Billyard Insurance Group
12612 Hwy 50, Unit 8 L7E 1T6 Bolton, ON, Canada

Do you know if parking tickets affect your insurance rate? Parking tickets are not moving violations and so they will not impact your premium. If you have unpaid parking tickets, you may not be able to renew your license, which may result in a license suspension. https://youtu.be/NbdKswb8Nms #thinkBIG #carinsurance

When it comes to cars, does size matter? The rate of fatal motor vehicle accidents has a direct relationship with the size of vehicle. Smaller vehicles saw a higher rate of fatal accidents in 2018 (57%) than SUVs (21%) and pickups (21%). This is because smaller/light vehicles have less structure to absorb energy from a crash, so the forces on the occupants are higher. People in smaller cars are also disadvantaged when in a collision with a larger vehicle. On the other hand, ...pickups and SUVs are more likely to be involved in fatal, single-vehicle crashes, especially rollovers, but overall occupant deaths less likely to occur in multi-vehicle crashes with SUVs and pickups. But are smaller cars less likely overall to be in an accident to begin with? According to a recent study in Ontario, 11.1% of all motor vehicle accidents were from small vehicles, and 12.1% of all motor vehicle accidents were large vehicles. Whichever type of vehicle you choose, you should always practice safe driving habits and have proper insurance coverage for your vehicle. If you aren’t sure about the coverage you have or are looking for a better price for auto insurance, contact a broker at the link in our bio for a no-obligation quote. #thinkBIG #carinsurance

So long 2020, it’s time to move forward into a new year! Let’s embrace #2021 with new-found hope and optimism. BIG is wishing you a prosperous and healthy year full of #hope. Do you have any BIG #goals for this year? #thinkBIG #happynewyear #newyear

Have you recently welcomed a little one into your life? Even though getting sleep is probably your top priority, you want to set your child up for success in the future, too. Consider these tips for to prepare your and your child for a solid financial future. Set up a Social Insurance Number (SIN) for your child in order to create a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). You can apply for both a SIN number and birth certificate at the same time in Ontario and BC. Plan... your budget not just for the baby, but plan ahead for expenses as your child grows. Health care and childcare expenses can surprisingly add up quickly. Start saving for college or university through a RESP early. Not only does the money grow tax-free, but the government also contributes through significant grants. Remember your financial goals. You may feel like you have to put your plans for a home, vacation or vehicle on hold, but if you keep saving you can benefit from compounding interest to continue to grow your savings. Consider life, critical illness and disability insurance to protect your family’s financial security from the unexpected. Money from a policy can help you pay off your mortgage, help your child through post-secondary education and replace lost income. As you welcome your new bundle of joy into your family, cherish the moments you have. If you are interested in speaking to a financial advisor about your plan for your child or are considering life insurance options, our BIG brokers will happy to give you all the information you need to make a wise decision for your family and finances. #thinkBIG #saveBIG #resp #newbaby

If I claim something on my home insurance and choose not to replace it, do I still get a payout? When you purchase a policy, there are probably so many questions that come across your mind about how your carrier will handle claims. You never plan on having to file a claim, but it can give you peace of mind when you know how your insurance carrier handles claims when the unexpected happens. If the claim is covered by your policy, yes, you will still receive a payout. If you c...hoose not to replace the item, the amount you receive will differ based on the type of policy. A replacement value policy will pay out the actual (depreciated) value of the goods lost or damaged unless you can show proof of the true replacement cost with receipts. When you purchase new items, add them to your ongoing home inventory. Keep receipts and make copies of them and have a digital backup. Do you have more questions about your policy? A great part about shopping with BIG is that our brokers are here to answer all your questions! Get your questions answered by a BIG broker today. #thinkBIG #homeinsurance

All of us at the Billyard Insurance Group would like to wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season! No matter how you’re celebrating, we hope you enjoy the time spent with loved ones. #happyholidays #holidayseason #thinkBIG

Tutoring a student is one of the most rewarding jobs you could have! Preparing lessons and activities to help your students grow in learning and grasping new concepts is so fulfilling. Whether you do it full time, or as a supplementary income, you should know that you and your business are properly covered with private tutor insurance. Maybe you’ve never thought of the risks, but it’s important to find private tutor insurance that fits your unique business. Take a minute to learn about the insurance options for tutoring that can give you the peace of mind while you do what you love. https://www.thebig.ca/blog/title/private-tutor-insurance #thinkBIG #homebasedbusiness #homebusiness

We would like to introduce to you our charitable foundation, BIG Hearts, which raises financial support for vulnerable children in Canada. We believe that every child deserves a future full of hope and we want to raise money to make that possible whether it be feeding hungry young minds, helping kids with special needs develop greater independence, or providing care and connection for children needing a positive influence. In 2021 we have set a fundraising goal of $100...,000, and we are already a quarter of the way there thanks to many generous donors! If you would like partner with BIG Hearts to positively impact the lives and futures of vulnerable children across Canada, visit the link in bio to learn more to get started. https://www.thebig.ca//big-hearts-virtual-cocktail-fundrai #thinkBIG #giveBIG #thebighearts

