Blair Insurance Brokers Ltd.
162 Main Street North L3P 1Y3 Markham, ON, Canada

Nobody wants to think about what would happen, God forbid, were they afflicted with illness or injury leading to a premature death. It's not a fun topic, I get it. ... Despite this, life and/or your ability to earn an income is an asset to be lost not unlike your home or auto. With your passing or a sustained illness your family could stand to lose essential streams of income. Here at Blair Insurance, we want to make sure, in the event of any loss, you have PROTECTED what matters most. I've recently come across a great tool to help people evaluate how much life insurance is required to help protect their family in the event of their premature death. The Ivari ‘My Insurance View’ site allows you to answer some simple questions about your circumstances that will provide you with a great approximation of an ideal benefit amount. The site is simple and user friendly; and it has excellent graphics to both enhance user experience and ease of use. If you are considering life insurance for you or a loved one, we would recommend first finding out how much you need to be covered for. I inputted numbers for an imaginary family: two parents making 60k each, two children yet to go to post-secondary, $400,000 mortgage but otherwise no debt. You may be surprised to find your ideal death benefit needed would be just over $1000000! Do you have the benefit you and your family need? We at Blair Insurance, through our specialty life department, will make sure to get you the BEST price for the RIGHT coverage. https://ivari.ca/myinsuranceview/

The cost of your insurance has gone up. Now what? Part 2: Home Coverage Recently we talked about the trend in rising auto insurance rates, and shared tips for how drivers can save on their insurance costs. Even though insurance companies want to keep prices manageable for all, there are sometimes factors out of their control that can impact customers’ household costs.... Fortunately, as with auto insurance, there are ways you can make your home insurance costs more affordable. Let’s first understand why rates are trending upward. Read More: https://www.wawanesa.com//the-cost-of-your-insurance-has-g And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

The cost of your insurance has gone up. Now what? Part 1: Auto Coverage If you’re like most people, you don’t think about your insurance coverage often. Until something bad happens or you notice the cost has gone up. Like any good business, insurance companies want to keep their customers happy. Unfortunately, there are times where factors outside of their control may impact what customers pay. Read More:... https://www.wawanesa.com//the-cost-of-your-insurance-has-g And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

DISTRACTED DRIVING Know what counts as distracted driving and the penalties you could face for it before you get behind the wheel. What counts as distracted driving?... When you aren’t focused on the road, things can happen fast. Using your phone to talk, text, check maps or choose a playlist while you’re behind the wheel all count as distracted driving and they put you and others at risk. Other activities like grooming, smoking, drinking, eating, reading or typing a destination into a GPS are not part of Ontario’s distracted driving law. However, you can still be charged with careless or dangerous driving if you endanger other drivers as a result of these actions. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a highway or stopped at a red light distracted driving could cost you. Read the full article at: https://files.constantcontact.com//eea7c75a-7f5e-4290-bd21 If you have any questions about distracted driving and how it relates to your insurance please give us a call at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

The team at Blair Insurance knows how exhilarating it can be to be outdoors, driving along the trails, and appreciating the best of what nature has to offer. In order to truly have peace of mind and enjoy yourself, understand the risks and have the right insurance. According to Ontario law, your leisure vehicles must be insured, unless you’re exclusively using them on your own property. That’s why Blair Insurance is committed to helping you find the right policy for your ne...eds. When you obtain an insurance policy on a leisure vehicle, you will be covered for: Third party liability Accident Benefits Direct compensation property damage Uninsured automobile coverage You can add additional coverage to your policy to customize it to your specific needs. Options include: Collision damage coverage Comprehensive (fire, theft, and vandalism) coverage. Rates are determined by your experience, your driving record, the power, the size and the value of your machine. The right coverage will also include your family and friends allowing their use. If needed, you can buy the policy as a standalone, but you will save money if you bundle - Discounts are available for multi-policy or multi-vehicle coverages. It’s a better value to insure these vehicles year-round, despite only using them seasonally. This will also ensure the important theft, fire and liability exposures are covered off season too, just in case. To find out your best protection options, be sure to contact an insurance specialist from Blair Insurance today by calling us at 905-472-0774 or visiting blairinsurance.ca

