Tag: insurance

Join our commercial team!

The time has come for us to expand our Lomonte & Collings team!

We are a family owned and operated insurance brokerage located in Bradford that has been providing insurance solutions for families and businesses since 1992. We pride ourselves on our exceptional customer service. We offer an industry competitive salary range, a company benefits package, a hybrid work environment, and absolutely no cold calling is required.

Here are some notes on our ideal candidate:

Our ideal candidate is RIBO licensed with 2 or more years experience as a customer service representative. Any commercial insurance experience in an asset. We would consider training a new broker from the ground up including licensing for the right candidate.
The successful candidate must have excellent communication skills via phone and email, good organizational skills and a strong work ethic with the ability to work both independently or in a team.
A willingness and eagerness to learn and acquire new knowledge is an absolute must.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Products including Outlook, Word and Excel is an asset.
Familiarity with Epic, Applied Rating Services and Policy Works are an asset.

Job summary includes:

Sales and service of commercial property, commercial liability and commercial auto policies

Responsibilities and Duties

Fielding incoming calls for service and quotes
Maintaining and servicing existing customer files including cross selling and remarketing of products
Responding to customer or company inquiries in a timely fashion
Maintaining comprehensive and accurate activity notes on client files
Processing new policies, endorsements and renewals
Reporting and following up on claims

Please submit your resume and cover letter to Christine at chris@lomonteandcollings.ca or drop it off at our office in person at 9-126 Bridge Street in Bradford.

Tenant’s Insurance: Why You Need It

There’s a common misconception floating around that if you’re a renter, you don’t need property insurance. Often times when we advise a client they should have a tenant’s package, a common rebuttal is “I’m not going to bother. My stuff isn’t worth anything.”

The reality is that tenant’s insurance is about more than just covering your stuff. Below you’ll find a few good reasons to purchase tenant’s insurance.

1) Covers your belongings

Tenant’s insurance obviously covers your personal effects. As far as the famous argument “my stuff isn’t worth anything,” if you lost everything in a fire right now, are you in a financial position to replace it all yourself? Think about all your clothing including items like shoes, coats, and hats. Personal accessories like your computer and phone. What about household items? Dishes, kitchen utensils, towels, sheets, blankets. And don’t forget about the fun stuff like sports equipment and your hobbies!

All these things that you use day to day have value and, while their financial value may be individually insignificant, combined it all adds up. Most of us aren’t in a financial position to replace our belongings if we lost it all today. With tenant’s insurance, you can rest easy knowing your belongings are covered.

2) Offers legal protection

Let’s say someone comes into your apartment. They trip over the edge of your area rug, fall and injure themselves. Next thing you know, you’re being slapped with a lawsuit holding you financially responsible for their pain, suffering and any incurred medical costs.

Ultimately, tenants are responsible for any harm that may be caused to anyone visiting their rental unit. If you have a tenant’s package in place, your personal liability coverage would kick in to defend you against this lawsuit. Without this coverage however, it’s up to you to cover these legal costs on your own.

3) Covers additional living expenses

Now let’s pretend there’s been a fire in your rental unit. You’re forced to find housing elsewhere while it’s being repaired. Not to worry though. If you have a tenant’s package you’ve got coverage for these extra living expenses incurred while your apartment is under repair. This would include expenses such as hotel bills, restaurant meals, and any incurred moving costs.

4) It’s inexpensive

Tenant’s packages are relatively inexpensive especially considering the coverage and peace of mind they provide. A typical premium usually sits around $25 per month depending on the location, construction of the dwelling and the required contents limit.

Contact your broker today to find out more about how tenant’s insurance can protect you. It’s a small policy that has a huge impact.

Spotlight on Special Limits of Insurance

All property insurance policies have certain limitations or exclusions that policyholders need to be aware of. Unfortunately, most policyholders simply skim over their policy and tuck it away in a drawer somewhere.

Now that the holidays are fast approaching, we wanted to bring the “special limits” commonly found in personal property insurance policies to your attention.

What are “Special Limits”?

A “special limit” is the maximum amount that an insurance company will pay in the event of a loss for a specific type of property. Though not an exhaustive list, below are some examples of the types of property that commonly carry special limits are:

Jewelry, watches, gems, fur garments and garments trimmed with fur
Collections of coins, money, tokens, or stamps
Collectibles such as sports cards, sports memorabilia, comic books, etc
Silverware, silver-plated ware, gold ware, gold-plated ware and pewter ware
Books, tools and instruments pertaining to a business
Securities, books of account, deeds, evidences of debt or title, letters of credit, notes other than bank notes, manuscripts, passports, tickets and documents or other evidence to establish ownership or the right to claim a benefit
Money, bullion, or cash cards
Golf carts, lawn and/or garden tractors including their attachments and accessories
Watercraft, their furnishings, equipment, accessories and motors
Computer software
Antiques
Bicycles and related equipment
Spare automobile parts

Reviewing your Policy

Each insurer is different. It’s important that you take the time to read through your policy including the actual company wordings. This may seem like a daunting task. The wordings are long with very small print, but its an important exercise that will give you a better understanding of what coverages you have – and you may even discover some coverages you’re missing.

If you do review your policy and find that you want to insure any of the “special limit” items for more than the specified amount, be sure to ask your broker if you can purchase a higher limit by scheduling the item onto your property policy.

As always, if you’re unsure, contact your broker today to find out about the limitation and exclusions on your policy. Don’t wait until there’s been a loss to find out you don’t have the coverage you need.

How are auto insurance premiums calculated?

A common question we get from our clients is: how is my insurance premium calculated?

Insurers use a variety of information to determine what premium you pay for car insurance, but we can break it down into four general criteria:

Your vehicle
Driver information
Where you live
Your coverages

The Vehicle You Drive

The year, make, model and safety features of your vehicle all help determine the premium you pay because different vehicles represent different levels exposure. For example, a four door sedan is less likely to be stolen than a two door sedan. Also, vehicles with additional features such as anti-lock brakes are less likely to be involved in an accident than vehicles without anti-lock brakes.

Driver Information

Your age, gender, driver’s license level and driver history all matter because insurers use statistical data to determine the likely hood of an accident. Drivers are grouped based on same characteristics such as age, gender and driving record history. For example, a driver who has been driving for 10+ years with no accidents is statistically less likely to have a collision than a brand new driver holding only a G2 license.

Where You Live

If you’re in a densely populated area like Toronto, theft and collisions are much more likely to occur. This means potentially higher premiums for city dwellers versus those that live in the countryside.

Your Level of Coverage

Aside from the mandatory coverages such as basic accident benefits and third party liability, there are also a variety of optional coverages you can purchase to protect both you and your vehicle. These include the new increased optional accident benefits coverages as well as physical damage coverages for your car such as collision, comprehensive, specified perils, and all perils.

While some of these factors may be beyond your control, careful driving and staying collision and conviction-free are sure fire ways to keep your premium low.