Think!nsure Blog

By now, anyone with an auto insurance policy in Ontario should have received a notice stating that there are changes coming.
Have your read what this is all about?
Do you know why these changes are happening?

Let’s go back to the 1990’s.

• Thresholds were introduced for accident victims with injuries not categorized as serious and permanent.
• Limitations were implemented that excluded pecuniary losses under tort action.
• Innocent accident victims were given access to the tort system.

In order to offset the tort system, the no-fault benefits were enhanced to provide the richest benefits in Canada leading to a complicated and very expensive system. Eventually, weaknesses in the product were recognized which opened the industry to unanticipated coverage which escalated loss costs and resulted in premium increases to you, the policyholder.

Did you read that article in the Toronto Star that demonstrated abuse in the system? The same accident was ‘performed’ in London, Ontario and the other in Toronto.
http://www.thestar.com/article/704884
This is an example of why our premiums keep mounting.

To policyholders that never had a claim, it’s frustrating to see your auto premiums mounting.
It’s not only frustrating to the consumer, it is also just as frustrating to the insurance companies. Imagine if your business sold a product that not only cost you time, unlimited amounts of effort to comply to different client needs and you still lost money on that product. Would you want to sell it? Insurance companies have to.

So he we are in 2010, the insurers are making changes that will allow the consumer to make more choices when it comes to your auto policy. How will these ‘choices’ affect your policy. There are significant reductions in the accident benefits section of the policy. This is the area where most of the abuse takes place. It does give the consumer more options to choose from and more control of your policy. Hopefully, we will see a stabilization of auto rates.

If you haven’t already read about the changes, the link below is worth a look.
http://www.ibc.ca/en/Car_Insurance/ON/Auto_reform.asp

Your insurance is my business.

Rain, Tornados, Earthquakes, Riots and what?
           The end of the month of June has been a busy on for the insurance industry. As much as 150 millimetres of rain fell in several regions of the Prairies over the weekend of June 19, extending into the early week, ctv.ca reported. The system moved further into Alberta, flooding areas around Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
           A tornado tore through Midland, Ontario on June 23, the third tornado of the season in Ontario. A severe thunderstorm and funnel cloud ripped through the southern part of Midland on Wednesday evening, damaging property and forcing the community to declare a state of emergency.
          On the same day an earthquake shook most of Ontario A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck the Ontario-Quebec border area – 60 kilometers north of Ottawa – at 1:42 p.m. on June 23, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Natural Resources Canada confirmed the earthquake on its Web site: “June 23, 1:45 pm Eastern Time – A moderate earthquake has occurred in the Ottawa-Montreal region.” No further information was available as of press time.
          Let’s not forget the mess caused by rioters during the G20 weekend. I’m not sure how breaking a storefront window gets any message to the G20 leaders. They aren’t paying the insurance premium? Those stores had insurance and will be indemnified. We all pay for the stupidity of a few. A very sarcastic thanks! to those who caused damage.
That is what is happening down here. What about up in space? Really? In Space?…

This article from Canadian Underwriter posted on June 15th caught my attention.

‘Space storms’ could wreak 20-times economic damage as major hurricane
          Impending ‘solar storms’ may disrupt the earth’s magnetic field and wreak twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina, NASA scientists warn.
A solar wind is a stream of charged particles, mostly electrons and protons, spewed from the sun. Should the streams of particles strike the Earth’s magnetic field, they have the potential to modify the electric currents in the ionosphere, potentially knocking out power grids and disrupting satellite signals, according to Wikipedia.
“The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity,” said Richard Fisher, head of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, in a statement on NASA’s Web site.
“At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms.”
A 2008 report from the National Academy of Sciences, Severe Space Weather Events – Societal and Economic Impacts, suggested that smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity.
“A century-class solar storm could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina,” NASA cited the Academy as warning.
In March 1989, a severe geomagnetic storm caused the collapse of the Hydro-Quebec power grid, leaving six million people without power for nine hours, according to Wikipedia.
Much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is coming. Putting satellites into ‘safe mode’ and disconnecting transformers can protect these assets from damaging electrical surges, NASA said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will collaborate with NASA to better forecast such events, NASA added.