Nobody wants to think about what would happen, God forbid, were they afflicted with illness or injury leading to a premature death. It's not a fun topic, I get it. ... Despite this, life and/or your ability to earn an income is an asset to be lost not unlike your home or auto. With your passing or a sustained illness your family could stand to lose essential streams of income. Here at Blair Insurance, we want to make sure, in the event of any loss, you have PROTECTED what matters most. I've recently come across a great tool to help people evaluate how much life insurance is required to help protect their family in the event of their premature death. The Ivari ‘My Insurance View’ site allows you to answer some simple questions about your circumstances that will provide you with a great approximation of an ideal benefit amount. The site is simple and user friendly; and it has excellent graphics to both enhance user experience and ease of use. If you are considering life insurance for you or a loved one, we would recommend first finding out how much you need to be covered for. I inputted numbers for an imaginary family: two parents making 60k each, two children yet to go to post-secondary, $400,000 mortgage but otherwise no debt. You may be surprised to find your ideal death benefit needed would be just over $1000000! Do you have the benefit you and your family need? We at Blair Insurance, through our specialty life department, will make sure to get you the BEST price for the RIGHT coverage. https://ivari.ca/myinsuranceview/

The cost of your insurance has gone up. Now what? Part 2: Home Coverage Recently we talked about the trend in rising auto insurance rates, and shared tips for how drivers can save on their insurance costs. Even though insurance companies want to keep prices manageable for all, there are sometimes factors out of their control that can impact customers’ household costs.... Fortunately, as with auto insurance, there are ways you can make your home insurance costs more affordable. Let’s first understand why rates are trending upward. Read More: https://www.wawanesa.com//the-cost-of-your-insurance-has-g And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

The cost of your insurance has gone up. Now what? Part 1: Auto Coverage If you’re like most people, you don’t think about your insurance coverage often. Until something bad happens or you notice the cost has gone up. Like any good business, insurance companies want to keep their customers happy. Unfortunately, there are times where factors outside of their control may impact what customers pay. Read More:... https://www.wawanesa.com//the-cost-of-your-insurance-has-g And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

DISTRACTED DRIVING Know what counts as distracted driving and the penalties you could face for it before you get behind the wheel. What counts as distracted driving?... When you aren’t focused on the road, things can happen fast. Using your phone to talk, text, check maps or choose a playlist while you’re behind the wheel all count as distracted driving and they put you and others at risk. Other activities like grooming, smoking, drinking, eating, reading or typing a destination into a GPS are not part of Ontario’s distracted driving law. However, you can still be charged with careless or dangerous driving if you endanger other drivers as a result of these actions. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a highway or stopped at a red light distracted driving could cost you. Read the full article at: https://files.constantcontact.com//eea7c75a-7f5e-4290-bd21 If you have any questions about distracted driving and how it relates to your insurance please give us a call at (905) 472-0774 or visit blairinsurance.ca

The team at Blair Insurance knows how exhilarating it can be to be outdoors, driving along the trails, and appreciating the best of what nature has to offer. In order to truly have peace of mind and enjoy yourself, understand the risks and have the right insurance. According to Ontario law, your leisure vehicles must be insured, unless you’re exclusively using them on your own property. That’s why Blair Insurance is committed to helping you find the right policy for your ne...eds. When you obtain an insurance policy on a leisure vehicle, you will be covered for: Third party liability Accident Benefits Direct compensation property damage Uninsured automobile coverage You can add additional coverage to your policy to customize it to your specific needs. Options include: Collision damage coverage Comprehensive (fire, theft, and vandalism) coverage. Rates are determined by your experience, your driving record, the power, the size and the value of your machine. The right coverage will also include your family and friends allowing their use. If needed, you can buy the policy as a standalone, but you will save money if you bundle - Discounts are available for multi-policy or multi-vehicle coverages. It’s a better value to insure these vehicles year-round, despite only using them seasonally. This will also ensure the important theft, fire and liability exposures are covered off season too, just in case. To find out your best protection options, be sure to contact an insurance specialist from Blair Insurance today by calling us at 905-472-0774 or visiting blairinsurance.ca

WE ARE HIRING! Commercial Lines Producer Join an exciting team with an established brokerage in Markham. Please contact Andrea Blair for more information and visit www.blairinsurance.ca for more information about our company

With RRSP season fast approaching, we thought we would share with you the option of Guaranteed Investments Funds. Most people choose to invest in the market thru mutual funds in hopes of a better yield than GICs. However, as the last year would illustrate, the open market comes with volatility and downturns. Does this keep you up at night? If you could guarantee that your mutual fund principal investment could never go down, would you be interested?... Well the good news is that this option is available thru Guaranteed Investment Funds also known as Segregated Funds. They are only available through insurance companies by way of Life Licenced Insurance Advisors, which makes sense as they INSURE your principal investment against the downturn of your money. The cost for protecting against this, you may ask, is approximately .25 - 1 percent. For more information please contact one of our Licenced Advisors for more information and a dose of the sleep at night remedy at (905)472-0774

