Once you contact us, here is what happens:

We gather the facts surrounding your claim, complete a Loss Notice form, and explain the claim-handling procedures to you.
The Loss Notice is faxed to your insurance company or if your loss is urgent, it will be phoned into the insurance company.
The insurance company will be assigned to either an adjuster on their staff or a local independent adjuster.
The nature of your claim will determine what happens next.

Many claims are straight forward and can be handled by telephone. The adjuster will take a statement from you and you will be asked to compile a list of damaged or stolen property. The insurance adjuster will work with you in getting estimates for replacement or repair for these damaged or stolen items. There are several ways settlements can be made—the adjuster can issue payments directly to you, (less your applicable deductible), or sometimes it’s more convenient for them to pay the supplier directly. They will work with you to make it as easy as possible.

For more serious claims, such as fire or severe wind or water damage, the adjuster will contact a restoration company to attend to the damage immediately. The restoration company has all the necessary equipment for emergency service such as securing your home after a break-in or fire. They will tarp your home, for example, if there is damage to your roof and they have special drying equipment for water damage.

In addition, some losses require an investigation to determine how the damage occurred and if the policy covers it. Our priority and that of the insurance company, however, is to always make sure that you and your family are safe and your home and property are protected from further damage.

Fortunately, even the most serious claims do not have to be complicated and the adjusters and contractors will work hard to get you back to “normal” as soon as possible.

We can handle your claim as quickly and as efficiently as the insurance broker whose office may be down the street from you. When it comes to processing claims, all insurance brokers fundamentally follow the steps outlined above. Once you call your broker to make a claim—whether their office is down the street from you or hundreds of kilometres away—the broker contacts your insurance company who then handles your claim. The insurance company assigns one of their in-house adjusters to handle your claim, or they will select an independent adjuster that covers your area to work with you. So, when you insure through Park Insurance and contact us, just like a broker who lives in your town, we contact your insurance company to start the adjustment process with your insurance company. With three or four times the staff of the majority of insurance brokers, we are able to respond immediately to your call and communicate your needs more quickly to the insurance company. In fact, we have staff who are dedicated to handling claims—your claims. Please see “Our Complete Claims Care Commitment. ”

Most building settlements are on a non-depreciated basis, and policies settle contents claims on the same basis. Such a settlement on contents normally requires that you actually replace them. Should you choose to settle on a cash basis, the settlement reverts to a depreciated one.

It depends. Some insurance companies do include this coverage, however, most do not. Nonetheless, even if an insurance company does not include this coverage in their basic policy, additional coverage can be purchased to meet this possibility. In addition to meeting building codes, you should also be aware of how this issue could possibly impact on your other properties, such as rental or seasonal properties. For example, if you own a cottage that suffers major damage that requires you to rebuild it, local bylaws may require that your replacement cottage be moved further back from the lake, which could involve significant extra expense. Please contact us for additional details on this topic.

The best way is to purchase a “Course of Construction” policy when you start to build. You should be sure to tell us that the house is currently under construction.

It certainly could be. Several factors will influence whether or not you can get insurance for your vacant home. Is the house currently for sale? How long do you plan to leave it vacant? Does someone check on it regularly? Is the house secluded from view? Call us and we will work with you to get the coverage you need for your vacant properties.

Very much so, although there are broad similarities. There are generally three types of policies, known in the industry as the Standard (or Basic), the Broad, and the Comprehensive.

Standard: The standard policy provides protection against a number of “named perils” that might cause damage to the dwelling and its contents. “Named perils” could include such things as fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, theft, and specific types of water damage.

Broad: The broad policy expands the “named perils” coverage on a dwelling to “all risks” coverage, but leaves the coverage for your contents on a “named perils” basis. (“All risks” coverage provides protection from anything that can cause you loss or damage, unless the policy specifically excludes that cause of damage. Typical exclusions on an “all risks” policy could include faulty workmanship—e.g. your roof shingling was not properly installed and the shingles are now causing water to leak into your home. Another example is wear and tear—even “all risks” policies would not provide protection if some component of your home or contents simply wears out.)

Comprehensive: The comprehensive policy provides “all risks” coverage on both the dwelling AND the contents. This is the most commonly purchased policy.

You really need to have us explain the various options available to you. At the low end of the scale, water damage caused by water overflow from the plumbing system, water from burst pipes, and also frozen pipes could be covered, but not damage caused by continuous seepage, sewer backup, etc. Therefore, it is important that you understand precisely what your policy covers—and what is excluded.

Most insurance companies require that you notify them (via your broker), and in particular if the renovations will be over a certain dollar value. If you plan to hire contractors to do some of the work, it is important to make sure that they carry general liability insurance, as well as workers compensation insurance for their employees.

Yes. At Park Insurance, we offer that service to our customers. It’s easy and convenient. Please contact us for the details.

First, it’s a good idea to take photos of these items. (Actually, it’s a good idea to take pictures or a video of all your house contents). Second, write up the details for these items that a photograph may not capture, such as the name of the artist, dimensions or unique features about the item, etc. Finally, get an appraiser to assess the value of your items and give you a written copy of the appraisal. Keep copies of this documentation in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box.

Most home insurance policies provide limited coverage for business property (computers, printers, etc.); business operations and liability are excluded from these policies. Contact Us for details on cost effective coverage for your home business.

Yes, we do. Please contact our Customer Service Department.

Although you may not be interested in getting coverage for the contents of your apartment, a tenant policy also provides protection against damage you might cause to the structure of your apartment or the structure of other apartments or your neighbours’ personal property. For example, if you have a kitchen fire that gets out of control, or you forget to turn off the water in your tub and it causes damage to your apartment or other people’s property, then you could be held legally reponsible to pay for these damages.

Or, imagine one of your neighbours causes a fire and now you have to move out for an extended period of time while repairs are being made to the building. With additional living expense insurance, these continuous expenses are covered. Therefore, tenant insurance provides excellent value and peace of mind—and in some cases for as little as $1 per day. For more information on why you should have tenant insurance, call us for more details.