oil is too hot.
    2. Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If you have a fire, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. This will help smother the fire. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan cool for a long time. NEVER THROW WATER ON THE FIRE.
    3. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
    4. If the fire has become uncontrollable, GET OUT and call 9-1-1. Close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
  •  Heating
    1. Proper cleaning and maintenance of your heating system will prevent most potential fires. Having your chimney swept, your furnace filters changed frequently and having an inspection from a licensed heating contractor is a great way to keep your heating systems in good working condition.
  • Electrical
    1. Updating your electrical is a good idea if you have an older home or building. Some homes have knob and tube wiring (which is very dangerous) and others have  aluminum wiring in them, and even though this is still allowable by code, aluminum wiring is softer and is easier to damage or “nick” which can cause hot spots in the conductor causing overheating and a potential fire risk.
    2. Updating your breaker panel. Over time, connections can become loose and fail. So it is important to check your panel and your wiring to make sure things are connected correctly.
  • Machinery Fire – Keep your equipment clean (as clean as you can). By frequently blowing out the machine with an air compressor and checking your equipment for any hot spots, this could help prevent a future fire on your machinery as you harvest this year.
  • Other helpful tips
    1. Fire extinguishers – have them in your home and in your business. Placed or hung up in an easy area to access.
    2. Make sure you keep combustibles or flammable materials are kept at a safe distance away from any hot appliances or open flames.
    3. Have an exit plan. If you do have a fire (especially at night), make sure you and your family understand what the protocol is when exiting the house. Have the exits well lit in your place of business so people know how they can exit your business.

These aren’t the only ways a fire can get started. Grassfires, wildfires, forest fires are some well known causes, especially in BC or California. We have seen them close by in northern Saskatchewan & Alberta (Fort McMurray, Slave Lake). This is why insurance is important. No matter how much you do to prevent a loss, you can still be exposed by elements outside your control. Please contact us if you want to know more or would like some information on fire insurance. Take care!

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Volunteer Fire Fighting Coverage – “Is this something I need?”

fire-fighting-coverage-agri-shield
As most of you have seen, the fires in BC have been problematic again this year. The summer was dry and fires spread ferociously. In Saskatchewan, we had a few grass fires as well. They were not as severe, however they did cause a fair amount of natural damage and kept the fire departments busy.

These wildfires can be very hard to contain. One fire department is usually not enough and it takes a “village,” so to speak, to put these fires out or contain them. For every department that shows up, they will generally have both a call out fee and an hourly fee based on how long they were on the scene. In most urbanized centers, your taxes will include the costs of a fire call-out. However, in the rural areas or smaller towns, there may often be an invoice for these services that you are responsible for. This is something you should look into with your local RM or  Municipal office.

Prairie Grass fire
In our local Saskatchewan departments, the average call-out fee is around $1200. The hourly rate is close to $1000 per hour. This means that if you had a house fire, shop fire, machinery fire or grass fire that you were responsible for, and one department spent 10 hours on the site putting out the fire, you could end up with an invoice of over $10,000. Now imagine the fire spreads to other locations and now 2 or 3 local department show up. This could end up being $20,000-$30,000. This seems far fetched, but we had 2 fires this year alone where the fire departments reported invoices of close to $20,000 and $40,000. The invoice usually gets sent to the land or property owner where the fire originated. So even though the fire did minimal damage on your property, if it spreads to other people’s property, you can still be on the hook for all the firefighting costs.

Local Fire Department Saskatchewan
To protect yourself from these potential costs, you can add volunteer fire fighting coverage to your home/farm policy. Most RM administrators are recommending around $20,000 coverage for potential losses. Some insurance companies bundle this coverage with other packages to make them more flexible. For example, with My Mutual Insurance, you can purchase an “Agri-Shield” product which includes: Volunteer Fire Fighting, Debris Removal, Farm Building Contents – including Tack, and Tool Coverage. This package starts at a limit of $60,000, however, it can be increased. The reason that this is more flexible is that you can either use the full $60,000 for fire fighting if needed, or you break down the coverage as needed. For example, you have a shop fire and you need $10,000 for fire fighting, $25,000 for tools, $10,000 for debris removal and $10,000 for misc. farm contents. This coverage can be split up to reach those individual limits up to the total limit you have selected. Another potential scenario is a grass fire is starting on your land and you end up needing $40,000 to pay for fire fighting costs – this would all be covered under this package.

If you were to buy these coverages individually ($60,000 fire fighting, $60,000 tools, and $60,000 debris removal) this premium would end up being much more than the Agri-Shield product. Please give us a call if you would like to learn more about this product or would like to add these coverages to your policy.

If there is a wildfire, do I have enough coverage to properly protect my belongings and fire fighting charges?

pexels-photo-260367Being in Saskatchewan, we are exposed to every type weather element. Hail, Wind, Extreme Heat, Rain, Snow, Ice, etc. When some of these items combine together, disaster is inevitable.

A couple years ago, we had a very dry spring, and along with our constant wind, we had some extreme forest fire situations in Northern Saskatchewan. BC is experiencing a wave of forest fires this year as well, and they are extremely difficult to contain. Thanks to the many firefighters and volunteers who risk their lives to help put these fires out.

wildfire-helicopter

In Saskatchewan, during the fall around harvest time, the ground, grass, crops can all become quite dry. With the dry vegetation and the warm weather, the conditions are primed for a potential grass fire. When working in the fields, having a campfire or doing any kind of work outside, a fire extinguisher should be kept close by the working area. By having this handy, you will be able to put out any initial spark; which can be a small but large way to prevent a potential fire.

If a fire does occur, it is important that you carry the appropriate coverage on your policy for any potential losses. If you reside in an urban area, you should check with your village, town or city to make sure your taxes cover any fire department charges there could be – for attending a fire that you would be responsible for. If you reside in a rural area, your local fire department will respond, but there is a good chance that you will be responsible for the charges for the call out and any work the fire department does to put out the fire. If you happen to live near multiple RM’s or Towns/Cities, multiple departments can show up to a fire, and the costs for these services can be quite hefty.  Just for one fire department to show up, the call-out fee can be upwards of $1200 and then an additional $800-$1000 per hour for dealing with the fire.

wildfire_3

To cover these costs, you can purchase “Volunteer Fire Fighting” on your home/farm policy. Some insurance companies include $2000, $5000 or $10,000 of coverage for this. Please check with us to make sure you have this coverage and that it is adequate for your area. We strongly encourage you talk to your local RM office to see what the fire fighting costs are and what amount people generally carry on their policies. Depending on your area, you may want to carry at least $15-20,000 of coverage to be sure you have adequate coverage.

As always, if you have any questions about this coverage, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our insurance professionals.