http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154 Erie Mutual Insurance has been providing insurance to homeowners, drivers and farmers since 1871. We are an essential part of the local economy providing security and peace of mind that is needed to make innovation possible and for our economy to thrive. Our blog contains Erie Mutual information, news, announcements and event information. AdvancedMinistry Insurance LiteracyLike most financial products and services today, property & casualty insurance policies (e.g. home, auto or farm) have become increasingly more complex. Changes in coverage, deductibles and policy wordings are just a few examples of the dynamic nature of insurance today. It is quite posiible that your insurance literacy could use a bit of a refresher. To help you out, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has created a very brief literacy test for you to sample. Click Here to visit the IBC website. Once you land on the page, look to the upper right hand corner of the page to find the literacy quiz. You might be a little surprised at your quiz results. We think you will agree, there is more to insurance than meets the eye. We are here to help! Should the quiz stimulate a few questions that need answers, don't hesitate to contact us at any time.Oil TanksOld metal oil tanks pose a considerable risk to you and your environment. More specifically, outdoor metal tanks corrode over time and more often than not, a corroded tank results in a very destructive oil spill. A spill of any severity is considerably disruptive and inconvenient for a homeowner. Perhaps more importantly, a spill is very damaging to the environment. Did you know a spill of one litre of fuel oil will contaminate a water table equal to the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool!Many insurance companies are no longer offering coverage to homeowners should they still have an outdoor metal tank. We are not one of those companies! We still extend coverage however, you are encouraged to have your tank inspected to prevent an unnecessary spill from occurring.Ontario's Auto Insurance ReformAs you may know by now, the provincial government initiated the reform of Ontario's auto insurance product beginning with a series of reforms first implemented in September 2010. The nature of the government's reform is driven by the need to offer improved protection for Ontario insurance consumers and to further improve consumers' accessibility to affordable automobile insurance.The incidence and severity of insurance fraud and the growing costs of providing accident benefit and bodily injury coverage to consumers, are significant challenges that we and all other insurers now face. Further reforms are needed to bring more stability and certainty to the business of automobile insurance in Ontario. In a recent address delivered at the Insurance Bureau of Canada's (IBC) annual general meeting, the CEO of IBC also spoke of the importance for the government to implement further reform with a greater sense of urgency. To read a brief summary of his remarks in a recent edition of Thompson's World Insurance News, please click here.With bodily injury loss ratios on the rise, the time is now to push ahead with further reforms that will ensure the improved affordability of auto insurance. http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=34341 34341 Tue, 15 May 2012 16:30:00 +0000 Like most prior years, 2011 was another remarkable year! It was a year littered with considerable angst and uncertainity as people around the world stood tall and voiced their disenchantment with much their governments and societies had to offer. Be it the Arab Spring or the Occupy Wall Street movement, leaders from around the world took notice that change was in the air! Angst and uncertainty was not limited to just the political and social arenas. The global economy was once again nearly brought to its knees as the European Union struggled to keep many of its members from defaulting on their soveriegn debt and to keep some of the world's largest banks from collapsing.  Systemic to all of the remarkable events in 2011 was the desire and need for change. One should not be surprised to hear this loud and unequivocal call for change coming from people who inhabit all the continents of the globe. Political, business, social and cultural leaders of all stripes need to heed this call for change albeit not hastily and not without calm. It was also a remarkable year for Erie Mutual in 2011 for we celebrated our 140th year of continuous business operations. As a proud member of the mutual insurance community in Canada, Erie Mutual is one of only a very few Canadian mutual insurance corporations with such a rich legacy. Coincidental or not, change has been the order of the day at Erie Mutual for much of the last 3 years. Our mission statement requires us "to be responsive to the changing needs of our mutual policyholders by providing superior service and innovative products through our team of dedicated professionals." To this end, our response has been to invest considerable time and money in new people, products, processes and technology, to better serve our valued policyholders. In the year ahead, Erie Mutual will continue to change, in so far as to create greater policyholder satisfaction, to grow and to sustain the strong, financially stable company Erie has become. On behalf of the entire team of Erie stakeholders, I extend best wishes to you for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!   John Dunton President & CEO http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=30357 30357 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:37:00 +0000 Jeremy Cato of the Globe & Mail, presents some further insight into this important subject and in fact, makes a case for the uniformity of all driver licensing authorities across Canada, to develop a system that addresses the fitness of all drivers not just seniors. Click on the link below to read Jeremy's article. Jeremy Cato's article http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=24746 24746 Mon, 4 Jul 2011 10:01:00 +0000 Today, many homeowners need to better understand the home insurance protection they have in force. Policies and coverages vary from one insurance company to the next, so it is critical for all homeowners to clearly understand the insurance protection contained within their policy. Here are a few things you should know about home insurance. What are some factors to consider when purchasing or renewing your home insurance coverage? Not all home insurance policies are the same. Your decision to purchase insurance for the first time or to renew your home insurance, should go beyond what price you will pay for the coverage you are acquiring.  Some factors to consider in your decision making include: - do you require a face-to-face relationship with your insurance representative? - do you prefer a more personalized claims settlement process? - do you have the most affordable deductible included in your policy? All of these factors will impact your coverage. You are encouraged to invest some time in learning about all of your coverage options before making any final purchase or renewal decision. Do I have sewer back-up coverage? It may come as a surprise to you, but not all insurance policies extend coverage for damages incurred when sewer back-up occurs in your home. Sewer back-ups are becoming increasingly more frequent given the aging infrastructures of many municipalities. We are also seeing more homeowners occupy their basement space more and more, often spending thousands of dollars to renovate this space and equip it with expensive audio/video equipment. Take the necessary precautions and contact your insurance agent to learn more about sewer back-up coverage.  