Staff Picks of our Favorite Quotes to Inspire, Uplift and Enlighten for the New Year Ahead Here's a favourite from Andrea Blair, President & Owner of Blair Insurance Brokers Ltd. "When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘HAPPY’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."... ~John Lennon See more

Most Individuals are Unprepared for Cyber Risks A new survey finds that, while 80% of people are concerned about cyber incidents, most underestimate or are unaware of common cyber threats. Only 12% were concerned about using public WiFi, despite it being a common entry point for cyber criminals, and just 4% were concerned about their smart-home devices being a vulnerability.... It was found that 60% of respondents were concerned about their social insurance numbers being compromised, and 30% were concerned about their medical records. 80% were worried about their bank accounts being compromised, even though most financial institutions will reimburse customers who experience a loss. Respondents struggled to identify specific cyber risks. For example, 50% did not know the definition of ransomware, and 19% had never even heard of it. Online passwords were also a concern: only 30% said they regularly change their passwords, while 67% said they "always" or "often" use the same password for multiple accounts. Furthermore, 54% have shared their passwords with someone else, and 41% do not protect their home WiFi networks with a password In this day and age, anyone is susceptible to falling victim of a cyberattack. Given what's at stake, individuals should be taking every precaution they can to mitigate risk. Don't leave yourself vulnerable ... ASK US ABOUT PERSONAL CYBER PROTECTION

FREEZING RAIN SAFETY TIPS When freezing rain hits, homes can sometimes be without electricity, some may have to leave their home until power is restored. We'd like to provide some winter safety tips to share with our customers. If you have to deal with freezing rain and need to leave your property, please ensure you:... * Turn off the main water valve and drain water from the pipes and flush toilets several times. Keep the basement drain clear. * To prevent a power surge when the electricity does come back on, unplug all tools, appliances and electronic equipment and turn the thermostats down to minimum. * Turn off all lights including Christmas lights, except one inside and one outside, until power is restored. * Leave natural gas service on unless authorities tell you to turn it off. * Lock your home. Here are some ways you can keep safe if you stay in your home: * To prevent frozen pipes: Turn the taps on slightly so water can trickle through as pipes with running water will not freeze. Alternatively, turn off the main water supply and open the pipes completely. * Take extra caution when using a wood-burning fireplace. * Use a flashlight rather than candles to reduce the risk of fire. Do not use appliances intended for outdoor use indoors, such as camping or heating equipment, gas barbecues, generators, camp stoves, or other gas or propane devices inside your home or other enclosed spaces. They can create a build-up of carbon monoxide, which is an odourless, colourless, deadly gas. * Keep your fridge and freezer door closed as much as possible. A full freezer will keep food frozen for 24 to 36 hours if not opened. * If you see downed power lines, stay far away and report them to your local power authority. Once power is restored: * Do not enter a flooded basement unless it is absolutely safe to do so. * Flooded appliances, electrical outlets, switch boxes or fuse-breaker panels should not be used until they have been checked by an electrician. * Replace the furnace flue if removed, and turn off the fuel to the standby heating unit. * Turn the thermostats up, wait a few minutes, then plug in the fridge and freezer back in. Wait 10-15 minutes before plugging other appliances back in. * Turn on water supply. * Check the food in your fridge and freezer for signs of spoilage. If in doubt, throw it out. Homeowners policies do not cover losses caused by freezing during the usual heating season in a heated portion of the home if someone has been away from their home for more than four consecutive days, unless the homeowner has: 1. arranged for a competent person to check the home daily; 2. shut off the water supply and drained all the pipes and domestic water containers; or 3. their plumbing and heating system is connected to a monitored alarm station. STAY SAFE, KEEP WARM AND ENJOY THE COMPANY OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Storing your car for the Winter: Winter weather is upon us, which means it’s time to start thinking about storing your classic or luxury car for the winter. Here are some tips to consider while you prepare your car for the winter season.... 1. Make sure the storage location you choose is dry, dark and away from the elements. Your own garage could work as winter storage if your car isn’t exposed to the winter weather. Otherwise, a storage facility with a concrete floor is the best option. The facility doesn’t need to be climate controlled, as long as it doesn’t have excessive moisture. 2. Give your car a thorough cleaning and waxing before you put it away. This way dirt won’t sit on your car over the winter months and it’ll be ready for the spring. 3. Change your car’s oil. Used oil contains contaminants that’ll work their way through the engine components and harm your car. 4. Fill the gas tank. A full tank of gas leaves no room for air in your tank, which is good because air could contaminate your fuel tank creating rust. 5. Make sure your tires have proper pressure. It’s easy to develop flat tires while your car sits for long periods of time, especially in colder temperatures. 6. Connect your battery to a trickle charger/ battery tender. Or remove the battery entirely and store it in a warm place as cold batteries can freeze and crack. Don’t keep your battery on a concrete floor. 7. Use a high-quality, tight-fitting cover that’ll allow the car to breathe while staying clean and dry. Lastly, make sure we know that you’re storing your car either on your property or at a facility. Also, don’t cancel your car insurance policyyou should always maintain your car’s insurance coverage even if you aren’t driving it and are storing it for a few months. We can suggest coverage options that may reduce your premiums while still providing adequate protection. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call at (905) 472-0774 or visit www.blairinsurance.ca

Happy Halloween from Blair Insurance!