I wonder how much it will cost if we can endorse the policies to include ‘Space Storms’?

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance.
Insuring Tomorrow. Today.

Managing your risk.

How do you manage your risks?
You can take steps to control the loss.
This week, the topic will be Risk control.
Risk control involves preventing losses before they occur or reducing losses that do occur.
Here are some risk control techniques for your consideration.

1. Avoidance:
You could choose to avoid taking a certain risk an activity that has the potential for a loss. For example, burning wooden pallets in the back of your building would be an activity to avoid. You could call and have someone pick them up instead.
Let’s say you are a manufacturer of office furniture. You can choose to avoid manufacturing chairs with castors on them. These types of chairs have a higher than average potential for injury to users. Lawsuits for injury, particularly in the USA, maybe your reason to avoid manufacturing office chairs with castors.
Avoidance is not always the solution. While losses are evident, you may be missing out on a great amount of revenue.

2. Prevention:
This activity entails reducing the frequency of a particular loss.
Again, I will use the manufacturing example. In your plant, there have been some incidences of employees suffering minor eye injuries due to dust or fragments flying through the air. A method to prevent further such incidences would be to have staff wear protective goggles, you could also install deflectors that direct the fragments elsewhere, or you could also install a dust collector system. The measures that you take also depend on your budget. You do not need to break the budget to prevent an expensive accident.
The exposure to dust and fragments in the air is still there. This measure does not completely prevent losses from occurring, it simply reduces the frequency of losses occurring.

3. Reduction:
This risk control technique reduces the severity of a loss.
A loss has occurred and your operations are shut down. Just to make it interesting, lets’ say that it is your peak season of operations. You risk not only losing the majority of your income for the year but also your reputation. A contingency plan is the key. Have your files backed up to another location to ensure easy access. If it is equipment that you need, knowing similar manufacturers with similar equipment that you could borrow or lease after hours is better than waiting for repairs to existing equipment. Depending on the nature of the equipment, that could take weeks. The equipment will be repaired in due time however without proper planning, your reputation may never be repaired.

Your insurance is our business.
Think about it.

What is Boiler Insurance and why do you most lending and leasing institutions insist that your insurance policy has Boilery & Machinery coverage?
Boiler & Machinery is an old term.

It has been revised to ‘Equipment Breakdown’ coverage.
So, what is Equipment breakdown coverage you ask?

Your property insurance portion of your policy will specifically exclude electrical injury, mechanical breakdown and explosion, the equipment breakdown policy compliments your property policy by providing insurance against electrical injury, mechanical breakdown and explosion.
Equipment can be electrical distribution systems, air conditioning systems, fired storage water heaters, boilers & pressure vessels, multi-line phone systems, medical diagnostic and treatment equipment, security and fire detection equipment, production machinery, computer controlled machines, fans, motors and pumps, computers, cash registers and inventory control systems, washers and other laundry equipment, organs and other sound systems, photocopiers and more.
Did you know that 35% of all equipment breakdown accidents result from operator error. The majority of electrical surges are created from within and not by lightning. Turning machinery on/off creates surges which can affect sensitive electronic and electrical equipment.

So lets’ says that you have a new photocopier and it is has a  manufacturers warranty or full service contract. You may think that you do not need equipment breakdown coverage. The ‘warranty’ will not cover the loss from business interruption(loss of revenue caused by shutdown), the resulting damage or even due to operator error.

An example of a loss from The Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Canada bulletin # 13

The nature of the business: Tool & die Manufacturer

Type of equipment: Horizontal Milling and Boring Machine

Age of equipment : 2 years

Final Loss settlement amount: $111,139.19

Details: The operator of this machine had changed the machine to manual control to drill holes horizontally in the workpiece. As the cutting head was being withdrawn from one of the holes being machined, the operator proceeded to move the cutting head to the location of the next hole. In his haste, the operator neglected to ensure that the cutting head was fully withdrawn before the assembly was moved vertically. The collision resulted in extensive damage to the cutting head spindle and ceramic shaft bearings.

