Is Your Home Ready For The Canadian Winter?

With winter on its way, it’s time to start thinking about winterizing your home. It’s best to start weather-proofing when the leaves change colors, rather than waiting until after the first snowfall. Snow, ice and wind can have devastating effects on your home if you’re not prepared for the worst Mother Nature has to offer.

Follow these tips for a safe and secure winter:

• Heat your home: Keeping a temperature of 18°C or higher will protect your pipes. The temperature inside your walls is much lower than the interior of your home. Maintaining a warmer interior temperature helps keep your pipes from freezing. 
• Check heating systems: Ensure the proper maintenance of fireplaces, furnaces, boilers and chimneys. Residential fires increase in the winter due to the usage of such heating systems. Keep up with routine servicing and double check fire and smoke alarms. You may also want to install a carbon dioxide detector. 
• Outdoor Maintenance: Gutter debris can cause a condition known as ice damming, which is when water cannot drain properly and instead seeps into a house and causes water damage. Consider installing gutter guards to prevent debris from entering and clogging your gutters. Remove dead branches from your trees; the weight of snow and ice can cause weak branches to break and damage your home or injure individuals on the way down. Keep walkways and entrances free of snow and ice. 
• Maintain pipes: One of the biggest winter risks is pipes freezing over and bursting. Some precautions you can take include insulating unfinished rooms like garages and attics, wrap pipes in heating tape, repair any cracks or leaks immediately and install an emergency pressure release valve in your plumbing system. Also, make note of where and how to shut off your water, and do so immediately if your pipes freeze to keep them from bursting.
  
• Plan for lengthy trips: Ask a neighbor or friend to check on your house if you plan to leave for an extended period of time. They can quickly address any issues that arise to prevent further damage. Before you leave, it’s a good idea to have a professional drain the water system to prevent pipes from freezing.

Speak with your insurance agent about what your homeowners policy covers. Most standard polices will cover damages resulting from winter freezes, including (but not limited to) burst pipes, interior water damage from ice damming and roof damage from weighty snow and ice.

Protect your home and family through the cold winter months. Call Excalibur Insurance Group at (519) 348-9150 for more information on Mississauga home insurance.

Preparing Your Car For Winter Early

As summer draws to a close, it is time to begin preparation for the long Ottawa winter. One crucial aspect of winter preparation in Ottawa is to ensure that your vehicle is well maintained and equipped with winter tires so it is ready for any journey. You don’t want to be caught out unprepared in the first snowfall! Being prepared could also help you to save money on your auto insurance. Some Ottawa auto insurance providers offer discounts of around five percent on insurance premiums if a car is equipped with four winter tires. Being well prepared also reduces your chance of having an accident or needing breakdown assistance, so you have a greater chance of making it through the winter without losing your no-claim discount. Many drivers do not stop to think about winter tires until the snow starts falling, which means that there is a danger zone during which they are unprepared for the road conditions until they can get the tires fitted. A better approach is to install winter tires as soon as the temperature drops to an average of less than seven degrees Celsius, as this can be a sign that snow and ice are on their way. In Ottawa, this temperature drop usually occurs between late October and mid-November, so now is the ideal time to start seeking out a good deal on winter tires. Remember that if you plan to cross over the border into Quebec between December 15th and March 15th, then having winter tires on your vehicle is a legal requirement. Ontario has no law requiring winter tires, but they are highly recommended for all motorists during snowy or icy weather. Other vital maintenance jobs to do in preparation for winter include filling up with winter motor oil and radiator coolant. You should consider taking your car to an auto service facility to have it checked over before the harsh winter weather sets in, particularly if it is an older vehicle. The mechanics can check that parts of the vehicle such as the thermostat are working correctly. If you need to renew your Mississauga auto insurance policy before winter comes, then it might be worth asking your independent insurance agent about the possibility of cheaper premiums for winter tires. Remember that using an independent insurance agent and giving him or her all of the relevant information about your insurance needs is the best way to get a good deal on your auto insurance. Call Excalibur Insurance Group today at 519-348-9150 for more information about insuring your vehicle in Ottawa.

The Importance of Multiple-Peril Crop Insurance For Your Farm

Multiple-Peril (also called Multi-Peril or MPCI) crop insurance helps farmers protect their income against whatever Mother Nature can throw at it. MPCI is created to deal with yield uncertainty – that is, the fact that the success of a farmer’s business is often at the disposal of something over which he has absolutely no control (the weather).

The way MCPI works in Canada is a bit more complex than other insurance plans. With MCPI, farmers choose a policy that covers a percentage of their average yield (usually 50, 60, 70, or 80 percent); they pay a portion of their insurance cost, and the government pays the rest. This combination of funding offers the grower financial incentive not to abuse the program, and it offers adequate resources in case of a true natural emergency – which is often catastrophic and far too expensive for any private individual or company to afford. This Canadian system of MCPI is modeled after the United States’ crop insurance program, which was implemented in 1981 and has proved extremely beneficial both to farmers and the American public.

