The Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-02-11, Page 5unaware
The insurance business, whether itbe
auto, hone 'farm or commercial i " :b o •-
, S ec m
in more Complex as the companies compete
8 P companies
for their share, of the market.Basically, all
companies provide the same coverages but
will periodically introduce added ,
features or
extensions' of the 'rote � tion to get theedge
P. eF a >7 • dSe
on their competitors.
Unless the public obtains. knowledge of
Pw g
' these various updates from the media or
their insurance agents, they are ,quite often
unaware of the availabilityof added,protec-
tion.
r o t
, pose.
tion. -
According to' Rod McDonagh h of McDon-
agh
cD -
a h>F..
,B g ,. on
g nsuirance Agency.. Ltd, Lucknow, the
mechanics of the industry have remained
constant during his five years in the<
• uJ ,.;
b siness, but .: the . added features brought
about by . competition are increasing in
number. With more of their business being
done by mail and less through personal
contact, it is difficult to keep customers.
informed he says.
Where customers once tended to come in.
to the • office at .policy renewal time,
,to
are now more often sent in by
mail.
House insurance has undergone most
notable changes lately, Rod points .out. To
the owner occupied house, the homeowners'
Package policy remains the mostcompre-
hensive form of coverage,
In most instances with this type of
protection, an inflation guard is written right
into . the policy, says Rod. With inflation
annually into double figure increases; this
has become quite important as without it,
values can quickly fall behind and be subject
to a financial loss, as well as physical loss in
theevent of fire.:
Replacement cost. coverage on household
contents has become popular in the last two
years, Rod observes. By adding this feature
to a policy the politcy holder is entitled to
repairs. to, or replacement of, the affected
item(s) without depreciation due to age or
wear. This does not apply to property which
is not. in . workable condition, has become
obsolete by age, or is of an inherent nature
that it cannot be replaced such as antiques,
paintings: rare books, collectors' items. etc.
These types of items ,should really; be
appraised by a knowledgeable dealer and
placed on a Scheduled Articles Floater
where the best protection can .•be derived.
With the increase in the value of gold, and
silver, it is becoming more important to have
jewellery listed states Rod. This also applies
to furs; camera equipment, coin or stamp
collections, silverware, firearms, etc. •
A seasonal question quite often asked at
this time of the year is whether collapse of
building. damage to eaves -troughing or ice
and water back up, caused by snow
overload, is covered by insurance. With the
majority of companies this is not covered as
it- is deemed` to be the property owners`
responsibility to take preventative steps to
avoid this type of damage.
With ,many people going south for winter
vacations, the question of Vancancy Permits
also arises. A house is not considered to be
vacant for insurance purposes if it is left
completely furnished and is checked on
regularly by a dependable person. The time
spans between checks varies from. company
to company but to be safe it should be at
least every 72 hours, suggests Rod. If a
t $`"4h
dwelling is leftunfurnished r n
or. unattende
d,.
the insurance- agentshould be notified as
coverage
can become, null and void.
Wind dama$e to the television aerial or.
antenna is, another exclusion under " most
house insurance. policies, ` explains ;' Rod.
Although covered for lightning strike, this is
not covered due . to exposure, against
damages resulting from wind, unless specif-
ically • mentioned on . a floater.
FARM INSURANCE
Farm insurance has remained more
constant by comparison with the main differ-
ences being in the values involved " in
machinery, livestock and buildings. Barry
McDonagh, who handles the farm insurance
end of the business, pointa out that on a
policy dated 1907 on , display in the
McDonagh office, the fire ratesowere higher
than today's rates.
Barry stresses that farm mutual compan-
ies are urging farmers to keep the values on
insured property; livestock and machinery
up, to date. Ui,der the co-insurance rider,
observes Barry, the insured could end up
absorbing partof the loss if his coverages do
not reach 80 per cent or more of the Avalue.
Another change to farm policies, adds
Barry, has been the . introduction of ' entrap-
ment
ntrapment protection on the livestock. floaters.
This, feature, explains, [tarry, protects ag-
ainst a beast becomingcaught in the stab-
ling or fencing, smothering, under collap-
sing sileage, etc. Several area farmers nave.
been able to claim for a loss which they
would have . had to absorb before. As in a
lightning loss, reason for death must be
confirmed by a veterinarian.
Companies have also started to offer
higher deductibles in exchange for premium
discounts.
' AUTO INSURANCE COMPLEX
The auto insurance is by farthe "most
complex and requires the most attention,
Rod states.' As independent agents, McDon-
aghs have several different companies they
can quote from. It is their job to `match the
insured withthe company best suited .for
•him or her, based on the ;vehicle •driven,
number of miles driven, driver's age, sex,
and driving record. •
Ratechanges and wording updates are
fairly regular in the auto field. As a vehicle
gets older the insurance is supposed to come
down in price, but this is usually offset by
increased cost for repairs -and the increasing
amounts' in liability' settlements.
Liability is, becoming increasingly more
important as court action seems to be much',
more common and the settlements run into°
the millions of dollars. Ontario will soon
increase *the minimum amount of liability
that can be carried from $100 thousand to
$200 thousand but the McDonaghs feel $500, \,
thousand is a safer minimum.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
Barry mentions a new feature of auto
liability whereby you can, buy extra coverage
to protect yourself against damages when
struck by an underinsured or uninsured
motorist. He adds. that although all vehicles
are supposed to `carry insurance under
Ontario's compulsoryauto'insurance act, the
system is not foolproof and there still are
uninsured vehicles on the roads.
Many motorists feel they are automatic-
ally covered for a rental vehicle in the event
that their ;vehicle is off the road due to an
accident. This is not ,automatic,, says Barry,
as extra coverage must be purchased for
this, -
Often when there are two or more vehicles:
involved in an accident the company
representing theguilty vehicle will pay a
certain amount towards car rental for the,.
innocent party.
-T isyear .marks 50 years ofcontinued.
service. in ' the insurance field for the
'McDonagh family. John A. McDonagh, who
started the business in 1931,.Was active until .
the time of his death in July, 1977. ife had
operated fr m his ho e in Ashfield Town -
o 4m
ship until the late fifties when he opened an
office in the Joynt Block on Lucknow's main
e. In 1977,hemoved theagency to its
street. ag ncy
present location, the former Bank of
Montreal building,. across from the post
office. Duringthis time, he had P urchased.
other' insurance agencies belonging to. Elmer
Fairish, T. A. Cameron, Howard Agnew and
Sam Alton,
son, o Barry, , Ba ,started in the business in
1968 and purchased a half interest in .1972..
He had acquired real estate licence. in 1969
and started. his own firm, B. A. McDonagh
Real Estate' Ltd. in 1972 which is operated as
a separate company.
Another son, : Rod, began working in the
office in 1976 and purchased his father's half
interest in January, 1977. At that time, he
and
Barry formed a partnership and.
operated in this manner until May, 1978
when they formed a limited corporation, Rod
also his . an investment business which is
operated from the same' location.
Now is the time to think about.
your Registered Retirement
Savings Plan.
The investment you make in
an R.R.S.P. can save you tax
money today, and give you a
retirement income tomorrow.
Enquire about an R.R.S.P. at
Standard Trust, today.
1
1
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Now is the tine to book your now bolding and
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