Paycheque Protection When was the last time you had a "DISABILITY CHECK-UP? Here is a handy checklist of some of the questions you may want answers to BEFORE you get injured. Let us help you understand exactly what your coverage will and won’t do for you if you become disabled. ... For example... 1. What is the definition of disability? 2. Are partial disabilities covered? 3. Do I have to be disabled for any number of consecutive days in order to qualify? 4. Can I take the coverage with you if you leave the business? 5. Are the benefits indexed in order to keep your benefits up to date with inflation? 6. Will my business be able to pay for this protection for me? 7. Will the rehabilitation clause work for me or against me? 8. Can the plan be modified or terminated in the future without my consent? 9. Are the benefits taxable? 10. Is there a ceiling on the benefit amount? Obviously it’s your choice whether or not you wish to protect your PAYCHEQUE for if you become too sick or hurt to work. If you do, our Team is a phone call away and always here willing to guide you. If you have any questions in the mean time, please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions: Tel: 905-472-0774 Email: [email protected]

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Blair Insurance Brokers!

Most Individuals are Unprepared for Cyber Risks A new survey from Chubb finds that, while 80% of people are concerned about cyber incidents, most underestimate or are unaware of common cyber threats. Only 12% were concerned about using public WiFi, despite it being a common entry point for cyber criminals, and just 4% were concerned about their smart-home devices being a vulnerability.... In this day and age, anyone is susceptible to falling victim of a cyberattack, said Fran O’Brien, division president of Chubb Insurance. Given what’s at stake, individuals should be taking every precaution they can to mitigate risk. It was found that 60% of respondents were concerned about their social security numbers being compromised, and 30% were concerned about their medical records. Eighty percent were worried about their bank accounts being compromised, even though most financial institutions will reimburse customers who experience a loss. Respondents struggled to identify specific cyber risks. For example, 50% did not know the definition of ransomware, and 19% had never even heard of it. Online passwords were also a concern: only 30% said they regularly change their passwords, while 67% said they always or often use the same password for multiple accounts. Furthermore, 54% have shared their passwords with someone else, and 41% do not protect their home WiFi networks with a password Don’t leave yourself vulnerable ASK US ABOUT PERSONAL CYBER PROTECTION

MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE Blair Insurance Brokers delivers specially tailored insurance for all motorcycle (and moped) enthusiasts. Whether you ride a cruiser, a moped or a dirt bike as a fun way to get around, or you drive your motorcycle to work every day, you can count on us to provide the right protection. For more information on motorcycle insurance please visit the link below:

What would happen to your business if something happened to you, your business partner or a key employee? Read more about Life Insurance and how you can protect yourself at the following link: http://www.blairinsurance.ca/insurance-solu/life-insurance/

BLAIR INSURANCE HAS YOU COVERED: Commercial Vehicles & Fleets We know you have many choices when buying automobile insurance. Let us provide you with the information you need to ensure you have the coverage you want. We are not a call centre and our salaried insurance brokers can help you select the Right Company for your particular driving profile. Let us arrange your personalized insurance policy that will provide you with the most suitable coverage and rating flexibility, in the event of a claim or ticket. This is the best way to keep your current and future insurance costs at a minimum. Visit the link below for more information: http://www.blairinsurance.ca///commercial-vehicles-fleets/

JOIN US at the Markham Auto Classic with all the great classic cars - September 9th, 2018! Blair Insurance Brokers Ltd. will have a booth setup outside our office located at 162 Main Street North with prize giveaways and drinks. More info available at the link below:

3 TIPS FOR BACK TO SCHOOL COVERAGE With school back in session, it’s time to update your coverage Tip#3: Umbrella Protection... You trust your child to make the right choices while off at school, but acknowledging that mistakes or accidents can happen; Umbrella coverage extends your liability towards your child while they are living away from home. In the event of an accidental injury or damage to someone’s property, your son or daughter may find themselves caught in an unexpected lawsuit. With Umbrella coverage, you’re covered over and above another policy such as homeowners or auto. If you have any questions in the mean time, please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions: Tel: 905-472-0774 Email: [email protected]