Here comes the sun!

Summer has arrived and the living is easy! All over Canada, urban dwellers are leaving the big smoke behind for some well earned R n’ R at the cottage! As a well known beer commercial says, a quintessential part of the Canadian experience is the journey to a cottage, be it that of friends, or your own. Said journey usually characterized by a handwritten map, winding country roads, and a belated arrival in the late evening or early morning!

But for all the shenanigans that accompany the summer sojourn to cottage country, it pays to remember to be safe. Here are some simple safety tips for cottage season.

The Journey

Journeys to cottage country are often undertaken late at night after a long days work. Factor in tiredness to unfamiliarity with rural roads and the risk of an accident increases. Ensure your car insurance sufficiently covers against all possible mishaps, take plenty of breaks while driving, and if at all possible endeavor to drive in daylight hours!

Furthermore, if you, like many other Canadian cottagers use any recreational vehicles or trailers, be it en route to, or at the cottage, bear in mind these must also be insured! Known by many different names such as: RV, travel trailer, fifth wheel, camper, camper trailer, campervan, Caravan, towable trailer (or tow-able tent trailer), recreational trailer, mobile home or motor home, RV insurance is a must to cover any unforeseen mishaps that may arise!

 

The Cottage

Cottages come in many different shapes and sizes, from de facto cabins to palatial country homes! However there are a few safety tips that hold true regardless of the size or shape of your place by the lake!

All cottages should have a smoke detector, as well as a carbon monoxide detector installed and working all year round. Along with property insurance, these are probably the most important elements of your cottage safety plan! All dwellings should have fully replenished functioning fire extinguishers on every floor, along with a separate implement for the kitchen.

When opening the cottage, especially if it has not been used in the winter, it is also vital you check for signs of damage, such as snow/ice damage, corroded wires/pipes, and of course any signs of the presence of unwanted furry friends! Only when you are sure your cottage is fully operational and safe, should you attempt to settle in!

Outside the Cottage

This is where the real fun happens in cottage country! The reason why we escape the city is encapsulated here! Clear lakes, dense woodland, mother nature at her best. Take heed of these few safety tips.

Water safety is crucial. Proper monitoring of any persons vulnerable to water is vital, as well as the proper equipment for any water based activities. That means life jackets, first aid kits, exposure blankets etc, the list goes on. Never take a chance with water safety.

On dry land the risks may not be as apparent, but are still very real. Barbecuing and open fires are two common activities, that while they are fun, must be treated with respect and due diligence. Barbecues should be protected from wind gusts, as well as any flammable materials in the vicinity. Furthermore, the barbecue operator should ensure a distance is kept between the Barbecue and all non users, as well as be experienced and responsible. The barbecue itself should be placed on top of something that is not flammable, so no barbecues on the second floor patio folks.

These are some basic tips that are by no means exhaustive. While it is important to let one’s hair down on vacation, it should never be at this risk of safety.

Cottage Insurance

The same can be said of insurance. Ensure that before you leave home, your cottage, car, and RV or recreational vehicle are all adequately insured. If you have visitors arriving from overseas, point them in the direction of visitors to Canada insurance to ensure they can enjoy their vacation in Canada with peace of mind!

So once you have made sure that you are sufficiently covered against any unfortunate eventualities, you can kick back and enjoy all the summer has to offer!


 

Time for Convertibles!

Summertime is here, the winter but a bad memory! One of the features of summertime is the sight of convertibles once again becoming commonplace. Very few car owners can say they haven’t daydreamed at one point or another of cruising down the highway, wind whipping in their hair and the horizon stretching in front of them!

 
However, for the pragmatists amongst us, issues such as practicality and the best car insurance premiums invariably come into any purchasing decision. Do convertibles or soft tops cost more to insure? The perception is that they do, let’s see if this holds true.

 

First off, how are insurance quotes for a particular model calculated in the first instance? All insurance quotes are based on empirical evidence of claims made for that type of vehicle, rather than the characteristics of the vehicle itself!

 The Convertible Car Insurance Myth



 

So the same holds for soft tops, whether or not they are claimed on more than their hardtop counterparts is what decides whether their premiums are higher or not.

 

Insurance comparison website Kanetix, undertook some research on this very issue, and the results they found surprised many. Using their free online car insurance comparison tool, they came to the following conclusions. For the following models a price comparison was completed.

