You open your mail and there is the infamous “120 day letter” from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO). You have four months to get your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) corrected, before your license plate expires. Huh? Why is your VIN so important? A VIN is a 17-character code assigned by the manufacturer when a vehicle is built – unique to, and mandatory for, every car built in the US and Canada since 1981. The insurance ...
I don’t think there is a man or woman among us who doesn’t fear that 5-letter word (C-L-A-I-M) and the effect it could have on our insurance premium. But relax… it may not be as bad as you think. If you aren’t at fault, your insurance rates may – or may not – remain unchanged. Having the siding blow off of your house during a storm, or getting hit from behind when your car is parked, ...
Buying something as critical to your well-being as insurance means you should be looking for a local expert broker who deals with you face to face.
An insurance broker is like a “super-agent”… OK, don’t get any ideas of superheroes or Agent 007 on a top-secret mission. What we mean is that a broker is like an insurance agent + much more. OK, so what is the difference between broker and agent when it comes to buying insurance? An agent works for a specific insurance company and will only sell policies for that insurer There can be “independent agents” who works for ...
Direct Compensation Property Damage (DCPD) is a mandatory component of auto insurance in Ontario, which covers damage to your vehicle and/or the contents of your vehicle where you are deemed not at fault in an accident. DCPD ensures that you get paid directly from your own insurer, even if another person was responsible the accident or if the fault is in dispute between you and the other driver and your respective insurance companies. “No fault” insurance ...
Wouldn’t it be great if we could prevent high-risk drivers from operating insured vehicles? Wait, yes we can… it’s known as the “excluded driver” endorsement, as outlined by the Ontario Insurance Act. The endorsement has the harsh result of denying coverage under an automobile policy, so it’s worth knowing about and taking seriously. The endorsement does not mean that you or the excluded driver are not responsible for the damages and/or injury resulting from an accident ...
Getting to drive independently is a privilege – and certainly that’s more true today than in previous generations. It’s harder now than ever to become a solo driver in Ontario, thanks to the Graduated Licensing System (GLS) established in 1994, and the tightening of GLS rules in the summer of 2010. If you’re new to the whole system, it can be daunting, and certainly the GLS is foreign to those of us who, as teenagers decades ...
It’s time for you to look around for home insurance – either for the first time or at renewal time. Make sure you come to your meeting with your local insurance broker armed with the following information: Do you rent out part of your home? Do you run a business out of your home? What is the address of your home, including what county? What is the year of construction of you home? What type of ...
Many calamities such as wind storms or lightning strikes can’t be prevented, but you can take action to reduce the risk of theft and vandalism of your home, and keep your insurance premiums down as a result. But are you doing so? You may be in the habit of leaving some windows open when you go to work, especially this time of year when you’re loving that fresh air. But did you know that… Most ...
The wind storm that shook your house and kept your dog whimpering all night resulted in even more anxiety this morning when you found a large tree limb has fallen on your home. By the looks of things, it’s won’t be cheap to repair… Wait a second: Is wind one of those natural acts that isn’t insurable in Ontario, like floods? Not to worry; damage caused by wind – such as windows broken by falling trees ...