If you are a farmer whose livelihood depends upon the success of a crop’s growth, you should definitely consider MPCI. While there are other risk management steps you can take to protect your business as a farmer, MPCI is arguably the most important because it not only accounts for price risks but also protects farmers from low yields. Most growers who run small to medium farms are great candidates for MPCI; the only farmers who might not need it are those who run farms that are successful enough or have enough capital to overcome a significant loss in case of unexpected damage to crops or loss of income.

As weather becomes more severe and unpredictable, crop insurance is an integral part of any agri-business. An experienced insurance agent can help figure out the best program, based on local risks and production history. Multi-peril crop insurance helps smooth out the ups and downs of being a farmer in Canada. Give Excalibur Insurance Group a call 519-348-9150 to review coverage and options for your Mississauga Farm Insurance .

Your Business Floor Plan Affects Your Insurance

In the world of business insurance, there are many factors that are taken into consideration when drafting a policy. Some of them are related to intangibles such as risk. Others apply to specific business assets. One of the physical assets of a business is its real estate -- the buildings that house business operations. Business insurance policies have to include accurate coverage for all of the physical locations that serve the business’ purposes.

With that in mind, one of the factors used to determine coverage under a business insurance policy will be the square footage or floor plan of business spaces. Whether they are rented or owned, larger business spaces will require more coverage. Business owners should think about this when they craft their policies in negotiations with business insurance companies, and think about whether their coverage is accurate, and how they could trim premiums by trimming their floor plan. It’s important to keep in mind that talking about the total square footage of a business, or its floor plan space, is different than discussing specific “floor plan insurance,” which is insurance industry jargon for a plan to cover spaces filled with high-end merchandise, such as a vehicle dealer’s showroom. In contrast, figuring floor plan square footage is a relatively simple calculation that adds or subtracts from the amount of asset coverage needed in a policy.

Lean Inventory Models

One way that businesses can cut down on their physical space requirements is to put together a better plan for sourcing materials and holding inventory. Any business that deals in physical products has to figure out how to keep those products on hand for delivery to customers. Inventory models based on specifically designed software and technology can help businesses to order only what they need at a particular time and to shrink warehouse facilities and other storage areas dramatically. This can have a big impact on business insurance policy premiums.

Outsourcing Technology

Many businesses in many different industries are also able to shrink their floor plans by utilizing new types of tech services such as cloud hosting, software as a service, and sophisticated web vendor systems that are sourced and supported off-site. By outsourcing technology in this way, businesses avoid the need to maintain separate rooms for servers or other hardware. By using digital archives, businesses can do away with the physical space previously used to store boxes of paper documents. These strategies can help lower the amount of square footage a business needs, and, therefore, the amount that the business must pay on insurance premiums.

For more information on Mississauga business insurance, give Excalibur Insurance Group a call at 519-348-9150. We can help figure out the best insurance coverage for any specific small business or company.

Brand New Home Owner Insurance Tips

Buying your first home always evokes a sense of pride, but it also instills a lot of fears and brings along responsibilities to safeguard it against every possible and avoidable danger. The first step towards securing financial and liability protection for your home and its valuable contents is to get a homeowners’ insurance policy with adequate coverage. An insurance plan helps a first-time home buyer secure financial benefits in case the home suffers damages from natural calamities, including fire, flood, earthquakes or other disasters, as covered by the policy. If you are a first-time home buyer, then you may feel confused when it comes to choosing the right kind of insurance policy that would take care of unexpected risks.
Here are some effective tips to help you select the best policy coverage for your home protection:

• Assess the risks involved in the area you are choosing for buying your first home. If you choose a residential address that is susceptible to natural calamities, the cost of insurance premiums will also be higher.

• When choosing your home insurance policy, it is crucial to know the kind of materials and content you have in your house, since this significantly affects the insurance cost of your property. You may have to shell out more money if many of the materials within the house are of a highly flammable nature. 

• Review the different types of policies and check the coverage provided by all of them. When taking up a particular policy, it is important to know the risk factors covered by the insurance policy to help you determine whether it is right for you. Higher coverage will ensure a lower financial burden, since the policy will cover the cost of most damages.

• Find a home insurance policy that offers adequate liability protection in case you are sued for an injury sustained on the premises of your property. 
• You might want to consider insurance that provides for additional living expenses in forced circumstances. There are some policies that cover costs incurred for accommodation, food and transportation when staying in the insured house becomes impossible due to a calamity.
• It is recommended that you match the replacement cost of your home with the coverage amount at the time of selecting a home insurance policy.

• Install safety features and make your home safe and disaster-resistant to qualify for lower premiums and special discounts on your home insurance policy. 