 
·         Audi A4 Cabriolet
·         Pontiac G6 GT Convertible
·         Toyota Solara SLE Convertible
·         MINI Cooper Convertible
·         Ford Mustang Convertible


For each vehicle, the number of quotes provided ranged from 9 to 12 from the various insurers available through kanetix; and in each case the average quoted price was less for the convertibles than their non-convertible version.

If this wasn't suprising enough in itself, it was actually found that buying a convertible may actually help you save in certain cases! Differences of almost 2 per cent less to up to 10 per cent less than their ‘hard-top’ counterpart were observed. An expensive myth to be sure!


As to why the soft tops cost less to insure, we again return to the issue of less claims made. Perhaps the fact they are only driven during the summer months and avoid the winter driving conditions make for less claims, in any case it is a myth and an expensive one too!

Live the Dream!

So if you always dreamed of burning down Highway 66 in a soft top, get multiple quotes from competing suppliers for car insurance via Kanetix, and see whether or not buying a convertible will necessarily hit your pockets! And even if the softop doesn't work out, be sure to compare quotes on your current vehicle, and see if you can find the best car insurance for your personalized needs!

 

 

 

 
 

Recession chic is in, it’s official. As the global economic downturn begins to bite, consumers everywhere are looking to penny pinch. Price sensitivity is at a level retailers became unaccustomed to in the boom years, slowly but surely we are turning to cheaper options in our everyday lives.

But in the rush to save pennies, we must not forget the adage, that if you always pay peanuts, you will sometimes get monkeys. With this in mind we examine whether the cheapest auto insurance is always the best option for individual consumers.

By choosing the cheapest quote we take into account only the price. Quite apart from the price, the current economic climate has introduced new concerns for consumers looking to purchase insurance policies. A few high profile bailouts of prominent institutions now mean the man in the street is worrying about the financial integrity of his or her insurance provider.

A good starting point is the AM Best or Standard and Poor ratings, which will help you to ascertain the financially soundest companies. It is good to remember that the financially strongest companies may also be the most competitive when compared-more on that later.

Once you have reassured yourself that your would-be Insurance providers won’t be disappearing into a hole in the ground tomorrow, you can start the next phase of your research.

When we purchase insurance we all hope that the next time we need to interact with our provider is upon renewal. But accidents will happen; so it is important that you take this into account when researching.

A quick telephone call to your jurisdictions insurance regulators office will allow you to uncover any major complaints made against a particular company, and certainly separate the customer service wheat from the chaff.

Consumers now have access to information such as rankings on overall customer satisfaction, claims payment history, pricing, and communications via the internet. Use these resources to see who offers the best customer experience. There are a myriad of consumer sites in cyberspace where consumers share their customer service experiences and these will help you get a feel for who is popular amongst your auto insurance purchasing peers.

All that is left at this point is to seek out the cheapest auto insurance quote.

Kanetix.ca is a free online price comparison service that has been helping Canadians search for their cheapest auto insurance provider since 1999.

Kanetix.com offers the same service to US based customers via their free user friendly service. Not only is the service free, but it allows you to get multiple personalized quotes from competing insurers by only entering your information once. So you can search for not only the cheapest auto insurance policy, but one that corresponds to your individual needs.

In closing, it’s clear that the cheapest auto insurance quote may not always be the best option, as it only takes pricing into account. Your personal profile and expectations are what will determine what the best quote for you is, therefore robust research and a personalized price comparison are the tools you need to choose the best policy for your needs at the cheapest price!

 

I made it here - but it wasn't easy. This is some of what i had to go through to get to my computer today.

Typical Canadian snowstorm, the roads are always full of people with four wheel drive cars and trucks - big deal. Statistics show they are not much safer, and worse, they all THINK they're a whole lot safer and that's dangerous.

So I'm already busy putting things back on track. No customers today. (Have you seen it outside?) So I'm making it all secure - waiting for the flooding to start in my office. And no I'm not talking about a flood of new business. No, this seasonal deluge is cold and wet and dirty black. And sadly, I have a feeling there'll be a lot this year...

I'll have to check the books, but if there's room on the account I would like to add 'flooding' to the  business insurance. Of course there will be a premium increase, and that will be a REAL wet blanket.

Anyway enough about me - let's talk about you! Send me a PM or comment on my blog. I promise to have write more and better insights into my life as I go along - I'm an absolute expert in so many things...