Can I receive a discount on my policy? The simple answer is yes! You can and may even receive multiple discounts on your policy. Most insurers offer discounts for such things as being a non-smoking household, having a monitored alarm system or being a claims-free policyholder. Make sure you are aware of all available discounts with your insurer at the time you are purchasing home insurance or simply renewing your policy. At Erie Mutual Insurance, we believe the most important thing you should know about your home insurance policy is that your policy is a complex contract that requires sound advice to go with it. We strongly encourage you to meet your Erie Mutual insurance agent at least once per year, to review your policy in detail to ensure it covers all of the risks that may present themselves in the future.   http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=24053 24053 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:24:00 +0000 Bad weather remains our nemesis. It can cause significant damage to property, but there are a few responsible acts homeowners, farmers and business people can undertake, to mitigate some of the property damage from occurring. In a recent conversation with Erie Mutual's Claims Adjuster - Tom Pooler, Tom suggested policyholders should take the following steps to lessen their exposure to risk. To help prevent significant damage to property caused by high winds, one should: A. Regularly inspect their home, farm and/or commercial buildings to determine if any repairs or regular maintenance is required. B. Complete any and all repairs or regular maintenance. (e.g. replacing a few loose or worn shingles on a roof). C. Secure all property such as play structures, trampolines, outdoor furniture and barbecues and; D. Regularly inspect and maintain all trees on a property that present themselves as a potential risk to property damage. Trees, located close to a house or barn, with dead branches and rotting trunks pose the greatest risk to property damage. Bad weather in the form of excessive precipitation also brings the risk of damage to property. In fact, claims associated with water damage are increasing in severity and frequency, as more people are spending more time in basement living space. To assist in lessening the risk of water damage to property, Tom Pooler also suggests: E. all property (e.g. family heirlooms, collections, etc.) stored or present in a basement should be off the floor and placed on skids. F. all valuable property (e.g. family photos) should be stored off the floor, in water resistant containers. By taking the aforementioned steps, you are likely to dramatically reduce your chance of loss due to bad weather. An ounce of prevention today, may save you from experiencing a significant financial or sentimental loss of property. http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=22808 22808 Mon, 2 May 2011 10:52:00 +0000 Our web statistics are clearly indicating that our website is becoming a source of important insurance information for our policyholders and other interested visitors. Be it to obtain information about our products & services, to view some recently added videos or to request an insurance quote, visitors to our site are increasing in numbers each month and are visiting the site for longer periods of time. This is encouraging news for us as we move forward with developing eriemutual.com into a much richer, interactive web experience. Web statistics are just one source of important data that we use to make our site better. More importantly, we would like to hear from you - an interested visitor to eriemutual.com. Tell us what you like or dislike about the site. Is it easy to navigate? Are there important insurance matters you would like us to present? Any and all comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome. Qualitative information is just as important to us as the statistics we gather. Thank you for visiting eriemutual.com.  http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=21663 21663 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 19:06:00 +0000 In the early hours of Saturday, March 5th, I was awakened at about 2:30 AM by the sound of a horrific crash behind our house on Beckett Drive in Hamilton. Within minutes, the sound of sirens echoed throughout the neighbourhood as police and fire vehicles responded to what appeared to be a very serious motor vehicle accident. Later that same day at approximately 10:30 PM, the sirens returned as police and fire vehicles responded to another serious accident on the hill. Despite the noble efforts of a very vocal neighborhood group, the City of Hamilton's roads department and the police to make the road safer to navigate, Beckett Drive remains an extremely dangerous road to travel on especially when road conditions are compromised due to bad weather. Yet it is apparent that drivers will not slow down when descending the hill road even when snow, rain and/or black ice create very risky driving conditions. More than one life has been lost over the past few years because of drivers' unwillingness to slow down. Driving is a risky business at the best of times! Excessive speed, alcohol impairment, driver distraction and other poor behaviors can very quickly lead to tragic results. Please make it part of your daily behavior to be a safe driver. Be a responsible driver and don't tragically alter your life or the lives of others because you were in a rush to get somewhere or you had that extra glass of wine at the restaurant. http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=20918 20918 Mon, 7 Mar 2011 09:00:00 +0000 Hello. My name is John Dunton and I am the President & CEO of the Erie Mutual Insurance Fire Insurance Company. By now, you have probably seen, heard or experienced the change we are fostering within our company. Be it new people, expanded facilities, automated business processes or improved information technology, any and all change is being implemented to deliver a better insurance experience to you, our valued mutual policyholder. Not only are we changing how we do things but, we are also changing how we look. Very recently, the Board of Directors approved a new company logo and a new company name. The new logo and the new name of the company now appear in the top banner of our home page. The new logo is reflects the same blue, red and white colours of Erie but is presented in a little more contemporary style. Our new name - Erie Mutual Insurance, is not markedly different from our old name. It is simply much easier to pronounce! Please take a moment to view the new logo and name at the top of the page. Although our name and the company's logo are new, we still embrace the core values of the company that have been part of Erie for the past 140 years. Honesty and integrity continue to drive our decision making and business behaviors each and every day. We are moving forward with a bounce in our step to better serve you and your neighbours throughout Haldimand County and the Region of Niagara. http://www.eriemutual.com/index.cfm?i=12061&mid=25&blogid=6154&comments=20917 20917 Tue, 1 Mar 2011 09:00:00 +0000