Whether your business is big or small, home-based or in a commercial space, let’s set the record straight about these small business insurance myths. In each case, having business insurance will safeguard against legal action and financial ruin. My home insurance policy covers my home-based business. You should never assume you have coverage and if you had to make a claim, you’d discover that your home insurance will NOT cover you for a business-related claim. General lia...bility insurance or business owner’s policy can guard against damages to business property and injuries or lawsuits. I don’t need additional coverage if I use my personal vehicle for work purposes. If you use your vehicle mostly for business purposes and provide services or transport goods with your car, you will need a commercial auto policy. My contracts with clients will prevent me from incurring lawsuits. If you miss a deadline or fail to deliver something outlined in your contract, it can be voided completely, leaving you vulnerable to legal action. If I get sued, I can just close my business. The courts don’t care whether your business is operational while deliberating on a case. If you close your doors to avoid the financial consequences, you might have to pay settlements from your personal accounts instead. My business is too small to require protection. Even if you only operate on a part-time basis and see a handful of clients, you will still need more coverage than what your home insurance can cover, otherwise claims and lawsuits can because quite costly and time-consuming. As you can see, there are so many benefits to having a business insurance policy to cover you in case of a lawsuit or claim. If you are running a small business or side hustle, contact one of our insurance brokers to get a quote on your business. They will be able to find you the best coverage for your situation at an affordable price. Contact us today at the link in bio. #thinkBIG #businessinsurance #homeinsurance

Do you like to drive in the rain? Let us know in the comments! With the fluctuating weather in December, the roads can become treacherous from snow, ice, sleet and rain. Wet roads quickly become slippery and can lead to hydroplaning or losing control of your vehicle. Here are some tips for driving in wet weather that you should know to keep you and your passengers safe and prevent damage to your vehicle. Check the forecast before you leave, being mindful of heavy rainfal...l alerts. Ensure you have proper tread on your tires and responsive brakes that will handle well in slippery conditions. Avoid driving through flooded areas as it can affect your braking ability, flood your engine or cause irreparable damage to your vehicle. Never try to restart your engine if your have stalled in floodwaters as it can introduce water into the engine and cause damage. If you are stalled in a flood, turn on your hazards and try to get out of the vehicle via doors and windows and head to higher ground. Have your vehicle towed once it’s safe to do so and take it to a trusted mechanic to inspect for damage. If your vehicle has been damaged by flooding, or you lose control of your vehicle and end up in an accident, BIG’s claims line is available 24/7 to help you get started with a claim. Double check with your insurer today that you have collision and comprehensive coverage for these situations. #thinkBIG #winterweather #winterrain

Business owners greatly influence the culture of their business. Maybe you’ve started up a new business, or you’ve stepped into a senior leadership role and there are some things you’d change. Navigating a culture change at work takes time and patience. As you spearhead a culture shift at your business, remember employees usually need more time and support to get there because of the uncertainty it brings. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare to adjust your wor...kplace culture. 1. Understand the current culture from the perspective of the employee BEFORE you change things. Be a listener and learner, build trust with your employee base before assessing and implementing changes. 2. Envision your new work culture. Write down specific details of your vision whether behavioural, environmental or physical. 3. Clearly communicate your vision and expectations. People will especially resist change when they do not understand why. Cast the vision so that your staff can see it will be worth it. 4. Accept the phases of changes. You will get pushback, so do your best to be compassionate and understanding in your approach. Leadership must be united in response to hold firm to the changes while being kind. 5. Celebrate the small successes, motivating your team to see the process through. 6. Talk to your insurance broker about changes you make (company size, changes in products, property renovations, etc.) While you envision change, think through the whole process before you begin. It can be draining and confusing to manage through a culture shift, so being prepared will keep you motivated to continue moving toward your vision. #thinkBIG #businessowners #cultureshift

BIG is wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Diwali! #happydiwali #celebratediwali

If you've seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation or Home Alone, you likely have a sense of what could go wrong during the holiday season. While you put up your twinkly lights, decorate your Christmas tree, find the perfect gifts, and plan your (safe) holiday parties, enjoy the season worry-free by reviewing your property insurance policy and following these holiday decorating home safety tips on our latest blog. https://www.thebig.ca/blog/title/home-safety-tips #thinkBIG #holidayseason #holidaydecorations

