With the wide media coverage of the security breaches that have happened at larger corporations over the past few years, including Wal Mart, Target and Sony, small business and not-for-profit organizations still have a tendency to believe they are not a target for cyber criminals. As a result, they are hesitant to spend the necessary time and money to improve the security of their computer systems.   However, cyber attacks against small organizations is significantly on the rise, with small business accounting for over 70% of cyber breaches in Canada!   With easier access to small business, the hacker is aware that their hack into the computer systems of the unprepared small business could easily provide a doorway to not only confidential customer information, but also the back door into larger partner supply chains.

Whether the breach of confidential data is a result of an attack conducted by a sole hacker, an organized cyber-crime group, or by the accidental loss or theft of an employee or volunteer’s laptop or smartphone, the result of the breach will be costly to the organization, unless Cyber insurance has been purchased!

Cyber Insurance

The Canadian insurance market offers many choices for Cyber Insurance.  Often, the coverages may be selected and customized to meet the specific needs of the organization. Most commonly, a Cyber policy will provide two areas of protection:

• First party coverage expenses – to cover the costs incurred by the organization, following a security hack. Costs and expenses typically covered by a Cyber policy include:
  • Crisis Event management: the cost to hire a specialized public relations firm to mitigate negative publicity and restore confidence ins clients/members/public
  • Notification Expense: the cost to notify every client/customer/supplier/business partner regarding the breach and, where applicable, the cost to provide them with credit monitoring services.
  • Investigation and Remediation Expense – the costs to hire a Breach Response firm to assist and restore/replace/reproduce computer programs that were damaged or destroyed by the hack/virus/breach
  • E-commerce extortion – to replace money paid by a business to an extortioner, in response to a threat that confidential information will be disclosed to the public.
  • Loss of Earnings – to replace lost earnings if the business operations are interrupted as a result of the breach.
• Third Party coverage – providing legal defence to the business if a law suit is brought by disgruntled clients, customers, suppliers, business partners etc. that allege they have suffered financially as a result of the breach of their confidential information.

Businesses and non-profits will benefit from a tailored cyber insurance policy, and the customizable nature of this product means organizations of all sizes may find their fit in coverage and pricing.

Consider the following when purchasing Cyber Insurance:

• Data – What is the nature of the data you hold? Is it primarily client/member contact details, or do you have more privileged information, such as medical, payroll, or credit card information. How many records do you retain?
• Protection – What protection measures do you have in place for your data? Is your organization using cloud-based services, like OneDrive or Dropbox, or do you store your information locally on a physical server or computer? Are anti-virus and firewall programs running and actively updated? Do you have password protection measures and limit access to only those who require the use of the data?
• Possible Loss – What is the possible scope of your loss? What is the potential damage to others if your data is breached? Would it be a loss of client email addresses, possibly some proprietary information, customer personal or business financial information, or private medical information, that could have serious ramifications?

Even when a breach involves only personal contact information (email addresses etc.) in which there is no evidence of resulting malicious activity, Canadian courts are awarding a minimum of $500+ per lost record. If you hold hundreds or thousands of records, this will easily result in a financially devastating loss. The addition of a Cyber Insurance policy to your commercial insurance portfolio will not only provide peace of mind, but also grant access to through your Insurance provider to professional resources that will provide invaluable assistance to your organization, not only at the time of loss, but proactively, to prepare and manage cyber risk in advance of any breach.

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Getting a driver’s license is a huge step towards adulthood – and as a parent, you want your child to enjoy this new-found freedom in the safest way possible. Arranging appropriate auto insurance is an important part of this process. Here a few things to keep in mind when your child starts reaching for the keys.

Who Gets A Policy:

In Auto Insurance, the policy follows the ownership of the vehicle. If your child will be driving an existing family car when they get their license, they are to be added as a driver on your policy. Your auto insurer does require that they be aware of every licensed driver in the home, so regardless of how often you plan to let your child drive, you must notify your broker of the new driver.

If your child will be the owner of their own car, then a new insurance policy will need to be created in their name.

There are advantages to both options. Typically, it is less costly to add a new driver to an existing auto policy. That said, if your child has their own policy, then, if they are involved in an accident, their claim will have no impact on your own auto policy and insurance history.

Tips for Young Drivers:

Insurance costs have historically been higher for young drivers. And, while the statistical likelihood of these drivers being involved in a claim is much higher in their early years of driving, there are several ways to help mitigate the premiums for these drivers.

Enrolling your child in an accredited driver education course helps equip them with the skills they need and reinforces safe driving habits. Insurers recognize this by offering a driver’s training discount.