Despite the fact repairs were fully expedited, it still took almost two months to obtain the replacement spindle assembly from the foreign based manufacturer.

Ensure that your policy has equipment breakdown coverage as it should be included in every insurance policy. At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance. Contact us today for a free Toronto car insurance quote.

Jeffrey Beaucaire, CIP, CRM

Commercial Insurance Manager

Insuring Tomorrow. Today

So you thought fire was our biggest concern. It turns out that Water has been a big issue. It makes sense. As per the following ad from Canadian Insurance on April 15th from Romana King explains, our houses no longer have empty basements. We all want to ‘finish’ our basement for extra liveable space. Guess we forgot to tell the insurance companies!

Water Claims Top Spot
Claims Report
By Romana King on April 15, 2010
It’s a drip of a tap. A rush of a sewer. Or a torrential downpour that accompanies a storm. Regardless of the method, water damage is the fastest rising cause for claims and the focus of revision and review for many policyholders, brokers and insurers.

Roughly three years ago the insurance industry, as a whole, assumed it was just going through a bad year when water claims began to increase. Yet, claims due to water damage have risen year after year, prompting the industry to question whether or not homeowner policies should be revised, given they were originally constructed to protect against losses due to fire and theft. It’s a revision that seems long overdue, considering 40% or more of claims have some kind of water component.

The rise in claim costs due to water damage is not only due to increased storm frequency. Over the past 20 years claims costs have increased as more and more people choose to furnish their basements with high-end or luxury finishings. Rather than using basements as storage, many homeowners are now using it as valuable living space—an extension of their home and their lifestyle. That means that the average sewer backup claim jumped from $5,000 to $55,000 (CDN) in just 15 years.

These significant changes have prompted insurers to develop new products to handle these risks, but this is not the only solution. Carriers are also examining the efficiency of processes, productivity and staffing models, in order to get to a customer faster and resolve claims quicker. This includes solidifying relationships with vendors—which is changing the face of the restoration business regionally, nationally and internationally.

Let’s not forget that if a water claim is not cleaned up properly, the result is mold that is not only difficult and expensive to remove,but also hazardous to our health.
Ok, so turn off the taps and advise your broker if your basement is finished. Your premium will undoubtedly increase but when a claim does occur, the adjuster and the insurer are equally aware that your basement is finished and will not be surprised by the amount of damage. Being honest will facilitate the claim process.

Thinking of you and your insurance!

Jeffrey Beaucaire CIP, CRM

For those who already have an auto insurance plan and for those who have yet to decide on the company they want as their insurer, we have a few tips on how to find the most affordable car insurance.

The first thing you should know before you get your auto insured is that you have to prioritize your needs and keep count of some factors that usually help companies decide on the prices they charge you. As a driver, you should know what you need and in what area it’s best to keep your car safe in.

If you use a company that insures your home, or the place you’re living in with rent, then you should take a look at their vehicle insurance policies and see what they have to offer. Odds are that being already a client makes you save some money and even get discounts.

One of the most important things to do is to keep a clean driver’s record. That means that you shouldn’t have any prior traffic accidents, no speeding tickets and to paint the picture of perfect driver, that never misses a red light, never double parks and never does something a policeman might give him a ticket for.

It really sounds impossible, but there really are the usual things any driver has to do. It shouldn’t be a strain at all. Of course, there are the usual speeding tickets, but the less you have, and the cleaner your record is, the best shot you have at getting an affordable car insurance.

Students with good grades always look better in the eyes of insurer companies – they are viewed to present less risk than any other average driver. Plus, if you’re not a student anymore, you still have the chance to get some type of discount or at least lower fees if you take a course in driver safety, pass and also let the insurance company know about this.

You’ll look really safe in their eyes, so it’ll make for cheaper coverage. Also, don’t get any insurance packages you don’t need or you thing you don’t need, because they only add strain on your budget. First of all think what auto insurance plan suites you best and only then go out for company hunting and convincing.

