Did you know, your condominium building has insurance on the structure but no coverage for your belongings or any improvements that have been made to your unit? This is where Condo Insurance comes in. Whether you're living in the unit or renting it, Condo insurance is designed to provide you with that coverage your building lacks. Coverage for your belongings, for your renovations and upgrades, additional living expense, contingent coverage and building deductible assessment that keeps you protected if your building itself isn't adequately insured or the building deductible gets transferred to you. They all provide you with personal liability and can be upgraded to include several options, including:

- Increased Limits for property with specific amounts of protection, like jewelry or musical instruments

- Reduced Glass Breakage Deductible

- Sewer Backup

- Voluntary Firefighting coverage

- Watercraft coverage

- Seasonal Home coverage

- Rental Home coverage

You may be eligible for discounts if:

- claims free for over 3 years

- approved monitoring and security system

- fire resistive structure

- above third floor

- age and loyalty

- you choose a higher deductible

We ask that you take a moment to fill out a record of your belongings. You can print off an inventory worksheet to fill in values and year of purchase to most household items. Once you have a fairly complete list, add up the total replacement value plus an amount for restoration expense. This is what you will be wanting to base your coverage for under your contents. You can then contact us (1-888-450-2700), visit our office, or request a free quote online with this value we can discuss your options and what policy will best suit your needs and budget.

All vehicles registered in Saskatchewan are required to be plated, which provides a high deductible and the most basic coverages and liability. But benefits provided by Auto Paks can make sure your family and your bank account is well protected in case of a serious accident. Here are some quick facts about Auto Paks:

- Make accidents affordable. Pick from a range of deductibles from $700 down to $50!

- Don't even pay the deductible! If you hit wildlife, or suffer damage due to fire, lightning or your vehicle is stolen your deductible is waived.

- Financial protection is provided through liability coverages ranging from $1 million to $5 million in the event of a law suit against you.

- Keep your family safe with coverage protecting from injury and loss equal to your liability amount (up to $2 million).

- Adding the Loss of Use coverage will keep you on the road after an accident, covering you for rental costs.

- It doesn't just cover your vehicle, but also extends to vehicles you have rented or borrowed.

- Buying Replacement or Repair cost coverage within 120 days of purchasing a new vehicle will allow you to preserve the value you paid for, fighting off depreciation.

- You can receive a discount for scheduling multiple vehicles on one policy.

Thinking an Auto Pak might be right for you? Get a free online quote!

2015 looks to be another exciting and prosperous year across Saskatchewan. If you are a new business or maybe an existing business that would like a refresher or an update on their commercial insurance Al Hattie Insurance is here for you! Doing your research on what commercial insurance is best suited to your needs and understanding your coverages are a quick phone call away. Reach us during office hours to have any and all questions answered by one of our expertly trained and certified brokers toll free at 1-888-450-2700.

Commercial insurance can provide a wide array of coverages that in case of loss can be vital to your business and it's employee's. Tailored to suit your own needs, we can help you mold a flexible policy that will keep your business safe and sound. Most policies will ensure coverages against:

- Business interruption (loss of income, continuing expenses, and employee wages)

- Accounts receivable, builder's risk, contractor's equipment, and glass breakage

- Boiler, water heater and other machinery

- Liability claims: extension coverage can include personal and advertising injury liability, employer's liability, contingent employer's liability, tenant's legal liability, non-owned auto liability, non-owned aircraft liability

- Crime (employee dishonesty, theft of money or securities, burglary, robbery, forgery and counterfeit currency)

Let us wish all your business endeavours in 2015 great success, and please call us or stop in our office if you have any questions or concerns about your Commercial insurance policy!

Your home is your family's headquarters, and it's best defense is the best insurance policy for your needs. SGI's latest insurance product is their Prestige home policy, which is aimed to provide supreme protection to Saskatchewan's rising home market. Does your home qualify for SGI's Prestige policy? You may be surprised.

Prestige home insurance is focused on providing a flexible and superior insurance coverage to tailor to each unique home situation in Saskatchewan's changing real estate market. Are you moving to a new subdivision? Are you concerned about matching siding, shingles, or flooring if a loss occurs? Have you made a substantial investment in your property's landscaping or outbuildings? Expensive hot tubs or home entertainment systems? Maybe you have a prized collection, have a home business, or store a large amount of expensive tools? You are who the Prestige home insurance is made for!

Do you know the current value of your home? Saskatchewan's housing prices have risen by an average 67% in the past four years. Your home may be worth significantly more than you realize! The Prestige policy is available to homes:

- that are worth over $350,000

- that have been built in the last 35 years (some older homes may still apply in specialty inclusions)

- you are the primary occupant and it is your principal location

- you have less than one claim on in the past three years

- that meet the Homeowners' Guarantee eligibility requirements (not under construction, not a log home, was not built with post and beam construction or non-traditional building materials)

- meet any two of the specialty inclusions! Call us to find out if your home qualifies.