• Ensure proper maintenance of your home in order to get a policy at lower premium rates. Don't file for insurance claims to cover minor damage to your home.

Understanding all the aspects and implications of buying a first-time homeowners’ insurance policy will ensure that you get the one that best suits your home needs.

Give Excalibur Insurance Group a call at 519-348-9150 for more tips on choosing a London Home Insurance policy as a first-time homeowner.

Are Life Insurance Policies For "Pennies a Day" Trustworthy?

Television and radio commercials advertising cheap, easy and quick life insurance aren't always clear about what options are really available to you. While many commercials boast that the insurance company provides great life insurance coverage for just pennies a day, it is important to know what kind of coverage you would really get. Many companies state that no medical exam is required, and that you can be approved for coverage within just a matter of days. Although these companies do offer legitimate life insurance policies, they may not be the best option. Coverage is oftentimes minimal and costs much more than life insurance from other providers.

Insurance companies use health screenings to learn about your current state of health. They use this information to determine if they think you will live into your 70s, or if they predict you will die at a much earlier age. If you are healthy, fit, and active, the provider assumes that you will stay alive for many years to come. The healthier you are, the lower your premiums will be because the provider assumes you will be paying insurance premiums for a longer period of time. Someone who is in poorer health and more likely to die sooner will pay higher premiums to compensate for the fewer years of premium payments. If you are curious to find out if a provider that does not require a health screening is a better option for you than one that does, you can apply for both types of policies and see which one best suits your needs and your budget.

It is important to know how much coverage you are getting, as a policy without a screening process may not provide the same amount as the one that requires a health test. It is also essential to determine if the policy automatically expires after a certain number of years or when you reach a certain age. If you live past that age, you may be faced with a situation where you need life insurance to provide for your family after you die and are unable to get it. An insurance agent can explain the ins and outs of your policy options with you to be sure that you know what your coverage entails, and that it's the right coverage for you.

If you have questions about your life insurance or if you need London Life Insurance for yourself and your family, give Excalibur Insurance Group a call us at 519-348-9150. We would be glad to answer any questions you may have about which life insurance policy is best for you.

Home Insurance Covers More Than Your Belongings..It Covers People Too

When you are buying home insurance, you probably consider how a policy would cover damages to your physical belongings and other stationary property. Yet, what happens when you need protective coverage for the people in your home? The truth is that home insurance covers more than your belongings.

What — or Who — are Living Liabilities

Home insurance is not only a practical safeguard against property damage or loss. Living liabilities are the people that visit your household. Workers, guests — even family members — can become claimants that file liability claims against you for somcan be, when someone gets hurt on your property, it becomes an open season on claims and resulting monetary damages. There is a lock for that potential legal burden and maintaining home insurance can be the key to preventing such claims.

Is Liability Coverage Really Necessary?

Like any type of insurance policy, opting for coverage now can prevent a lot of damage later. The simple reality is that accidents will happen. It is only a matter of when. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), slips and falls in the home account for 8.9 million emergency room visits per year, based on 2011 statistics. Without a personal liability clause included in your homeowner’s insurance coverage, you may be taking an unnecessary risk by dismissing an option that could prevent a likely occurrence. You cannot control the forces of nature, but you do have some control over your immediate environment. Why take the risk when you do not need to?

How Do You Secure Personal Liability Coverage?

If you are weighing how the benefits of personal liability coverage far outweigh the debilitating effects of liability claims, your next step may be securing a homeowner’s insurance policy or updating your current policy to include personal liability. Depending on your residential status, several types of policies are available to suit your pragmatic (and wise) concerns. According to a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) homeowner’s insurance consumer's guide, policy variations have room to accommodate specific dwellings to satisfy each homeowner’s (or tenant’s) need. In other words, whether you rent or own a single-family home, condominium, townhouse, multi-family dwelling or apartment, you can get homeowner’s (or rental) insurance with that covers personal liability. Or you could simply give Excalibur Insurance Group a call at 519-348-9150 in Mitchell, 519-482-9357 in Clinton or 226-428-3015 in Westlake. We will help you find the perfect London home insurance policy to help protect you from personal liability claims.

What if You Have an Accident in a Rental Vehicle?

It doesn't matter if you’re in a rental car or your personal vehicle, having an auto accident is the same; which means, how you react to an accident in a rental car should not differ from your reaction where you are driving your personal vehicle. Following any accident you should:

1. Turn off your car if it’s still running and, if possible, pull over to the shoulder of the road to minimize risk of further injury from passing cars and allow traffic to flow regularly until help arrives.

2. If any witnesses stop to assist you or the other party, collect their contact information. The claims adjuster assigned to your accident will want to contact all witnesses to corroborate your account of what happened.   

