We know there are many myths & truths of insurance floating around out there & we are here to try and help bring some clarity to the issue!

#TruthsTuesday

Having Great Credit Can Benefit Your Home Insurance Rates

The insurance companies (currently SGI Canada & Wawanesa Mutual) have designed this new method to try to give consumers another opportunity for discounting their home insurance rates.

We need two requirements to apply the discount:

1.      Express consent- For our client’s convenience, we are capable of accepting consent or withdrawal of credit score discounts verbally.

2.      The second type of information required is your legal full name and full date of birth, this information in most cases has already been obtained in the past for other insurance purposes.

Start saving more!

Lots of our customers have utilized this discount by taking those savings and purchasing additional coverage's such as, the newly introduced Flood Coverage. New this year to the personal homeowner’s line of insurance.

A little run down of how it works; once we have obtained your consent, the score is electronically requested from our credit score provider, depending on which insurance company you are with could either be TransUnion or Equifax. Credit score is then sent from the credit bureau through a secure data transmission channel and is automatically applied to the calculation of your premium. Your consent is kept and collected until or if you withdrawal that consent, and therefore annually the insurance company will access your credit score just before the renewal of your policy. We have been reassured by the insurance companies that this will not impact your credit rating.

To top off all this great news, Wawanesa Mutual has recently increased the credit score maximum possible discount, now allowing for an even greater discount.

*Your rates will not go up if you have an unfavorable credit score.

Privacy

At Al Hattie Insurance, we take your privacy very seriously. Our clients privacy is an office practice we have taken very seriously before credit scoring even came into play. We cannot see and do not have access to your credit score information. That information is restricted to only limited employees of the insurance companies who only access it in order to do their job.

Some Tips to Improve your Credit Score:

v  Always pay your bills on time.

v  Try to pay your bills in full by the due date. If you aren’t able to, pay at least the minimum amount shown on your monthly statement

v  Try to pay down your debts as quickly as possible

v  Don’t go over the credit limit on your credit card. Try to keep the balance well below the limit, as the higher the balance the more impact it has on your credit score.

v  Reduce the number of credit applications you make.

v  Make sure you have a credit history. Your credit score may be low because you don’t have a record of owing money and paying it back. You can build a credit history by using a credit card as long as you use it

We know there are many myths & truths of insurance floating around out there & we are here to try and help bring some clarity to the issue!

#MythsMondays

Travel Insurance Doesn't Pay Out!

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. Insurance companies exist in order to help mitigate unforeseen and sudden events thus protecting the insured's financial well-being upon the occurrence of a specific event, specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a premium. In the case of one of our travel insurance providers, Allianz Global Assistance, they have an excellent track record in Canada, with exceptionally low claim denial rates. In 2015, AGA recorded a 92.5% payout rate. Clients are best encouraged to carefully read their travel insurance policy to understand the benefits, exclusions and limitations. When you have questions, WE are the reliable source and trusted expert to provide clarification. We also carry many providers to meet a wide variety of clients needs. To name the major carriers we have, Saskatchewan Blue Cross, Group Medical Services, & Allianz Global Assistance.

All SGI Canada Home Pak, Mobile Pak, Tenant Pak, Condominium Unit Owner's Pak, and Prestige insurance policies have automatically been updated to include SGI's new Legal Expense Insurance. This new coverage comes at no extra fee and is now standard on all previously listed SGI Canada policies. Having one of these SGI Canada policies now covers you for:

Automatic Coverage for Legal Costs:

You will be automatically covered for lawyers fees (and other legal costs), for the following:

• Contract Disputes - arising from you buying or selling goods or obtaining services.
• Property Protection - pursuing a claim if a neighbor damages your property or interferes with the use of your land.

Free Legal Advice Hotline 1-855-953-1430

You will also have access to a free telephone legal advice helpline. There are limits to which disputes your insurance will pay for, but no limits on free advice from a lawyer, about any legal subject under the sun. Just ask!

What else might you be covered for?

Depending on which insurance policy you have, your legal costs may be covered for the following:

• disputes with an employer relating to employment contracts and severance;
• pursuing a claim for damages following an accident which causes your injury or death;
• responding to a tax audit/appealing a Canada Revenue Agency decision for personal tax returns;
• defending criminal charges laid against you arising from your work as an employee; and
• disputes relating to your purchase, sale, lease, rental and service of  an insured vehicle.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to call our office toll-free 1-888-450-2700 about this new coverage provided on SGI Canada policies.