Going away for the holidays? Between shopping for gifts, party planning, cooking, and decorating, it’s important to find time to prepare your home for your absence. You need to consider how you will prepare your home to ensure your home and belongings remain safe.

Fall is here and now is the perfect time to start preparing your home for winter. Regular home maintenance can help you avoid paying for major repairs. It can also reduce your number of homeowner insurance claims (an increase in claims can increase your insurance premiums).

Take care of these important home maintenance tasks to ensure your home is ready for winter.  

Home ownership is one of the biggest financial investments that Canadians make. You want to make sure that this large investment is properly insured. Your home is vulnerable to damage and destruction. Fire, flood, and theft are just some examples. Properly insuring your home means that you have adequate coverage in the event of serious damage or destruction.

Thinking of buying a home? You’ll probably first need to get approved for a mortgage. To improve your chances, there are a variety of things that you can do. Being prepared will help you show the lender that you are ready and able to take on a mortgage. Below are some tips to help you increase your chances of being approved for a mortgage. 

Aviva’s Home Protect Bundle is a new product available to home and condo owners who have their insurance policy with Aviva Insurance Company of Canada. This cost saving value added package was created to help you decrease and prevent claims. It also offers a variety of assistance services from professionals in legal matters, health issues, and real estate. 

Did you know that every 60 seconds someone in Canada gets bitten by a dog? That’s over 525,000 people being bitten each year! If you’re a dog owner, it’s important for you to talk to your insurance provider to know if you are covered for your dog. Your dog is your responsibility. You are legally liable for any injuries or damages caused by your furry friend.

Damages caused by flooding and water damage are often very expensive and can result in thousands of dollars in losses. Standing water in a basement can lead to mold, mildew, health and breathing hazards, rust, and rot. In order to prevent these problems from arising, many homes with basements have a sump pump installed. Unfortunately, sump pumps sometimes break down.

With Fort McMurray residents on their way back to homes that haven't had power for an entire month now, it's inevitable that they will be returning to a fridge full of rotten food. It doesn't take a month to ruin your food AND your fridge though. Here's what you should do if you have been without power to your fridge or freezer for any extended period of time.

As residents return to their homes in the voluntary phased re-entry of Fort McMurray, many are finding out for the first time, what exactly they have to come home to. Many will have damage to assess and some complete losses that they will need to report to their insurance company. Many insurance companies have already set up mobile claims centres in town and making concessions to make sure that they can do anything they can to make things easier for the victims of the fire.

The Government of Alberta and Google have both released satellite images of the devastation that the wild fires in Northern Alberta have caused. Alberta's Map Services App comes with a warning that "structures that appear to be standing should not be considered undamaged". While these maps may not provide all the answers that victims are seeking, for many this is a first glimpse into what waits for them back home.