And the best way to figure out which is the insurer you need is by contacting an INSURANCE BROKER who can provide numerous quotes and compares some of the offers on your behalf.  It is a quick and simple process and if you make this effort and try hard enough to be a safe and responsible driver, then you’ll really have the most affordable automobile insurance there is.

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance. We are one of the premier providers of Toronto insurance. Contact us today!

Insuring Tomorrow. Today

I bet you pay your insurance premiums and think to yourself, these big insurance companies keep getting bigger and richer off of my premiums!  Not so. In fact, these big companies are not doing as well as you would think. Imagine a business where you make $1 dollar, and then owe $ 1.01 . It wouldn’t be much of a profitable business, would it? You would close your doors in no time. The whole point of being in business is for the profit!
Insurance companies are no different. They want to make a profit but they don’t. On top of all the expenses that they incur as part of doing business, they also pay for claims.

This article from Canadian Underwriter will leave you wondering why and how these insurance companies exist.
Canadian Underwriter – March 18, 2009
Majority of Canadian P&C market reports 2009 underwriting loss: MSA Research
More than half (51%) of the 216 insurance companies reporting 2009 year-end data to MSA Research posted an underwriting income for the year.
Eighty-eight of the 216 companies reported a combined ratio of 100% or more.
MSA Research has posted a summary of the 2009 year-end results on its Web site (www.msaresearch.com). The summary represents about 95% of the Canadian market.
A sampling of the 2009 year-end results of individual companies that reported more than $1 billion in net written premiums include (in alphabetical order):
• Aviva Insurance Company of Canada
Net Premium Written: $1.6 billion
Underwriting Income: $92.6 million loss
Net Income: $15 million
Combined ratio: 106.4%

• Co-Operators General
Net Premium Written: $1.4 billion
Underwriting Income: $31.7 million loss
Net Income: $74 million
Combined Ratio: 102.3%

• Dominion of Canada
Net Premium Written: $1.1 billion
Underwriting Income: $144 million loss
Net Income: $151 million loss
Combined Ratio: 113.3%

• Economical Mutual
Net Premium Written: $1.4 billion
Underwriting Income: $111.8 million loss
Net Income: $24.1 million
Combined Ratio: 107.9%

• Intact Insurance Company
Net Premium Written: $1.7 billion
Underwriting Income: $4.9 million
Net Income: $12.6 million
Combined Ratio: 99.7%

• State Farm Mutual Auto
Net Premiums Written: $1.4 billion
Underwriting Income: $478 million loss
Net Income: $220 million loss
Combined Ratio: 135.5%

• Security National Insurance Company (TD Assurance)
Net Premiums Written: $1.2 billion
Underwriting Income: $59 million loss
Net Income: $68.6 million
Combined Ratio: 105.1%

• Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
Net Premiums Written: $1.8 billion
Underwriting Income: $68 million loss
Net Income: $99.6 million
Combined Ratio: 104.1%

When ‘ratio’ is mentioned, they refer to the amount that is paid out versus received from sales (your premiums). So if the ratio shows 113.3%, the insurance companies are paying $1.13 out from every dollar they collect. Ouch!
What kind of crazy business is this?
Fortunately for the insurance companies, they do not rely on underwriting profit to survive. Historically speaking, it is rare to make an underwriting profit. The flip side to the insurance companies is that they invest your premiums today to pay the claims of tomorrow.
I may have to go buy some stocks in an insurance company!

Jeffrey Beaucaire, CIP, CRM

Commercial Insurance Manager

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance. We are one of the premier providers of Toronto insurance. Contact us today!

Insuring Tomorrow. Today

A recent article in the Canadian Underwriter stated that our beloved insurance industry does not rank high when it comes to e-mail or internet correspondance.
I agree that we should be using this powerful tool to educate and inform our clients, yet as a broker I like the human aspect and the conversation when meeting and getting to know the clientele.

