melloInsurance

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Home Insurance

Spring Cleaning & Maintenance

Now that the snow and ice has almost all melted, it is important to take a look around our home to see if there are any repairs, updates or any cleaning required. We have more time than we have ever had at home, so we should be checking off these items before we start to get busy again. 

  • Landscaping: Cut and trim all vegetation and overgrown bushes from structures. Power raking and aerating your lawn is also a good idea if it hasn’t been done in a while.
  • Deck and Porches: Check your deck, patios, porches, stairs, and railings for any loose members and for any deterioration. Wood decks and fences need to be treated every 4-6 years, depending on how much exposure they get to sun and rain.
  • Sprinklers: Check your lawn sprinkler system for leaky valves, exposed lines, and improperly working sprinkler heads. If there is an area of your yard that collects too much water or doesn’t get enough, run the sprinklers to figure out the problem. If it’s not something you can fix yourself, call a professional before your lawn needs the water.
  • Gutters and downspouts: Pull out any leaves and debris from your gutters and downspouts. Re-attach gutters that have pulled away from the house. Run a hose on the roof and check for proper drainage. If a leak exists, dry the area and use caulking or epoxy to seal the leak.
  • Roof: Inspect roof surface, flashing, eaves, and soffits. Perform a thorough cleaning. Check flashings around all surface projections and sidewalls. Check for any loose shingles that may have been damaged from our Saskatchewan winds.
  • Foundation: Check the foundation walls, floors, concrete, and masonry for cracking, heaving, or any deterioration. If you can slide a nickel into a crack in your concrete floor, slab or foundation call a foundation repair professional near you immediately.
  • Siding: Clean siding with a pressure washer to keep mold from growing. Check all wood surfaces for weathering and paint failure. If wood is showing through, sand the immediate area and apply a primer coat before painting. If paint is peeling, scrape loose paint and sand smooth before painting.
  • Exterior caulking: Inspect caulking and replace if deteriorating. Scrape out all of the eroding caulk and recaulk needed area.
  • Window sills, door sills, and thresholds: Fill cracks, caulk edges, repaint or replace if necessary.
  • Window and door screens: Clean screening and check for holes. If holes are bigger than a quarter, that is plenty of room for bugs to climb in. Patch holes or replace the screen. Save the bad screen to patch holes next year.

If you notice significant damage to your home during the inspection. Please contact your insurance broker to file a claim. You have 1-2 years to claim any damage to your home if the damage is covered under your home insurance policy.

Is there a reason I have identity theft coverage?

Remember a couple weeks ago when we spoke about the importance of having someone checking your home while away on that warm vacation that you “won” by taking that telemarketer survey?  Well, unfortunately that trip resulted in having your information getting stolen and your personal identity being compromised. Credit cards were forged and now you have charges in your name that shouldn’t be there!  Why oh why was that telemarketer so convincing? Now you are sitting in a world of hurt and anguish, you are confused and have misplaced emotions, and wondering how you will escape the clutches of this unfortunate event.  You grab your favorite blanket, lay down on the sofa and proceed to have yourself a good cry as you wonder what to do.


Suddenly it dawns on you and you stop your panic.  The clouds of broken trust and fear begin to roll back with the glorious blue sky and warm sun shining down on this situation.  You remember that your insurance provider has got you covered! Most companies offer a minimum of $10,000 of identity theft protection that will help you get your life back in order.  This coverage will kick in to cover the costs of getting new documents produced, as well as kick in to cover unauthorized credit card charges that might exist. This coverage can be used any time you suspect that your identity has been compromised.  The claims process is started simply by contacting your broker who will open up a claim on your behalf with your insurance company. Submitting a claim for this type of loss may cause a change in premiums due to discounts being affected, so be mindful of that fact if you should decide to pursue this option.


Identity theft protection.  Who knew you would ever need such a coverage?  Your broker did that’s who! Once this whole disaster blows over and what was lost has been returned, make sure you take the time to thank your broker and maybe even bring them that Iced Cap that they love so much.  Brokers know that they often look like the hero, but deep down they are just regular people that want to help and see your problems through.

No matter what happens in the future, keep your broker close.  You never know when you will need them to help you out of the proverbial hole you find yourself in!

 

I’ll have a blue….blue….blue skies vacation?

It is officially that time of the year again where the thermometer never rises as high as we like, and things like wind chill are deciding factors on what outfit we will choose for the day.  The sun seems to remain hidden for longer than we like, and the malls begin to get busier and busier until Christmas. Families begin to plan schedules for the holidays, and that free trip to a warmer climate that the telemarketer promises after stealing your identity seems to look like a more attractive offer all the time- I mean, after all, is a little bit of identity retention worth this kind of cold?  Fourteen days in the sun couldn’t sound more glorious at a time like this!