Maintaining a clean driving record is crucial in minimizing premiums related to young drivers. Remind your child to obey the rules of the road and avoid any distractions. Texting and driving, in addition to being extremely dangerous, can result in a ticket just the same as speeding or driving through a stop sign.

Some young drivers have enjoyed the benefits of telematics solutions on their policies. There are several options in the insurance marketplace, offering policies which use apps or devices attached to the car to track certain factors in the operation of the vehicle, such as rapid accelerations or hard braking. These optional programs offer a means of applying additional usage-based discounting that reward safer driving behaviours with reduced premiums. They have the added benefit of providing the driver with active feedback throughout the measurement period, meaning drivers can see how they are driving and adapt accordingly to try to improve their discount!

This is a very exciting time for your child, but can be an overwhelming process for parents. It is most important to remember to instill in your child the best driving practices and safe driving education. More than helping keep insurance costs down, it should (fingers crossed) give you some peace of mind while they are on the road!

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Safety First
The safety of you and your passengers is the top priority after a collision. Turn off your car and check that everyone is safe. If you feel as though anyone’s safety is at risk, or if someone has been seriously injured, call the police and emergency services right away. Then take a moment to consider your vehicle – are you in an unsafe place; is your car drivable; is anything leaking from the vehicle? If your car can be moved, drive to a place of safety out of the way of traffic.

Who to Call
Once you are in a safe place, call us at (416) 234-9980. One of our brokers will help you through the next steps. After-hours, our voicemail or www.cadeinsurance.com/claims will tell you how to get in touch with us, or your Insurer directly, or you can look at your liability cards which will have your Insurer’s 24/7 claims number.

Gathering Information
Be sure to exchange information with other drivers that are involved in the collision. You should collect their contact information, insurance information (policy number, insurer), and type of vehicle. This needs to happen no matter who is ‘at fault’. If possible, take photos of the vehicles from all angles to help with the claim process.

Collision Reporting Centre & Towing
If the police did not attend the scene of the collision, or attended, but did not make a formal report, you will need to visit a Collision Reporting Centre within 24 hours if your vehicle is safe to drive. If a police report was already created at the scene, you can take your car home or directly to a repair shop.

However, in many cases, it is not safe to drive a car that was recently in a collision. If this is the case, you should arrange for your vehicle to be towed to the Collision Reporting Centre closest to your home or to your preferred auto repair shop. We do not recommend allowing the Tow Truck Operator to choose where your vehicle will be taken. Resources such as www.accsupport.com, or www.cadeinsurance.com/claims can help you select which Collision Reporting Centre is best for you. The tow truck driver should wait at the Collision Reporting Centre while you make your report, and then take you and your vehicle to your home or your preferred repair shop. 

Do not accept any supplementary services from the Tow Truck operator, such as a rental vehicle, before speaking to your broker or insurer. If you must take a rental right away, make sure it is from a large, reputable rental company (eg. Hertz, Enterprise, Discount, Budget, etc.)

Repairs
Once the claim has been reported to your Insurer, an adjuster will be assigned to your claim who will reach out to you to explain next steps about repairing your car.

Insurers often have ‘preferred shops’ which they have vetted for quality and service levels, and who are often able to work more quickly with the Insurer’s claims team. The work done by the Insurer’s preferred shops are typically guaranteed by the Insurer. However, you are completely free to choose where to send your vehicle for repairs.

Once you have chosen a repair facility, you may request they prepare an estimate for the work, but do not sign any work orders or authorize work to begin until you’ve discussed the claim with your insurer. If you are not working with a ‘preferred’ shop, your insurer may first need to send an appraiser to examine your vehicle to approve the garage’s estimate.

During the time your car is under repair, your policy may allow for a rental vehicle, which should be discussed with our office or the adjuster.

In some cases, the cost to repair might surpass the value of the vehicle. If this is the case, your insurance adjuster will contact you to discuss the details of the settlement. When considering ‘a total loss’ of a vehicle, the Insurer’s settlement will be calculated using industry standards and will include evaluation factors such as the comparison of vehicles available in the market of similar age, make, model, and use (km), and remaining salvage value.

Although we hope this is never a situation you find yourself in, remembering these key steps
can help simplify the process and avoid undue stress. The Cade Associates team is here to offer the best advice and service for you and your family, especially in tough times like these. To find out more about your coverage or the procedures you should take following a car accident, email us at clientservices@cadeinsurance.com.

The post You’ve Been in an Accident – Now What? appeared first on Staging Website for cadeinsurance.com.

Jewellery

Though you might be under the impression that jewellery is automatically protected by your home insurance, most policies have a maximum limit, typically around $6,000, which may not be enough for you.  If you have any particularly valuable pieces, or a notable assortment of jewellery, talk to your insurance Broker to ensure your policy is protecting you appropriately.

