Happy New Year! That was an expensive holiday season wasn't it? Now, you're probably taking stock of finances and trying to plan for the year ahead. Need some help? Try this simple approach.

* Calculate your net earnings for the year ahead.

* Add up all the big items of expenditure -- groceries, mortgage, car payments and so on. Deduct this from income.

* Then deduct another 20% for smaller stuff and a margin of safety.

(Your insurance premiums fit in here -- where they're concerned, you know I'm already doing everything to deliver the best value for you!)

If you have a surplus, add another 10% to 20% for savings. Then you'll know if you'll have something left to spend, or whether you need to make cuts.Sticking to this simple formula could make 2018 a positive year for you. I hope so!  And if you need an insurance review, just contact us.

Does Your Ontario Auto policy cover you while driving on Vacation?  The short answer is yes and no.
The first think to consider is whether you are driving in Canada and/or the U.S.   If you are driving your own car while traveling inside of Canada or the U.S. your Ontario auto policy will respond in the event you injure yourself or others in an auto accident.  You will also have the same coverage for physical damage (collision & comprehensive) to your vehicle that you would at home.
 

If you are here visiting Ontario for less than 3 months you can use a valid driver’s license from your own province, state, or country.  If you are visiting longer than 3 months you will need to have an International Driving Permit (IDP).

The Colley Insurance 25 Year Club has expanded once again and the new member, Kim Folkerson, deserves an incredible amount of respect.  Primarily because as the Commercial Insurance Manager she has had to work side-by-side with my father Peter, brother Brock and I for many of those years.

To help keep pedestrians safe, as of Jan 1st 2016, all vehicles (including bicycles) must "stop and yield the whole roadway at pedestrian crossovers, school crossings and other locations where there is a crossing guard."  The Ontario Ministry of Transportation states that this rule does not apply to crosswalks at intersections, unless a crossing guard is present.  This change resulted from a 2012 report on pedestrian deaths, identifying them as the most vulnerable road users.  Under provincial legislation drivers can be fined for failing to follow rules that apply to pedestrian crossings (fines are doubled in Community Safety Zones such as schools).  In addition, there are three new types of crossovers to keep an eye out for - they can be found here:  http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/pedestrian-safety.shtml The new rule described above explicitly leaves out intersection crosswalks without crossing guards. As a regular pedestrian and occasional driver I feel very strongly that ...

As a “millennial” I am constantly being reminded of my generation’s tendency to expect instant gratification, our reliance on technology, and our constant connection to the world around us. For myself and most of my friends technology is seamlessly integrated throughout our lives, and managing cellphone use at school, work, or while driving can feel counter-intuitive. I wish to create some discussion around this concept in regards to 20-somethings: Do you need to put your phone in the trunk of your vehicle in order to resist texting and driving? Who is it that contacts you via cellphone? How do your social media notifications work? How much and what kind of driving are you regularly doing?

Just last week, my sister sent me multiple texts during her 15 min break at work, and I just happened to be driving. She’s living in Ottawa for University, and it is quite difficult to resist dropping everything when my phone lights up with her name. I had to decide on the spot: park somewhere and talk to her during her only free time that day or continue on my drive and reply to her later. In this situation...

I have been asked several times over the last week whether the damage to the homes in Fort McMurray would be covered by home owner’s insurance.  The question comes from the belief that natural disasters aren’t covered.  Loss by Fire is covered in the most basic property insurance policies whether it was caused by human error such as faulty wiring or by natural causes such as the spreading of a forest fire.  Depending on the type of policy  and the limits of coverage purchased not only will coverage be provided for damage to destroyed buildings and contents but there will also most likely be money available for the additional costs of having to find somewhere else to live while homes and lives are being rebuilt. We are receiving notice from all of our insurance companies that that they have dispatched special teams to the Fort McMurray area so that they can help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible.  While there is nothing that will lessen the tragedy of t ...

One of our brokers was recently in a serious car accident.  Someone cut her off on Guelph's Hanlon Expressway causing her to roll the vehicle. The vehicle was a write-off. Incredibly she managed to escape without serious injuries but she was pretty banged up and needed to access various healthcare providers to help her with her recovery. She has been kind enough to provide me with the following list of things she learned, experienced, and believes could be helpful information to others.   There is never a good time to have an accident!  It’s an inconvenience and is a process involving many different people.  There will be several appointments and paperwork to be filled out if injuries have been sustained. Benefits to using preferred vendors (rental car agency and repair shops) it is a faster process and work is guaranteed.   Accident Benefits Coverage – Priority of payment; Ontario Heath Insurance Plan pays out first, Employer or p ...

I have a 22 year old daughter.  She has graduated from University and lives and works in another city.  She doesn’t own a car and is rarely home to drive my car.  What would normally happen at this time is I would have her deleted from my automobile policy to save the occasional driver premium I have been paying since she got her G2 license at 17.  But, like many young people in her situation my daughter is a frequent Uber user.  If I delete her from my automobile policy and she is injured because of an accident while she’s a passenger in an Uber vehicle where does she go to get coverage?  She can’t go under my policy, she’s not a dependent, she doesn’t live in my household and I deleted her as a driver.  She can’t collect under the Uber driver’s car because at the time of writing this the Uber driver won’t have a policy in place that provides coverage when carrying passengers for compensation or hire so the insurance company w ...

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.  Or in this case an old Colley new tricks.  Debbie Rogers won’t be very happy that I seem to be referring to her as being old and if you know Debbie you also know that in her case age is truly just a number.  I wish I could insert the video we have of her sitting at her desk singing, very badly, at the top of her lungs and you would understand what I mean.  Many of you will know that Debbie recently celebrated her 25th anniversary at Colley Insurance.  It’s hard to believe but she is part of a growing group.  Anniversaries are very important but #25 is a big deal and we like to do something extra special for those who reach this milestone.  I hadn’t come up with what we were going to do for Debbie’s anniversary yet when she approached me with something that she had clearly given a lot of thought to.  She came into my office, closed the door and set herself firmly in the chair across from me.  I st ...