A few days away from home is something we all desire, but are there ramifications with your insurance if you choose to spend some time away?  Well, lucky you asked, as this is the very place to find out the answer to that very question.

If you plan to be away for more than 72 hours in the winter time, there are stipulations tucked into your home insurance product that state the importance of having a competent person checking on your home at least once a day to keep all coverage in place.

You see, the last thing the insurance companies want is for someone to leave their home for a number of months in the heating season and simply trust that their furnace will continue to work without being checked on.  Even with smart homes and remote temperature monitors being available, they still want little Johnny stopping by to make sure the pipes haven’t burst due to a furnace malfunction, and that everything remains in proper order.  Having someone stop in also ensures that an unfortunate event, such as the “wet bandits” stopping by for some free merchandise, hasn’t occurred (forgive me for the Home Alone reference). Things like theft, vandalism or accidents such as a broken window can cause big problems in the middle of winter.  Your furnace will have to work harder to keep the house warm, and there is no guarantee that it will be able to do that with a broken window in the house, or that it will continue to operate under increased load without malfunction.

Some home security companies install thermostats that they can monitor the temperature remotely. If the temperature of the home drops, they will send someone to inspect the home to see what has caused the issue. This is another alternative if you are unable to find someone you trust to check on your home. Most insurance companies allow this as an alternative if the “temperature of the home is monitored by a third-party vendor.” Please check your home wordings or ask us if your company allows this alternative.

This winter, if you should be so lucky to be heading away to bask in the warm sun for a few days, make sure to have someone checking into your residence daily.  It will keep your coverage in full force, and could mitigate a bigger loss if your “home-checker” stumbles across something unplanned or unexpected.

 

Do I qualify for Guaranteed Replacement Cost coverage on my home, and should I carry it if I do?

Buying a house will be one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. There are many questions and concerns when it comes to what house to buy. The age, the condition, renovations, yardwork, taxes, etc. Buying your insurance is one of the decisions that is usually left until the end, when you have already made an offer.

So how does this work?

We gather information on the house from you and possibly, the realtor. This information usually includes things like: Year built, square footage, type of construction (Frame, concrete, brick); heating, electrical, roofing, plumbing – any updates that were done to these 4; flooring, siding, and some other questions about the kitchen & bathrooms. With all these answered, we can use our replacement cost calculators to determine what the cost would be to rebuild your house. These calculators are updated quarterly by contractors and suppliers to make sure that the numbers are up to date with current labour and material costs.

Once we have your replacement value calculated, we use this information with our insurance carriers to see if we can obtain Guaranteed Replacement Cost coverage on your dwelling (GRC).  Depending on the year built and the updates that have been made, you may qualify for this coverage.

So why is this coverage important?

If a claim arises, perhaps a fire or flood, and your house has be torn down and rebuilt because of the extensive damage; you are going to have to rebuild a new house on your property. If your house was built in 1975, it will be hard to rebuild your house with materials and labour from 1975. So you are going to have to use today’s price; that being said, today’s prices can still vary from month to month.

Especially in Saskatchewan, our construction costs can vary, depending on which season we are in. So if you have to rebuild your house in the winter, the costs for labour, concrete, framing, etc., can be much higher as they are working in colder climates, which can cause delays or there are more costs to keep materials heated. So to rebuild an average house in summer might cost $350,000, however, that same house in winter, might cost closer to $375,000.
home-pak-2So how do we stay properly covered?  

By insuring to GRC, the insurance carrier guarantees to rebuild your house at the current costs of construction. For example, your house is insured for $350,000 and 6 months into your policy, your house burns down. When you get your quotes from your general contractors, they say to rebuild a similar house would cost $365,000 with the current materials and labour. Even though your policy looks like it is capped at $350,000, because you carry the GRC coverage, they will pay the full cost to rebuild of $365,000. This coverage just saved you $15,000.

So how do we make sure we keep this coverage in place?

Every 4-5 years, we are required by the insurance carrier to submit an updated evaluation of your dwelling. If you make any changes or updates to your dwelling, we need to re-calculate this evaluation and send it in to keep your value up to date. The insurance carrier, will also apply annual inflation protection to make sure they are keeping up with the increased costs year after year.

We want to make sure that your largest investment is properly looked after. This coverage will give you that peace of mind, that it is. If you have any questions about this coverage, please contact our offices.