Artwork

Whether purchased or inherited, your collection of artwork may be covered by your home insurance, however the coverage is often limited and not sufficient for higher valued items or larger collections. There are excellent insurance products specifically designed for art collections that offer tailor-made coverage, through underwriters who specialize in the art community.  Insuring artwork requires not only a strong understanding of the necessary coverages, but also trained and qualified claims response teams to provide the proper repair/restoration expertise and settlement in a claim.  If you own any artwork, be sure to review this carefully with your Broker.

Wine & Liquor Collections

Home insurance policies may include coverage for a collection of wine and liquors in your home, but there is often a maximum limit that may not be sufficient to replace the value of your personal collection. If you are a collector of wines or liquors you should review this with your broker and don’t forget to mention any climate-controlled storage areas, if you have one or are considering adding one in your home!

Home Based Business

If you run your business from home, it is important to have a conversation with your Broker to be certain you have appropriate insurance. Your home insurance might already be sufficient, or may be updated to include your business insurance requirements.  However, in many cases, a specific business policy may be a better fit. If you have a notable amount of equipment in your home related to your business, if you have clients visit your home office, or if you frequently travel to your clients or suppliers place of business for your work, it is especially critical that you discuss all options available with your insurance Broker.

Loss Prevention Measures

Measures that you have taken in your home to help prevent damage to your property should be discussed with your Broker, since they may allow access to better coverage, higher limits of insurance, or even discounts to your premium. Loss prevention measures to reduce water damage in your home include installing a back-water valve and/or a sump pump with battery backup.  Centrally monitored alarm systems are valuable in reducing the possibility or the intensity of damage. Today’s alarm systems can be configured to provide early detection of fire, alerts of attempted break-in, sensor discovery of a sudden drop in interior temperature that might result in frozen water pipes, and even a change in water pressure which might indicate a leak in your water system – all excellent ways of potentially reducing damage. While there are an increasing number of web-enabled systems using your smartphone to monitor home systems, typically insurance companies acknowledge only alarm systems that are monitored 24/7 by a professional service when considering coverage and pricing.

Maintaining the proper insurance to provide the protection you and your family need to continue to enjoy your place of enjoyment and calm is important to us.  Take a hard look at your home and the things in it – are they all adequately covered?  If there are aspects of your insurance that require review, we want to help.  Visit https://staging.cadeinsurance.com or email us at clientservices@cadeinsurance.com for more information.

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In these few weeks before the May long weekend, plans for opening the cottage are getting underway.  As with every year, that first weekend of work up North can be a chilly one and most of us will be looking forward to getting a fire going.  Before that can happen however, it is important to make sure that your woodstove is in safe, working order and that you and your family are familiar with woodstove safety.

For your reference, we here at Cade have put together a list of some helpful information with respect to your woodstove so that you can be sure that you and your family have a safe and warm summer!

• Have your chimney cleaned at least once a year.  Depending on how frequently you use your woodstove (for example, are you using it just on chilly nights at your seasonal cottage or is it being used year-round), it might be a good idea to consider having your chimney cleaned twice a year.

• If you’ve just purchased your cottage property and do not know when the woodstove was last cleaned, be sure to have a professional come and inspect the chimney before you begin to use it.

• Before starting up that inaugural fire, inspect the woodstove’s chimney stack for damage.   Harsh winters such as this past one can affect the stability of the chimney which can lead to an unsafe woodstove.  Take the time to closely inspect the support straps in order to confirm that the chimney is straight and obstacle-free.  Replace any damaged materials and check the cap and screen to ensure that no critters decided to make your chimney their winter home.

• Keep a fully charged Class A fire extinguisher on hand and be sure to test all of the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the cottage.

• Go over fire safety rules with your family.  Make sure everyone knows where the fire extinguisher is and what to do in case of an uncontrolled fire.

• Use properly dried hardwoods such as maple, beech, ash, hickory, or oak as the fuel for your woodstove’s fire.

• Do not use gasoline, charcoal starter fluid, or other flammable liquids to start your fire.

• Don’t let ashes build up in your woodstove.  A large buildup of ashes can eventually block the air intake from the draft registers and reduce the efficiency of your woodstove.

• For the extra ashes, have a metal container nearby and let them cool completely before disposing of them.

• Store wood and other flammable objects safely away from your wood-burning appliance in order to reduce the risk of fire.