If you’re a high-achieving and driven business owner, you’ve dedicated countless hours to make your dream business come true. But maybe you’re feeling exhausted, unmotivated and disconnected from your business and vision. Entrepreneur burnout doesn’t happen overnight, but many factors build up leading to chronic stress, fatigue, irritability, and depression, as well as physical symptoms like headaches and gastrointestinal issues and insomnia. So, what causes entrepreneur burn...out? Being online all the time, the demand of unrelated skills, the invisible workload that goes unacknowledged, being an over-achiever, always saying yes, commuting time. If this is you, you are NOT alone. These approaches can help you safeguard against burnout and also benefit you and your business in the long term: Create clear, healthy boundaries. Set an end-of-workday time, take effective breaks to refresh, delegate tasks to others, say no to things you cannot do (or don’t want to do!), minimize interaction with toxic people. Take care of your body, mind and soul. Get the right nutrition, drink enough water, be physically active, get enough sleep, practice mindfulness, meditation or prayer, connect with healthy relationships, find a creative outlet. Change your work mindset. Give yourself permission to slow down. Have reasonable work expectations. Set realistic goals and focus on your top 3 each day or week. Celebrate the small accomplishments. Take a vacation and REALLY unplug. Get help from a mental health professional if you need more help to identify triggers and strategies to recover. Share this post with your friends, family and business friends. So many people are unaware of the tolls work can take on our well-being. Let’s spread awareness before it’s too late. #businessinsurance #smallbusiness #thinkBIG

With winter comes wonderful things like snow, cozy socks and hot chocolate, but it also comes with severe weather and dangerous driving conditions. Here are some tips on preparing your car for winter to keep you and your family safe. Winter tires, while optional, can help you have better traction on the road and can also save you money on your car insurance! #thinkBIG #autoinsurance #carinsurance https://youtu.be/pDzoUSzT-WA

If you’ve been with the same insurance company for any length of time, some will reward their clients with loyalty discounts. Watch out though, the fact is that not all companies offer a loyalty discount, and for those do, it’s only typically around 5%. While you may feel enticed to stay for the loyalty discount, there could be a much better rate out there! The only way to find out is to shop around! It never hurts to get a few quotes from other insurance companies and BIG c...an do just that! You will not lose your loyalty discount for simply shopping around. The only way you would lose your discount is if you find a better price and switch companies, at which point you have a better price anyway. You’ve got nothing to lose, so why not click that link in our bio to get a quote and start shopping! The added benefit to a brokerage like BIG is that we have access to multiple markets. So, if your price increases with a particular company, we can shop your insurance each renewal to get the best coverage at the best price, all while still showing your loyalty. It’s a win-win! #insurancequote #loyalty #thinkBIG

All of us at BIG wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving. May we be truly grateful for all we have because we have each other. #thanksgiving2020 #canadianthanksgiving #thinkBIG

Your home insurance protects your property from damage caused by incidents such as a fire, flooding, theft or vandalism. The last thing you would want is to find out that your home insurance is void due to something you've done. We wanted to share in this blog about what can void your home insurance so that you know what to avoid and when you should notify your broker about changes. https://www.thebig.ca//t/what-can-void-your-home-insurance #thinkBIG #homeinsurance #newhome

As a consultant, your job is to provide professional advice to clients in your realm of expertise. You care about your clients and do the best job you can. You probably triple-check your work, take extra precautions and make sure your contracts are flawless, but sadly in the consulting business, you can be held liable for almost any negative impact your services have on your clients. Even something as simple as a misprint, or missing a deadline can violate the contract, which... leaves you susceptible to a lawsuit. This is why, beyond your best efforts, consultant insurance is a must! It can cover you for any errors or omissions you make, injuries on your property, and any claims against you that result in a lawsuit. We all try to do the best for our clients and our business, but no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. If you are a consultant, or own a consulting business, our commercial brokers are ready to help you get the right coverage for your business situation. Don’t leave any room for mistakes to ruin your business, protect yourself and your clients. #thinkBIG #insurance #consulting

It’s important as a parent to teach your children the importance of managing money at an early age as it will help them in the future. Here are some age-appropriate lessons to teach your kids about financial literacy. #thinkBIG #financialliteracy https://youtu.be/nhlYgcheg9o

You want your aging loved one to grow old with dignity, even when they require continual care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have begun to see that long-term care facilities may not be the best solution for our loved ones needing ongoing care. Fortunately, there is another option: Long Term Care Insurance with MyDignity. This insurance option allows you to have 100% of the control over the who, what and when of the care provided. Your loved one will also have the flexibility to direct their own care, whether personal care, home making, or community outings. To learn more about myDignity, contact one of our life insurance brokers [link in bio]. #ltc #longtermcare #thinkBIG

