Home insurance Recent Posts

Is your home insurance still valid? There are a few things that could change in your home that could actually invalidate your home insurance. Before you are shocked when you find out your claim is being denied, take a look at this list of household changes to see if your home insurance needs updating.

The answer is yes and no – it depends on how the flood happened. Do you know if your home insurance covers a flood due to a sewer back-up? What if a storm causes water to seep into your basement – is that covered? No matter where the water comes from, a flooded basement is a costly clean-up, so here’s what you need to know about protecting your home.

One thing that continues to surprise us is the number of people we talk to about car insurance that haven’t bothered with renters insurance. When we ask them why, we have discovered many misunderstandings about renters insurance, also called tenants insurance. If you rent an apartment, condo or house, please let us clear up some common myths about renters insurance.

Here comes winter and that means snow and ice, cold days and even colder nights. Making a few preparations now will help you avoid insurance claims while you and your family stay safe and warm no matter what this Ontario winter throws at us.

Temperatures below 0°C can really cause damage to exposed water pipes if they are not sufficiently insulated to prevent freezing. Water pipes running through your garage or in an attic or crawl space are particularly vulnerable to freezing. You can protect them with an insulation sleeve, which are available at hardware stores. In addition, backyard or outdoor faucets should be drained of water after shutting off their water supply. As an added precaution, you may wish to turn off the water supply completely if you’re going to be away for any extended length of time.

It’s not just nice to clear the ice, it can also prevent a lawsuit from someone who might slip and fall on your walkway that hadn’t been shoveled within a reasonable time. The same rule may apply to clearing sidewalks on your property depending on your municipal bylaws.

No matter how you heat your home, whether it is a furnace, wood stove or heat pump, it is always a good idea to have it professionally inspected each year before the cold weather arrives.

There’s nothing like sitting beside a crackling fireplace, enjoying the warmth while the snow flies outside but you’ll enjoy it more knowing it is safe to use. Take a look at the chimney outside in case there are any cracks or decaying bricks. Also look inside your chimney for signs of animals or accumulation of soot. Scheduling it to be professionally cleaned and inspected once a year is the safest way to take care of a fireplace, and a key to fire prevention in the home.

It’s not surprising to hear that the number of house fires increases during the winter. So be sure to change the batteries in your smoke alarms, which by law must be installed on every floor of your home and immediately outside of sleeping areas.

You can lose a lot of heat through windows that are not properly sealed or insulated. Even the best windows with double or triple panes of glass can still have a draft coming in. If you can feel a draft, you can easily get a sealing kit and quickly install plastic film on the inside of each window. This will reduce your heating bills as well as keep you warmer.

OK, this last tip has nothing to do with insurance, but it will save you money on your heating bills and help keep you warm, so you’re welcome.

We can help you avoid home insurance claims and save money too. Feel free to contact the expert home insurance brokers at Mitch by calling 1-800-731-2228 or emailing info@nullmitchinsurance.com.

Coming home to discover a burglary has occurred is a very upsetting experience. You may be well inside your home before you see things aren’t right; it’s important to stop and leave your house immediately as soon as you realize you’ve been robbed. Call from your car or go to a neighbour’s to call the police.

With colder days arriving, we tend to spend more time indoors where it is warm. While you turn up the heat, including space heaters, candles and fireplaces, make sure you don’t inadvertently increase the risk of a devastating fire in your home. Here are some important fire prevention tips to keep your home safe and warm.

When you go on vacation, you expect to come back to your home in good order. There are a number of things you can do to keep your home safe while you’re away and avoid any nasty surprises waiting for you when you return.

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But a last minute check of all windows and doors to make sure they’re locked should be a standard part of your pre-vacation routine. Even if you always lock doors and windows, others in the household may forget to do so. And a surprising number of break-ins happen without any signs of forced entry, which means the thieves likely found an unlocked way into a home.

This is even easier to do now by visiting Canada Post online and setting up the hold dates with them. You can also make these arrangements at your local post office. There is a charge for this service so maybe you can ask a neighbour to collect your mail and flyers for you and return the favour when they’re away. The same applies to papers being delivered to your house. There’s nothing like a pile of papers, mail and flyers to let everyone know you’re not there.

There are many ways to make it look like you’re still at home, such as:

We’re all excited to get away on vacation but don’t share your upcoming plans with your friends (and who knows who else?) on social media. Security settings on social sites may not be as secure as we would like them to be and are certainly not hack-proof. Tell them after you’re back with fabulous pics to go with the highlights of your recent escape!

If you have a monitored home alarm system (which can qualify you for a discount on your home insurance), let them know you’ll be away and confirm who they should call first if an alarm occurs.

Depending on how long you’ll be gone, there could be an impact on your coverage if you don’t have someone checking inside your home every so often. If pipes freeze and burst while you’re away, the water damage may not be covered if someone was not regularly looking through your house for you. Your insurer will let you know how to keep your home insurance in force while you’re gone for any length of time.

If you have any questions about your home insurance or any other type of insurance, contact the experts at Mitch Insurance Brokers at 1-800-731-2228 or info@nullmitchinsurance.com. We’d be happy to talk with you.

As the season changes and temperatures begin to cool, there is a lot you can do to prevent home insurance claims this fall and winter too. Before it gets too cold, here are some key areas to focus on and remedy as needed in order to prevent bigger problems that could lead to making a claim. After all, the fewer claims you make, the better your insurance rates will be.

Make a thorough inspection of your roof looking for any shingles that are loose, lifting up at the corners or missing. If you are not comfortable getting up there on a ladder, using binoculars can help give you a close-up look or hiring someone is always an option. It’s important to properly maintain your roof in case you do need to make an insurance claim, otherwise it could be denied.

Whether you call them eaves troughs or roof gutters, it is especially important in the fall to keep them clear of leaves, bird nests and other debris. Also check them for leaks to be sure water is not ending up close to your house somewhere potentially causing water damage.

If you enjoy a wood-burning fireplace and use it regularly, you should have a professional clean and inspect your chimney and fireplace every fall before you begin using it again. This is a smart investment in your safety as well as proper home maintenance.

Regardless of the weather or season, keep your home safe at all times by ensuring your smoke alarms are working on every floor. While weather-related claims are common, fire claims are the costliest. Installing new batteries in your smoke alarms every fall and spring is a small investment in your family’s safety.

We know some claims are going to happen but preventing others can save you money. If you have any insurance questions, feel free to talk with the insurance experts at Mitch Insurance Brokers at 1-800-731-2228 or info@nullmitchinsurance.com. We’d be happy to help.