Even if you take all of the above precautions, over time, burning wood leads to the buildup of Creosote.  Creosote can take the form of a sticky liquid, a flaky, black deposit, or a hard tar-like substance.  It is a highly combustible and unsafe material which, if left untended, can lead to a chimney fire.  The only line of defense against this byproduct is regular woodstove maintenance and cleaning.

By ensuring that you have your wood burning stove inspected by a WETT certified professional, you will gain piece of mind knowing that your woodstove is in optimal working order, is in good structural condition, and that it is burning in a way that complies with WETT standards and therefore does not compromise your and your family’s health and safety.

To all of you heading up North in the coming weeks, we here at Cade want to wish you a productive and pain free opening weekend.

Here’s to evenings around a safe and warm crackling fire!

The post Staying Safe & Warm: Tips and Information for Woodstove Safety appeared first on Staging Website for cadeinsurance.com.

1. Cottage Opening

• If the warming weather takes you out to your seasonal cottage property, we suggest you take a look at our notes regarding opening the cottage. There are several things to consider to help mitigate the risk of future losses

2. Summer Cars

• For many, the rising temperatures mean it is time to pull their favourite vehicle out of storage. If your summer ride is a seasonal car that has been away for the winter, be sure to give us a call to add road coverages before you hop in the driver’s seat.
• Always be sure that your car is fully prepared prior to driving. Ensure all fluids are fresh and full and that the car is properly insured and licensed. Remember, if you have removed road coverages from your insurance policy for the winter, there is no insurance protection on this vehicle until your broker confirms it has been added back. Be sure to contact us before driving.

3. Boats

• As with your summer cars, make sure that boats are properly prepared and serviced before putting them back in the water.
• Check for any visible signs of damage that may have taken place over the winter and take out-of-water photos for your records.
• If you have replaced an engine, hull, or added significant equipment to your watercraft, be sure to contact us so that we may ensure coverage is adequate prior to your boat going back in the water.

4. Eavestroughs

• As winter and spring melt away, significant debris can collect on your roof, eavestroughs, and other parts of your property. Be sure to clear away any of this debris and any other obstacles that may prevent water from flowing away from your home

5. Renovations

• If the warmer weather signals your opportunity to finally make those home improvements you have been planning for so long, be sure to let us know. Certain coverages in your home insurance policy may not apply while under construction unless the policy is properly endorsed. Always be sure to advise your broker prior to beginning any work that is structural in nature or that may increase the rebuilding value of your home by more than $10,000.

6. Landscaping

• If the summer includes new landscaping for your home, be sure that any plans include good drainage routes that encourage water to flow away from the home and the foundation.
• If the exterior brick or wood siding of your home continues at or below the level of the soil, it can cause moisture to enter the material over time, eventually destroying it and allowing water into the home. This exterior material should be monitored frequently for signs of deterioration. At the first sign, a contractor should be called to provide alternative weather proofing solutions.

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1. Woodstoves & Fireplaces
Opening weekend can be chilly! Before you fire up your wood stove or fireplace, make sure to follow these important steps

• Inspect your chimney and flue to ensure that all coverings have been removed and no blockages have built up over the winter
• Ensure your fire extinguisher is fully charged and nearby, and that your tools for handling fires, such as pokers and fireproof gloves, are close at hand
• Check all visible parts of your stovepipe and inspect for any signs of shifting, rust, or other deterioration
• Light a very small, controlled fire and test the flow of smoke through the chimney

Over time, burning wood causes a build-up of creosote in your chimney or stove pipe. Creosote is a highly combustible substance that, if left untended, can lead to a chimney fire. Be sure to have your chimney cleaned once every year or two to ensure the ongoing safety of your heating apparatus.

2. Eavestroughs and Water Flow

• Build-up of debris on your roof over the winter can lead to packed eavestroughs and other areas that assist with moving the flow of water away from your home.
• Be sure to clear out the eaves and remove any obstacles that may prevent water from safely flowing away from your home

3. Trees and Brush

• Any fallen branches and brush that has accumulated near the cottage should be cleared away
• If any trees are looking especially suspect for potential falls in the future, it may be time to have an arborist in to inspect the tree and advise on the best way to bring it down safely

4. Septic System

• Septic systems are less likely to cause back-up into your cottage than a municipal system. Regardless, it is important to have your septic system pumped and checked out every 2-3 years. Not only does this minimize potential future loss, but is also an important element of the management of your waterfront property and the impact of your cottage on the natural balance of the environment.

5. The Drive

• Opening weekends usually mean long hours of driving with cars full of people and cargo. Always exercise your best and safest driving practices. Be sure not to overload your car and to minimize distractions in the vehicle. If you are hooking up a trailer, be sure that the trailer lights are in full working order and that you are well aware of blind spots. As always, no texting and driving!

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