Unfortunately, small businesses can tend to be an easier target for hackers. And with the average cost of a data breach around $690,000, your small business may end up in the 60% that go out of business within 6 months of a data breach. This can adversely hurt both your bottom line and your reputation. Small businesses still have valuable data but tend to have fewer defenses and are less prepared. They are also more likely to pay the ransom to hacker. For these reasons, it’s ...imperative to protect your small business with cyber insurance. There are also some other steps you can take to mitigate the risk of a cyberattack: Create a company protocol to educate your employees on prevention and establish procedures for storing and sharing data. Get HTTPS/TSL to protect customer information on your website, making it more difficult for hackers to gain control of your systems. Use antivirus/malware protection. It’s better to pay for this protection than to cheap out with free versions that may not give all the coverage you need, which could cost you more in a data breach. Use a virtual private network (VPN), especially if you have employees working remotely. WPNs encrypt the connection and hide their IP address. Ask remote workers to use dedicated work devices if possible, to ensure all levels of protection are in place. Purchase cyber insurance for your business. If all else fails, cyber insurance can save your business from going under due to a data breach. Take the next step and contact one of our BIG commercial brokers [link in bio] to learn more about our insurance options for small business. #smallbusiness #cyberattack #ThinkBIG

Does this ever happen to you? When you’ve lost something, you don’t seem to find it until after you’ve paid to replace it. With your home insurance policy, you may choose to schedule highly valuable possessions on your policy in case it is lost, damaged or stolen. In most cases, your insurer will reimburse you for the loss or repair of the item. If you made a claim and the item turns up months later, what should you do? Valuable possessions often carry even greater sentiment...al value, so it’s a relief to find the original item, but if you do find it, make sure you notify your insurer. The insurance company will either ask your to return the claim money, or the replacement item so that they can recoup their losses. If you return the payout, the claim will no longer affect your home insurance rate. Beware: If you do not inform your insurer, it is considered insurance fraud, which is a criminal offence. So do the right thing and be honest with your insurer. #thinkBIG #lostandfound #homeinsurance

If you carry Comprehensive coverage, Collision coverage, or both, you will have a deductible and it affects how your claims are handled. Maybe you bought coverage a while ago and you’re still unsure and are asking just what is a deductible anyway? Our latest blog gives all of the details about how deductibles work and when you have to pay them. #thinkBIG https://www.thebig.ca/blog/title/what-is-a-deductible

Finances are a true balancing act and many people are now transitioning into retirement by gradually working fewer hours if they can afford to do so. Perhaps you want to spend more time at your cottage or make more time for family. There is no one-size-fits-all formula to figure out whether you can afford to work less; your situation is unique. Here are some factors you will need to look at when you evaluate whether you can afford to work less: Job/income Age and desired ...age of retirement Your ideal lifestyle Tax planning (especially if you are self-employed) Your home if you have a mortgage or are willing to downsize Consumer debt or line of credit RRSPs and other retirement funds Savings The bottom line is, there is potential for you to work less as you near retirement if you plan it right. If you want to explore whether you can afford to work fewer hours as you near retirement, reach out to a BIG financial advisor who can help you discover the best possible options for you. #retirementplanning #financialplanning #thinkBIG

The future is here! It’s a new decade where self-driving cars are starting to appear in consumer markets. Aside from autonomous vehicles, cars are equipped with mini-computers installed directly in the dashboard as well as technology to lower the risk of an accident. With all of these new features in our cars, let's discuss how technology can impact car insurance. #thinkBIG #carinsurance https://youtu.be/5fljNiX6zVE

Canadians love to talk about the weather and outdoor air, but now that the autumn months have arrived, let’s talk about the air quality inside your home. Check the air quality and find possible sources of pollutants. Canadian recommendations include measuring the concentration of radon and installing both smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Check for other sources of poor air quality such as mould, defective heating, chemical products, etc. Whatever the source, ta...ke action to protect your health. Control humidity in the house (30% in the winter and 50% in the summer). Seal leaks or cracks in pipes. Use the ventilators in the bathroom and above the stove. Open the blinds to prevent condensation. Use a dehumidifier. Reduce the contaminants in your home. If you smoke, do it outside. Maintain combustion devices regularly and avoid running them in an attached garage. Clean your home regularly mattresses, floors, the dryer filter and so on. Improve the ventilation. Open the windows, leave space for air to circulate between furniture and walls. Filter the air with a HEPA filter or electric filter to limit the presence of pollutants and reduce contaminants. Plants are also another way to naturally purify the air and boost your mood. #airquality #homeinsurance #thinkBIG

President Stephen Billyard is proud to share the news that Billyard Insurance Group has been recognized by the Globe and Mail's Report on Business, ranking No. 63 on their list of Canada's Top Growing Companies. BIG has seen growth of over 800% over the last 3 years. A BIG congratulations to everyone in the BIG family. We thank you for your support in what we are building and look forward to celebrating even more success as we continue to grow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...v=KWPounNOkB8 #thinkBIG See more