If you or your spouse ever have to use your mortgage insurance, will your claim be denied? If you got it from the bank, there is a distinct possibility that it will.

Mortgage insurance is actually just a life insurance policy based on the value and length of your mortgage. Its purpose is to pay off the remainder of your mortgage if you or your spouse should die. The surviving party then would not have the burden of paying off the mortgage on their own. The benificiary is the bank (not your spouse) and the value of the policy diminishes as you pay down your mortgage.

A fire in Edmonton, Alberta in February that caused the death of one man was discovered to have started because of a space heater the man was using in his garage.

If you've been following the latest updates to home insurance in Alberta the past couple of months, you've heard mention of Backwater Valves and Backflow Prevention. There are a number of new and existing home insurance discounts that require you you have this device. Not to mention that it just might save your basement one day.

Saying that it's been a tough couple of years for property owners in our province is a bit of an understatement at this point. In fact, Alberta receives the largest distribution of catastrophes in Canada - 62% of Canada's monetary property losses happened in Alberta in 2012. 

Economical Insurance announced some changes to their property insurance policies last week that may seem minor when compared to the reactions to Alberta's severe weather claims that we've seen from other insurance companies. But, while these changes aren't laden with over the top rate increases, they are important for Economical policy holders to review. 

Did you know that the city of Edmonton will send qualified personnel out to your house to spend an hour with you reviewing possible measures you can take to help avoid flooding in your house? They do and it's free of charge. While they're there, you can ask them what to do to make sure that you qualify for their backwater valve subsidy program as well. 

In a bulletin released Friday, Peace Hills Insurance announced changes to their personal lines and farm property policies that will have widespread affect across Alberta. The changes are slated to take effect on renewals and new policies occuring after March 16, 2014 and could include increases of up to 70% in some areas.

I think we can all agree that going easy on the environment is always a good idea. Many of the products we use every day are now going green even if just making slight changes to become a little greener than they were before. So can you home insurance go green? Aviva Insurance has just launched a new product aimed at doing just that!