Jan 28, 2014 | News
Canadian drivers are increasingly researching their vehicle insurance options online before visiting their insurance agent or, also increasingly, purchasing their insurance directly online.
Insurance agents need to be educated on the options available to consumers, and be able to present the advantages of dealing with them over making online purchases. Meanwhile insurance companies are seeking to make it easier for consumers to purchase directly from them.
A new competitor has recently entered the Canadian market. Drivers in Canada now have a new way of discovering Canadian insurance agencies, by using the Auto Pros company website. A new group of Canadian auto insurance policy providers have joined the online quote centre setup.
The Canadian companies that are currently available for research online are now able to quote motor vehicle policy plans. Every provider that is represented in the international system has the ability to quote prices based on the location of each driver.
This new and simplified way of obtaining pricing is a recent upgrade to the Auto Pros services this year. The inclusion of American and Canadian agencies in the lookup system is extending the research options for different policy types that drivers use most often for vehicle protection.
The Canadian provider agencies now found in the research system has increased the numbers of policies that drivers can review. Apart from basic insurer protection, policy types that can be customized are offered by select agencies and quotes are now presented online.
ILScorp offers vehicle insurance courses for agents working in BC and Ontario. Two ICBC Autoplan courses are now available at both beginner and advanced levels. Both courses review: ICBC Autoplan coverages and exclusions; accident benefits; underinsured motorist protection; hit-and-run & UMP; third-party liability; and what ICBC covers. The ILScorp Certified Ontario Auto Expert Course leads you through the coverage, common client concerns and questions, errors and omissions avoidance, options, and important considerations in giving advice about private automobile coverage in Ontario.
Stay informed and enhance your professional skills with continuing education courses from ISLcorp.
Dec 20, 2013 | News
Snow is in the forecast across the country, from a chance of snow in Vancouver, to snow on top of more snow in Alberta and the Maritimes. Winter driving is an important skill in our country, and with the holidays coming up the roads will be busier than ever. Share these winter driving tips with your insurance clients and help keep everyone safe on the road.
1. Avoid the winter slip ‘n’ slide: To ensure your vehicle is ready for Canada’s changing winter weather, switch your all-season tires to winter ones before the temperature drops below 7°C. Winter tires optimize the performance and safety of winter driving. Not convinced you need them? Consider that the braking distance of a winter tire could be up to two vehicle lengths shorter than the braking distance of an all-season tire rolling at 24 km/h.
2. Defrost your windows well: Neglecting to defrost your windows might get you to your destination faster, but it’s a dangerous habit. Plan for a few extra minutes to clean all your car’s windows well. And don’t forget to clear off the top of your vehicle—snow could slide down the windshield and obstruct your view while the vehicle is in motion.
3. Winterize your trunk: Keeping a roadside safety kit in your trunk year-round is a good idea, but winter driving conditions require extra safety equipment. Make sure you’re carrying a scraper for the windshield, a small shovel, a sandbag, candles, and warm clothing like gloves and a hat.
4. Replace worn tires: It’s important to check your tires each winter season because worn or bald tires can be dangerous. Tires have tread wear indicator bars molded into them. A solid bar of rubber across the width of the tread means it’s time to replace the tire.
5. Don’t mix and match: Mixing tires with different tread patterns, different internal constructions and/or different sizes compromises the stability of the vehicle. Ensure your vehicle is equipped with four identical winter tires.
6. Top up your fluids: Always keep your gas tank at least half full. On very cold days, the condensation in the tank can freeze and cause problems. Also, don’t forget about your windshield-washer fluid – this is also extremely important on those sunny day!
7. Pump up your tires: For every 5°C drop in temperature, tires lose one pound of air pressure. To ensure optimum fuel efficiency and prevent irregular or premature wear, tire inflation should be checked monthly.
8. See and be seen: It is critical for drivers to see and be seen in low light conditions, and when blowing snow impairs visibility. Always drive with your headlights on.
9. Take a cellphone: For long trips, don’t forget to take a cellphone in case you need to call for help. Pull over to the side of the road and stop your vehicle before making the call.
10. Drop your speed to match road conditions: The posted speed is the maximum speed under ideal conditions. In winter, it is safer to drive below the posted speed. No matter how much experience you have, the way your car will move on snow or ice always has an element of unpredictability.
Stay safe over the holiday season! Are you an insurance agent looking for a greater understanding of vehicle insurance in your province? ILScorp has online courses for ICBC Autoplan Agents in BC and an Ontario Auto Expert continuing education course. Visit ILScorp.com to learn more about our online continuing education courses for insurance agents.
Nov 6, 2013 | News
Young Ontario drivers may soon benefit from a new program aimed at cutting vehicle insurance costs for this high risk group.
Ontario parents and their teen drivers could have some relief for the high cost of car insurance, when a variation of a Quebec program by insurer Industrial Alliance comes to Ontario. While it won’t be run by Industrial Alliance, it will be loosely based on its Mobiliz program aimed at 16-to-24-year-old drivers.
