With increased frequency of hail and windstorms, SGI Canada implemented some changes to their home insurance policies this summer. If you currently have an SGI Canada property insurance policy, these changes may affect you.

Between picking out tile and choosing paint colours, speaking with your home insurance broker doesn't usually come up when planning renovations to your home. Sure, you don't need to update your home insurance policy every time you change the hardware on your kitchen cabinets, but there are some projects where your broker is going to be your best friend.

Early this year Aviva Insurance announced an insurance first in Canada when they launched their Overland Water Coverage (Flood Insurance) for personal property insurance. There was some speculation about what this new endorsement protects Aviva customers from and whether or not it affects any existing coverages that Aviva clients had at the time of the announcement.

In anticipation of the June 1 launch, we attended an Aviva information session this week to answer some of these questions. Here is what you need to know about how this new endorsement affects current and future Aviva Insurance customers:

Since 2003 SGI customers have had the oppourtunity to collect Air Miles on their regular premium payments. In a bulletin released yesterday, SGI Canada announced that they will be phasing out their AIR MILES Reward Miles Program on January 1, 2015.

In a bulletin released today, Aviva Insurance has stated that the have mobilized their CAT team in Central Alberta. They have dispatched a number of appraisers and set up two drive-in appraisal centres in Airdire in an effort to expedite the appraisals of vehicles damaged in the August 7th hail storm.

We all know that getting struck by lightning is rare. In Canada, 150 people are injured by the over 2 million lightning strikes per year, but what you may not know is that it is far less rare to have your home struck by lightning. Often, there isn't much damage to the home, but if there is a considerable amount of damage... is a lightning strike covered by your home insurance?

Summer is finally in full swing! This time of year, people across the country are spending their weekends relaxing by the lake, and getting back to nature at their cabins and vacation properties. These vacation properties hold some great memories and have a lot of sentimental value for those who use them, but they can also be more at risk for theft and other perils.

So what do you have to do to make sure you're vacation property is covered in the event of a loss or damage to your property? Does your regular home insurance policy cover this property as well?