See the article below and enjoy!
Canadian Underwriter March 26th
The insurance industry performed well in phone customer service, but was ranked as below average when it came to customer service through email or the Web, an eGain survey found.
eGain Communications Corporation, a customer service software provider, evaluated multiple aspects of Web self-service and contact centre customer service of 175 companies in the U.S. and Canada.
The companies covered a spectrum of sectors, including, retail, insurance, healthcare, consumer goods manufacturing, financial services and pharmaceuticals.
Analysts used a “mystery shopper” approach. Aspects of the customer service experience were rated on a scale from zero to four (a score of less than one being ‘poor’ and above three as ‘exceptional’). Scores were abstracted to an overall service quotient for each of the companies, as well as for the industry sector and overall market.
The overall performance of the insurance sector was unchanged from 2008 with a “below average” score of 1.8.
Web self-service improved from 1.3 (below average) to 1.7 (still below average, but improved).
Email customer service dropped slightly from 2.2 (above average) to 2.1.
“The industry has yet to adopt eService [email, Web chat, co-browsing] best practices,” an eGain release says.
“For instance, a stunning 84% of the companies did not send an automatic acknowledgement of email queries, a common best practice that can help set the right expectations and elevate customer experience.”
Roughly 28% of the companies simply did not respond to email queries, ignoring revenue opportunities, it added.

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance. We are one of the premier providers of Toronto car insurance. Contact us today!

Insuring Tomorrow. Today.

Money Saving Tips for Auto Insurance!

Yes, its true that we are a full-service insurance brokerage company providing complete coverage for all of your needs, but hey, you’re our customer and we’ll endeavour to provide you with the best advice we can, not only to give you the right coverage for your needs, but at the least possible price.

Today we share with you things we have learned about auto and car insurance, and provide you with our top 6 ways to save on auto insurance:

1. Increase Your Deductible

The deductible is the amount of the claim that you are willing to pay.

If your claim is $2000 and your deductible is $500, you will pay $500 and your insurance company will pay $1500.

Increasing the deductible from $500 -> $1000 can reduce your premium by 5%-10%.

2. Insure your Home, Business and Automobile with the Same Company

Buying your home, commercial and auto insurance policies with the same company will give you a discount on BOTH policies. Sometimes up to 15%.

3. Insure all Vehicles under the Same Policy

If you have multiple vehicles, placing them under the same policy can save you up to 10%.

4. Buy a Car that Costs Less to Insure

Be sure to get insurance quotes on the vehicle that you are planning on purchasing.

5. Shop the Insurance Market

Coverage may be pretty standard in your province, but premium differences can be vast. Make sure to shop around by getting quotes from multiple companies. As a matter of fact – we’ll do the shopping for you – and provide you with auto insurance quotes from over 15 carriers!

6. Follow the Speed Limit

Not only can speeding tickets be costly, they can jack up your auto insurance premiums also! (Perhaps I speak from experience?)

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance.

Insuring Tomorrow. Today.

Have you ever been told that you need and E&O policy and wondered why?

If you are a business professional, this type of insurance protects your company from claims if your client holds you responsible for errors or the failure of your work to perform as promised in your contract.

Errors & Omissions coverage provides legal defense costs – no matter how baseless the allegations – and will pay for any resulting judgments against you – including court costs- up to the coverage limits on your policy.

The typical Commercial General Liability policy specifically excludes ‘professional’ liability from being covered by your policy.

Therein lays another question. What is the definition of a professional?

A ‘Professional’ would be defined as someone who manufactures, assembles or installs to customer specifications, provides design work, consultants, interior designers, graphic or website designers, advertising & marketing companies, insurance brokers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, architects and anyone with a specific knowledge of a subject that exceeds that of the common person and gives advise to others.

Depending on the nature of your operations, some of the regular insurance markets such as Intact, Aviva, Axa, Economical, will be able to provide the coverage. In many cases though, your broker will approach a specialty market to get the Error and Omissions that you require.

This economy depends on your business. Does your insurance ensure that it will continue after a loss? Think about it.

At Think!nsure, we are constantly thinking about your Home, Auto Insurance, Life , Investments and your Business Insurance.

Insuring Tomorrow. Today.