The program involves installing a small wireless device in a car’s diagnostic port, designed to measure driving behaviours such as speed, time of travel and distance, hard braking, pace of acceleration and turn speed.
In the past 18 months, the program in Quebec has reduced accident claims by this high risk group by about 40 per cent, allowing Industrial Alliance to reduce the cost these drivers pay for its insurance by an average 23 per cent.
A 20-year-old male insuring his first car typically pays around $3,000 a year in the Greater Toronto Area, so reducing that by $690 is a significant savings.
An application is before the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), to launch such a plan. Paul-André Savoie, whose Montreal firm Baseline Telematics is working with a large insurer to launch the program, told the Toronto Star that he hopes to have approval and a product available within three to six months.
“The savings for young drivers will be substantial,” Savoie told the newspaper. “It’s going to be a game changer.”
Savoie’s company developed software that allowed Industrial Alliance to introduce Mobiliz. These telematic products measure how you drive — and the results are available to you and your insurer online.
Suzanne Michaud, a vice president of client services with Industrial Alliance, says the Mobiliz program has exceeded expectations.
“Are we happy? Yes, very much,” she said. The company is a small player in the national auto insurance market and has no plans to bring Mobiliz to Ontario.
Quebec-based Desjardins Insurance introduced a usage-based plan in Ontario last spring. Spokesman Joe Daly says one-third of eligible new customers are trying its Ajusto program and it has 40,000 people in Ontario and Quebec using it.
Daly says the average savings is 12 per cent, though the company says you can earn up to 25 per cent by exceeding all its benchmarks. Unfortunately for many GTA commuters, the scheme penalizes those who drive more than 15,000 kilometres a year. These drivers cannot earn more than a 15 per cent reduction, no matter how well they drive.
Savoie has six projects underway with Ontario insurers, including the one he hopes to see available by the spring. He says insurers are eager to explore the potential of telematics. For example, it can help them target niche markets, whether it is the worst drivers, low mileage drivers or urban vs. rural drivers.
Applying for a Mobiliz policy is easy and quick. The online form asks for your age, gender, postal code and make of car and instantly returns a quote with the monthly payment. Mobiliz price adjustments are made monthly, rather than annually upon renewal. The instant reward is a powerful incentive for young drivers on tight budgets, Savoie says. It pairs good driving with immediate saving.
The use of telematics and usage-based insurance policies is only in its infancy. A recent article on industry website Property Casualty 360 notes that the global market share of usage-based insurance has doubled in the past year. One area where insurers see potential is wearable technology devices that can monitor your heart rate and blood pressure among others.
“Health Insurance companies are starting to take a long look at this type of technology,” says Carole Beatty with SAP Canada.
Excerpted from an article by Adam Mayers in the Toronto Star
Make sure you are up to date with the latest developments in Ontario Vehicle Insurance. Take the ILScorp Ontario Auto Expert Course.
Aug 26, 2013 | News
Ontario plans to reduce car insurance rates by 15 per cent in the next two years, Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced on Friday.
Reducing auto insurance rates by 15 per cent was a condition set by the NDP when it agreed to support the Ontario budget earlier this year, however the NDP called for the reduction to happen in the first year.
NDP transportation critic Gilles Bisson told the CBC that auto insurance companies have profited by billions from legislation that reduced payouts for personal injuries. He says those savings were never passed on to the consumer.
“That’s why in the budget we said we need 15 per cent. We need it now — it has to be done this year,” he said ahead of the announcement.
Drivers have complained that Ontario car insurance costs are too high, with rates rising rapidly over the past few years even for drivers with 25 years accident free.
Randy Carroll of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario welcomes a rate reduction, but says the government must first crack down on insurance fraud, which he said is costing the industry $1.5 billion annually.
“If we get the rates down before the fraud is out of the system it will just put undue pressure on insurers and will end up putting undue pressure on consumers,” he told CBC News.
Auto insurance rates are determined by individual insurers using a combination of factors including driving experience, driving record, use and location of the vehicle, the type of vehicle driven, and amount of coverage and deductibles selected.
But Ontario’s Superintendent of Financial Services reviews rates proposed by every company and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario regulates auto insurance to ensure protection for drivers. The FSCO will likely enforce Ontario’s mandated rate reductions, with rates dropping eight per cent in the first year and an additional seven per cent in the second. Ontario drivers won’t see the new rates kick in until they renew their policies.
Are you an Ontario insurance agent? Are you a Certified Ontario Auto Expert? With several major changes in basic coverage and new options in the last few years it is essential to update and reinforce your knowledge of Ontario automobile coverage.
ILScorp’s Certified Ontario Auto Expert series of courses leads you through the coverage, common client concerns and questions, errors and omissions avoidance, options, and important considerations in giving advice about private automobile coverage in Ontario. Learn more about this and other online insurance training courses at ILScorp.com.
Excerpted from CBC.ca
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