3. If anyone is injured, call 911 – if there are no injuries, you can call your local non-emergency number or local police station. Especially in a rental vehicle, you will absolutely want to have the police take witness statements and make a formal record of any damage.

4. Make a visual record of the damage. Use the camera on your phone to take photos and make notes of the damage you find. This is the most important step in properly documenting any damage the vehicle incurred, and it is especially important if you’re in an accident in a rental car.

5. Get the other driver’s insurance, contact and license information. You should also be prepared to share your own information along with the name of your rental company.

Now, this is where the process starts to change if you’re in a rental vehicle. If the insurance is through the rental company’s insurance plan, then you need to contact this provider. If you did not purchase insurance through the rental company and are instead relying on your personal auto coverage, then you need to call your insurance provider to file a claim. Let them know you were driving a rental vehicle at the time of the accident and then ask them how to proceed. You may be more comfortable contacting your independent insurance agent and that’s great. Your agent is an advocate for you and can guide you through the steps of filing a claim. They may also be able to start the claim for you.

Next you’ll need to contact your rental car provider. It’s likely that the rental car company will arrange to have their vehicle towed back to their location or to their preferred auto body shop and inform you how to secure another vehicle. Make sure the police know to get a copy of the police report to the rental company if the rental company’s insurance is going to be used to cover damages.

Do not, no matter how small, is to try and hide it. Rental car companies keep impeccable records on damage, dings, dents and everything in between on their fleet of vehicles. They will notice it. Deal with these issues as they occur to ensure you get access to the resources you’ve purchased through the rental company and your insurance provider. By dealing with them head on, you won’t end up having more liability than you deserve.

For more information about London auto insurance or any questions you may have about rental car care in the Ontario area, give Excalibur Insurance Group a call at 519-348-9150.

Factors That Can Affect Your Home Insurance Premiums

Your personalized home insurance quote is not found on a chart that matches your home value, age and your chosen deductible to find the right price. A home quote is specific to each applicant and based on the details that pertain to your lifestyle, community and home. We’d like to touch on a few of the factors that determine your premium:

Your home’s age: Older model homes can be less equipped for a natural disaster, and can also be more expensive to repair. Newer homes are built to newer safety codes and can also be made of more durable materials. This means if you have an older home, you should prepare for a higher home insurance premium.

What your home is made of: Wood framed homes are more expensive to insure because they are highly susceptible to fire. Concrete and brick homes have less risk of a catastrophic house fire and can also stand up to harsher environmental elements. Since concrete and brick homes are less vulnerable, they tend to have a lower insurance premium.

If you have a dog, their breed can also play a role: If you were under the assumption your pets didn’t play a role in your home insurance you’d unfortunately be wrong. Certain breeds have been labeled more dangerous than others because of their propensity to attack strangers. Not all dogs of those breeds are dangerous, and this may include your dog, but if you have a higher risk breed then the reputation of the breed supersedes training and behavior resulting in higher premiums.

Fire safety and emergency response options: Small towns generally have a volunteer fire department to fight smaller blazes, with the bigger city force stepping in to handle the larger fires. The type of fire fighting force you have access to will play a role in the types of insurance rates you have access to. Your proximity to a fire hydrant can also affect your premiums—with closer proximity rewarded by lower premiums.

Insurance carriers need to know all the details when they are evaluating your property for a new homeowners policy. The above factors, as well as many others, come together to paint a picture of the total risk your home exposes the insurance company to. It is this comprehensive picture with both positive and negative points that will determine the premium you are charged.

When you are looking to protect your home, give Excalibur Insurance Group a call at519-482-9357. We are there to help you find the best insurance at the best price for your London Home Insurance. 

What is the Terminal Illness Benefit in Life Insurance?

A life insurance policy, depending on how you structure it, guarantees that there will be a pay out of the death benefit to the named beneficiaries after the death of the insured, provided the premiums have been paid on time and the death occurs within the term of the policy and not after an excluded incident. Life insurance policies, however, are blank canvases with many different coverage options in the form of riders. These riders can create a unique work of financial security for your loved ones.

The accelerated benefit rider, or terminal illness benefit, is one helpful rider available on many life insurance policies. A policy with an accelerated benefit rider requires that you pay a slightly higher premium (unless your insurer affords this rider at no cost). With this higher premium, you can access a part of your death benefit before you pass away if you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Some accelerated benefit riders can provide access to a portion of the death benefits without the terminal illness diagnoses if you have been incapacitated by illness or injury or require long-term care. Make sure to talk to your agent to see if the insurance providers you are considering offer these benefits too.

Find out how the benefit is paid, what the exact requirements for access are, and what the extra premium cost is before you add this valuable rider to your policy. If your family needs to access the benefit that the rider provides, be sure to have the directions for benefit payments somewhere that they can easily find them just in case you become unable to explain them.

Call us at 519-482-9357 for a London ON life insurance today!