Why your insurance has become more expensive? As many of you know from first-hand experience, your insurance became more expensive recently. You are not alone! Without delving too deeply into why I summarize here some of the contributing factors for both insurers and insureds: Competition between insurers for marketplace share between 2005 and 2017 was...
Our Group Benefits specialist Tara Klein wrote this excellent article that was recently published in the Ontario Industrial Roofing Contractors Association (OIRCA)’s latest publication of the Ontario Roofing News! Here are the highlights from the article: OHIP + Launched in January of 2018 by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government, OHIP + provided prescription drugs to Ontario...
A Halloween edition of “Simon Says” features a construction risk article on: Indemnification Agreements. I’ve seen some scary indemnification agreements in my career. Some butchered from the parts of many resulting in abhorrent Frankencontracts! Contractors should consider contractual risks carefully before bidding or entering any contractual agreement. If you are awarded a contract but...
You DON’T want to land on the front page of the newspaper because you’ve been hacked! Does your company have a website? Do you have a presence on Twitter, LinkedIN, and Facebook? If so, you may be susceptible to a cyber-attack. Consider that almost half of all ‘hacking’ attacks target small to medium size companies. ...
Surety bonds are an important part of the construction industry and are quite often a core requirement for contractors. Bonds, and specifically Contract Surety Bonds, differ greatly from insurance in that they are three party agreements between the contractor (the ‘Principal’), the project owner to whom you are obligated to perform the work (the ‘Obligee’),...
A summary of a speech delivered by Simon Fenn at the CRCA 2015 AGM This article reviews historical issues affecting the roofing industry; roofing liability claims; insurable and uninsurable risk in roofing specifically and introduces an explanation of the risk management process, on the opinion that the ICI roofing industry must at all times embrace...
We all refer to them as drones so we can depend on the authorities to give them different names just to confuse us all. Transport Canada has named them Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) which at least is consistent with other international bodies. (In this paper for context I’ll flip from drone to UAV but...
In 2000 Reliance Insurance Company was the insurer behind the CRCA Insurance programme. In June 2000 Reliance Insurance Company stopped writing insurance business and in October 2001 went into liquidation. The Insurance Journal headlines read: Reliance Insurance Company 1817 – 2001 R.I.P. Such has been the demise of many insurers but this in particular was...
The Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) has three courses available to become IHSA Training Providers, these are: School Bus Driver Improvement Course Defensive Driving Working from Height IHSA Training Provider Details and Agreement Details of how to apply for Trainer training are here: www.ihsa.ca/training_provider/index.cfm One pre-requisite of the Training Provider courses is completion of the...
WHAT IS INSTALLATION INSURANCE? A widely misunderstood yet very important coverage to roofing contractors is Installation insurance often referred to on most trade contractors’ property insurance policies as an Installation Floater. Although the coverage forms differ to some degree from insurer to insurer, it is really the trade contractor’s equivalent to Builder’s Risk Insurance required...
Outsourcing has been practices for generations. It is essential that any company planning on outsourcing some or all of its operations or services selects its subcontractors carefully. In outsourced warehousing/ shipping and subcontracted manufacturing, correct selection of these services can keep you out of Outsourcing Hell! This posting provides a very general overview of risk,...
Fenn & Fenn Insurance Practice Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of Tarion Warranty Corporation Bonds and Excess Condominium Deposit Insurance (ECDI) through our insurance and surety partners. Another specialty service that Fenn & Fenn Insurance Practice’s Construction Keystone service provides to its Construction and Development Industry clientele. Use us as your representative to...
A number of months ago I posted the attached construction focused paper entitled How Much General Liability Insurance is Enough. It received favourable feedback but I felt it necessary to do a re-release as I continue to meet contractors that buy the minimum amount of liability insurance mentioned in standard construction contracts, despite words like...
I just bought new glasses and the arms are so thick I have to be extra careful checking my blind spot whilst driving. Hello everyone – This is a far less technical blog than what you may be used to from me. According to WikiAnswers.com 64.2% of Canadians wear eyeglasses. It looks like I’m in...
This Simon Says Blog is about picking the right broker for the job. In this case Fenn & Fenn was introduced by one of our friends in the legal industry. The customer involved, a mid sized engineering & construction company had two brokers, one working on its errors and omissions insurance and one on the...
This is a Simon Says article on Legal Expense Insurance in a more “public” context than my last “contractor” focused article. If you are faced with legal disputes or overwhelmed by regulatory bodies imposing new rules and regulations on your business, you may wish to consider this protection. Enjoy the read. Making a Case for...
Legal Expense Insurance has arrived in Canada after being offered in many other countries for over 80 years. It provides affordable access to justice for small to medium sized businesses. Based on a survey completed by DAS Canada (http://www.das.ca/), 2 days in Civil Court costs on average C$26,000 and the cost of legal services on...
The following link takes you to the Insurance Bureau of Canada website. It contains various useful reference information. One that is particularly useful for any corporation is the Risk Management guide on Directors & Officers. Here is the link – bit.ly/1MGv57g