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.

SGI has just introduced their new Prestige Home Insurance policy for your higher-valued home that provides tailored coverage to suit your needs. Whether you are a home business owner, a specialty items collector, a savvy investor or have an impressive collection of recreational toys, Prestige has the right coverage for you.

All Prestige policies include:

Lifestyle Coverage Options - allowing you to tailor your insurance protection to your specific lifestyle needs.

Priority Claims Service - access to dedicated Prestige adjusters to provide you with faster service, including a 30-minute guaranteed response time.

Roof/Siding/Flooring - if matching materials are no longer available, your entire roof, siding, flooring or sets of vehicle entry doors will be replaced in the event of a claim.

Home Systems Protection - coverage for the sudden and accidental mechanical breakdown of home equipment such as furnaces, central air conditioners, deep well pumps, pool pumps and heating equipment, electrical power panels, and more.

Homeowners' Guarantee Coverage - coverage to repair or replace your home or outbuildings with materials of similar kind and quality, even if the cost to do so is more than what you have insured them for.

Higher Limits on Property with Specific Amounts of Protection - increased coverage for items such as tools, spare auto parts, business instruments and computer software protection, lawnmowers, tractors, snow blowers, jewelry and furs, and much more.

Personal Liability Coverage - $3 million in coverage to protect you if you are sued by someone who is hurt or whose property is unintentionally damaged because of your actions

Roof Snow Removal - access to $1000 to have snow removed from your house following a claim caused by an ice dam.

Single Amount of Protection - provides 150% of the coverage of your home, allowing you to allocate coverage as you wish towards your personal belongings, increased living expenses, lost rental income or expenses to cover the cost of being evacuated from your home.

Prestige Lifestyle Options

Prestige home insurance policies allow the addition of any or all Prestige Lifestyle Options tailored to your needs.

Lifestyle Option A: Home Business Owner 

Additional protection provided for:

- books, tools and instruments for your business

- business computers

- enhanced coverage for credit card/cheques or damages from counterfeit money

-increased limits on voluntary medical and property damages and lost wages

Lifestyle Option B: Collectables & Treasures Protection

Make sure your lifetime of memories is not lost in an emergency by selecting this option that covers:

- per-item protection for priceless comic books and trading cards

- enhanced protection for jewelry, watches or gems

- extra coverage for furs, manuscripts, stamps or coin collections

Lifestyle Option C: Family & Security

Get additional protection for the security that matters with Option C:

- enhanced limits on identity theft protection

- additional coverage for securities and bonds

- protection on bullion, money and gift cards

- additional coverage for childcare costs or loss of income to attend to a home insurance claim

- enhanced coverage for cemetery property such as burial plots

Lifestyle Option D: Recreational Protection

You take care of your quality of life and the value of your home, and you need protection to match:

- increased limits on shrubs and outdoor trees

- enhanced boat and motor coverage

- increased protection for pets

- enhanced protection for bicycles, tricycles or similar, including accessories

- enhanced coverage for yard machines

- increased lock replacement coverage

The new Prestige home insurance policy also provides you with an enhanced Customer Claims Service, which includes a 24/7 dedicated claims line, 30 minute response time, faster payment process and a dedicated adjuster from start to finish. Stop by our office or call 306-955-2700 if you think Prestige is the right policy for your home or if you require any further information.

Got some new gadgets in your home, maybe a radiant floor or some valuable mobile medical equipment? Wawanesa offers Saskatchewan residents a Special Limits Enhancement that can be extremely useful on your home or condo that not only increases some of your existing coverage limits but adds coverage to key systems you rely on in your everyday life. This Home Equipment Breakdown coverage is extremely handy in covering costly gaps to basic policies, protecting you from expensive repair or replacement to key pieces of equipment and systems.

