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no fault insurance

Driving students to an event? What coverage should I have?

Saskatoon Hilltops (Photo credit: Saskatoon Starphoenix)


The School season has officially dropped or “fall”en. (Ha! Knee Slapper – Dad jokes. Gotta love ’em!) With that in mind, many sports activities have started and as parents, teachers or coaches we will get heavily involved, whether it’s with fundraisers, taking kids to practices or games, or organizing home tournaments. 

When travelling to these sporting events, it is important to make sure that your drivers are alert and that they have proper coverage. When you have a van or SUV filled with football or hockey players, things can get a little rambunctious and the driver can be easily distracted by the people or loud music in the vehicle. These distractions to a new driver can severely hinder their ability to drive accurately and with undivided attention.

Most school divisions are starting to filter who can drive and who can’t. Which is a good idea. They should collect drivers abstracts and other claims documentation to make sure that your students are being driven by responsible adults. They are also requiring extension auto policies to be purchased as well. This isn’t so you have a “lesser deductible” if a claim arises. That is a bonus, but that is not the reason they want you to have this policy.

There are 2 coverage’s that come with an auto pak that are underrated and undervalued. Third Party Liability and Family Security. 

What is Third Party Liability? 

This coverage is to protect the driver if he were ever sued for negligence while operating the motor vehicle. When an accident occurs, it is easy to point out the blame. However, there are never cool heads during a claim and especially following an accident. Having liability coverage allows the lawyers and insurance companies to go to work for you, on your behalf, to make sure that you aren’t going to be financially crippled when the claim finally settles. We strongly recommend carrying 2 million liability minimum. This can be purchased for under $50/year. Most inexpensive coverage you can buy. 

What is Family Security? 

This coverage is (kind of) the opposite of liability coverage. Family Security kicks in if you are in an accident with an un-insured or under-insured driver. The person who is at-fault may not have any coverage or very minimal. This can be a serious issue. So to protect yourself from litigation costs and small claims court frustrations – trying to get money from someone who likely doesn’t have much, this Family Security makes sure that you and the passengers in your vehicle are looked after. This coverage will pay for your additional costs – such as: medical costs, hospital bills, lost income, etc. This coverage comes with a 1 million or 2 million dollar limit, depending on the liability limit you carry. Oh and want to hear the best part. This coverage is INCLUDED in the $50 you spend on the liability coverage!!!! YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO PAY FOR THIS!!!! It’s a no brainer to buy this liability policy!

For $4 a month, you can protect yourself from financial ruin in case you are at-fault in an accident, PLUS you can protect your passengers from unwanted medical bills and financial restrictions that come from being involved in an accident. Protect you and your loved ones today. Call one of our offices and get this set up. It takes less than 5 minutes to get properly covered!

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.