So your home qualifies? What does Prestige offer you above and beyond what your current policy covers? In a nutshell, the benefits to SGI's Prestige home insurance are far beyond their previous plans, and are built to custom fit your unique and individual lifestyle. There are standard protections with all Prestige policies:

- Priority Claims Service

- Full Matching Roof/Siding/Flooring Replacement

- Home Systems Protection (Furnaces, Central Air, Deep Well Pumps + Pool Pumps, Electrical Power Panels + more)

- Homeowner's Guarantee Coverage

- Higher Limits on Property with Specific Amounts of Protection

- $3 Million Personal Liability Coverage

- Roof Snow Removal

- Single Amount of Protection (Providing 150% of the coverage of your home you  may allocate as you wish in case of a loss)

There are also customized lifestyle options that you may choose to add on to these standard coverages. The four options are:

- Lifestyle Option A: Home Business Owner

- Lifestyle Option B: Collectible & Treasures Protection

- Lifestyle Option C: Family & Security

- Lifestyle Option D: Recreational Protection

Give us a call (1-888-450-2700) or stop by our office if you would like to discuss what Prestige policy options may best suit your family's needs. The benefits and increased coverages available through SGI's Prestige policy are vast and go well beyond the major points that are highlighted here, and is offered at a very competitive pricing! Talk to us for a free quote on SGI's Prestige policy.

Full Policy Pamphlet PDF

Our job at Al Hattie Insurance is to make sure our clients have the best and most comprehensive understanding of their insurance. Whether it be a home, condo, auto, travel, commercial, or agro policy, it is important to stay up to date on changes to your company's policies and their wording. This blog is going to focus on Wawanesa's recently updated wordings to their habitational policies.

Companies often revise their policy wordings to stay current ad competitive. They also change to adapt to our changing needs and to ensure clarity. Wawanesa's habitational coverages haven't changed, but wordings, definitions and limits have.

'Coverage D - Additional Living Expenses' has been renamed to 'Coverage D - Loss of Use'. This is simply a cosmetic update as the three original areas of this coverage - Additional Living Expenses, Fair Rental Value and Prohibited Access - remain unchanged.

One of the main changes can be found in the Special Limits of Insurance. Here are a list of the limits that have changed:

- Money, "cash cards", bullion - $1,000

- Personal Property of a Student away at school - $25,000

- Personal Property of a dependent in a care home - $25,000

- Fur garments and garments trimmed with fur - $6,000

- Numismatic, coin or banknote collections - $1,000

- *** Collectibles, including sports cards,m memorabilia and comic books - $250/item, $5,000 total

Water

Regarding water and water damage there are a few things to note. Flood is excluded from Water Damage coverage. However, flooding originating from a Domestic Water Container is covered. These are defined as "a device or apparatus for containing, heating, chilling or dispensing water for personal use." Examples include swimming pools, water coolers, hot water tanks and washing machines. Ice damming is not a part of the Sewer Backup/Water Damage Extension form and is covered as a Specified Peril on all policies. Coverage for freezing water pipes while policyholder was away from the premises for more than four consecutive days will be provided if any of the following precautions have been taken:

- Arrangements were made for a competent person to enter the dwelling and/or private structures each day to ensure heating was maintained

- The water supply to the dwelling and/or private structures had been shut off and all pipes and domestic water containers were drained

- The heating system was connected to an alarm that is observed 24 hours a day by a central monitoring service

Condo

Condominium owners will find a new section titled "Additional Coverages - Condominium Unit Owners". This section was created to make it easier for condo owners to find coverage specific to their situation. Coverages include:

- Condominium Loss Assessment

- Condominium Additional Coverage

- Condominium Unit Owner Improvements

- Condominium Deductible Assessment

Separating these coverages allows condo owners to purchase specific additional limits of insurance to fit their needs. All Condominium Unit Owners policies will be automatically renewed with $25,000 Condominium Deductible Assessment Coverage. Policyholders will now have the option to raise their limit to $50,000, which may be beneficial for those whose Condominium Corporation's carry high deductibles.

Other

Other coverages have had changes as well. Pollution incidents are now restricted to the escape of a pollutant arising from an insured peril under Section I - Property Coverage. Pollutant has been defined as "any solid, liquid, gaseous or thermal irritant or containment, including but not limited to fuel oil, vapour, soot, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, waste and smoke from agricultural smudging or industrial operations."

Wawanesa has also adopted the Insurance Bureau of Canada's (IBC) Liability wording to ensure it is comparable to others in the industry. Wordings of a commercial nature referenced previously have been removed. They have also excluded liability for claims arising from the use or misuse of social media or the internet (cyber liability).

Finally there has been a significant reduction in the paper included with the renewal policy, as the additional printed forms - such as Statutory Conditions, Limited Sewer Backup Endorsement and Innocent Co-Insured - are now included in the new wording booklet. Electronic booklets can be found at wawanesa.com.