The Special Limits Enhancement raises limits to these existing coverages:

- $20,000 Jewellery and Furs

- Personal property of a student away at school

- Watercrafts

- $20,000 Building Bylaws Coverages

- $20,000 Fire Department Charges Coverage

- Home Freezer Contents

The Special Limits Enhancement also adds $50,000 Home Equipment Breakdown coverage for equipment, systems, and personal property that includes:

- Central air conditioning

- Boilers, furnaces and heat pumps

- Radiant floor heating

- Pool and spa pumps, heating and filtration

- Electrical service panels

- Home security monitoring and control devices

- Kitchen and laundry appliances

- Home entertainment equipment

- Computers, peripherals and wireless devices

- Mobile medical equipment

- Portable generators and sump pumps

If you would like more information regarding Wawanesa's Special Limits Coverage, please give us a call at 1-800-450-2700 or 306-955-2700.

We strive at Al Hattie Insurance is to ensure that as a policy holder at our office you are properly covered under your insurance to cover modern claims scenarios in Saskatchewan. In years past, $1 million in liability coverage to a home, tenant, condo, or auto policy may have seemed more than enough. Unfortunately, this year has seen several claims rising not only above the $1 million but $2 million mark. Due to this trend, we are making sure that our customers are aware of the rising cost of fire and other claims to make sure they are fully covered in case of an accident.

A major fire claim in May this year was one of several incidents that show that rising cost of living and growing density in the city and province inevitably are leading to higher and higher claims. As people's busy lives don't always leave them enough time to or to study the claims market, we strive to make sure that you as the insured are provided with coverage that will do what it is supposed to in case of an emergency; make sure you are going to be covered in case of incident.

As of Jan. 1st 2014 all home, condo, tenant, and auto policies are going to be automatically renewed with $2 million liability coverage. We have unfortunately seen claims in the province that are well exceeding the previous standard of $1 million liability coverage and we don't want you to be paying for insurance and still end up with an enormous bill at the end of the day when an accident occurs. On most policies, to raise liability coverage from $1 million to $2 million will only see an increase of $1-$2 per month per unit on your current policy. $2 million liability coverage won't be mandatory, but will now be recommended for all policies as a minimum limit. If you feel like you are at risk of needing higher coverage, it is possible to also purchase up to $10 million liability coverage when you add an 'Umbrella' liability policy.

If you have questions regarding your policy, getting your coverage changed or increased, or don't know what coverage is best for your needs, please call us (306-955-2700 or toll free 1-888-450-2700) or stop by our office at 3020C Arlington Ave and talk to one of us.

Ice dams are those thick ridges of ice that build up along your eaves over the winter. When your roof heats up, either through warm temperatures or heat from the attic, and the snow slowly melts it refreezes when it hits your eaves. This freezing can rip off gutters, loosen shingles, and cause water to build up and pour into your home. This can cause major interior damages like peeling paint, warped floors, stained and sagging ceilings, and moldy insulation. With a little prevention now, you can combat ice dams in your home and keep from making a claim and paying more for your home insurance.

The simplest routine to get into is raking the snow off the roof. You can buy specialized roof shovels with extended handles that will allow you to quickly and easily pull the built up snow off your roof. This is especially important in areas of your roof that form a valley.

If you are able to safely reach up to your roof where the ice dam occurs, DO NOT use an axe or ice pick as it will cause damage to your shingles and roof. Using a blunt mallet, gently tapping the ice chunks will slowly free them up. Be warned this still may cause damage to your shingles. You can also melt troughs through the dams using calcium chloride ice melter, but DO NOT use rock salt as it will damage paint, metal and plants.

If you are experiencing heavy leakage in your home quickly set up large fans in your attic to help ventilate hot air out of the attic to stop the melting and allow the water to freeze again while you contact roofing specialists to come remove the ice dam.

If your home is prone to ice damming, consider taking steps to keep warm air out of your attic. Proper attic ventilation, adding insulation, and sealing areas that may leak heat into the attic (like an attic hatch) will keep your roof the same temperature as your eaves and prevent unnecessary damage to your home during winter and spring months.