Author: Tyler Brown

Pride Month in Ontario

Each June is celebrated as Pride Month throughout many countries, including Canada. Pride month is spent celebrating those in the LGBTQ+ community and the great impact it has across the globe. It is to promote the self-affirmation, equality, increased visibility, and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. There are activities and events throughout the month to promote the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community.

The biggest way to mark the month is by having a parade, which is held in most regions and larger cities throughout Canada and other countries. The fear, struggle, oppression and loss is recognized all month long and the impact that LGBTQ+ people have had throughout the world is celebrated. Pride Month is celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots that occurred at the end of June 1969. Since then, every June has been dedicated to uplifting of LGBTQ+ voices, celebrating the culture, and supporting the rights of the community. 

The city of Brantford is excited to be celebrating their 10th annual Pride month with events planned to recognize and celebrate the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people throughout the city. This year, we start the month off with a virtual raising of the Pride flag. Other events planned include trivia night, a film screening, a Rainbow meal at the Soup for the Soul, and if social guidelines allow it, we end the month with a pub night. In addition to all the events planned, the city is getting a rainbow sidewalk, just like Paris and other places have done. The County of Brant Public Library has made a list of the top 30 LGBTQ+ titles available there, as well as offering craft kits with a rainbow theme for kids available for curbside pick-up.

DBI Brokers Ltd. is an inclusive company and working environment that does not judge against sexual orientation. We will not turn away any client with sexual orientation, race, religion or political views. Supporting equality is something we pride ourselves on. 

For more information on Pride Month throughout Brant County go to https://www.brant.ca/en/resident-services/pride-week-in-brant.aspx. For Brantford specific Pride Month events, go to https://brantfordpride.ca/events for a calendar and list for the month of June.

Spring Cleaning: Cleaning, Repairing and Renos

Springtime is a great time of year to clean up our homes, and many take part in spring cleaning. Often, this is when homeowners start repairing and renovating their property & house. Whether it’s the warmer weather that motivates us to get moving or we are ready to start repairing after a long weekend, spring always sees this uptick. 

Landscaping

When the weather changes, the spring cleaning of your front yard will give you space and time to make some changes to your garden or landscaping. Planting beautiful new flowers to add a splash of colour to your yard. You could also upgrade or renovate your landscaping by adding a new walkway or border around your garden or driveway. Before you perform any landscaping at your home, please consult a professional to see what would best fit your needs and budget.

Renovation

With any renovation, upgrade or repair, it is best to consult a professional before performing anything in or outside your home. Whether you want to renovate your kitchen, upgrade your backyard with a deck or seating area, there are many professionals available for any project you desire. This time of year is the perfect time to have repairs and renovations, as the weather can have you spend time outside if the workers need to work inside your home and you can not disturb them. 

If your home is in need of repairs, your insurance could help with the costs, and ease the stress of needing to come up with all of the money to keep your home safe and in tip-top shape. Before, during, and after your renovations, keep in touch with your insurance broker to ensure that you are covered for the renovations you wish to make. 
For more information on home insurance, visit our website at www.dbibrokers.ca where you can start 

General Health & Stress Relief Tactics During Lockdown

Lockdown has been stressful for all of us. There are many ways people have managed their stress and general health during these trying times. Some you can do on your own, and some can be done with the other members of your household. 

Movement

Something that will help you feel great is movement. Enjoy a daily walk around the block or find a trail (the All Trails app is amazing for this!). The fresh air and sunshine will make you feel good, and the movement will help your body. Consider joining an online fitness class or hitting the trails with your bike. Movement will help your mental and physical body!

Keep in Touch

Keeping in touch with your loved ones through phone calls or video chatting will also help ease your stress levels. Although we can’t be near them physically, leaning on them emotionally during trying times will help.

Hobbies

Picking up a new hobby such as doing puzzles, knitting or diamond painting while you’re in your house for hours at a time will help stimulate your brain and lower your stress and anxiety levels during this difficult time. Puzzles have been a very popular way to spend lockdown. Puzzle makers saw sales go up by 300-400% during the quarantine.

Routine

Following a routine will keep your body and mind in sync during lockdown. This can include eating well, spending time outside or making a daily phone call to a loved one. If you are noticing your mental health is being affected by the lockdown, there are services and ways to manage that to keep you on track until life returns to normal. 


Get Professional Help

If you feel like you are experiencing higher than normal stress levels, consider talking to a therapist. Psychologists, psychiatrists or therapists are available to talk to virtually or over the phone. With the restrictions put upon us, a lot has been switched to a virtual platform to allow those who are stuck in their homes to have access to the services they normally would have to go out for. Ask your doctor for more information about how you can receive the help you need.

Due to the coronavirus, some private insurance companies can help you pay for mental health resources that you would normally have to pay for or that OHIP won’t cover. For more information or questions about an insurance package that will help you with health and mental health resources, contact us today through www.dbibrokers.ca. 

Time to Open Your Cottage!

With the warmer weather approaching, it is time to re-open your seasonal cottage. Before you successfully open it, be sure to check for damages that may have occurred over the winter months.

Check the exterior of the cottage for any damages from critters before making your way carefully inside to see if any got in before searching for damages inside. Change the air filters if you need to and ensure that your septic system works. Check the foundation and ensure that your heating and cooling system works. Inspect any holes in screens, windows or the roof and get them fixed by a professional. Once you have finished inspecting everything and it’s all in working order and safe to spend time in throughout the warmer months, you can safely stay there yourself or rent it out.

When it comes to your home, spring cleaning is something that everything endures. Cleaning out everything that you no longer need or want to donate to someone who could get more use out of it will make your home feel less cluttered.

In addition to spring cleaning, landscaping and home renovations also occur most often during the spring and summer months. Any changes you want to make to the interior or exterior to your home is best done when you can be outside or staying somewhere where you can enjoy the warm weather while projects are being completed. Whether you want a deck built in your backyard or an extension built on your home, they are most enjoyed during the warmer months. May it be hosting family or friends over for a backyard barbecue, or enjoying your sunroom to have the sunlight while reading or crafting.

Spring and summer months are the perfect time to upgrade your home and enjoy the renovations and landscaping additions.

Protecting Your House – How to Minimize Water Damage

Standing in front of Niagara Falls is an awe-inspiring experience. Water is a powerful force of nature. And this force of nature can cause tremendous damage to your home as we enter into spring. Water is one of the top causes of damage to homes, and repairs may be expensive.

This blog will outline ways you can minimize the amount of damage that water can make to your home and the valuables inside as the warmer weather starts melting the snow and the spring showers begin.

  • Store Your Valuables – Protect your valuables by storing them in waterproof containers or bags and move them out of flood-prone areas in the home. Make sure there are no electrical cords laying on the ground. If there are appliances that are plugged in, be sure to unplug them and move them to a higher level of the home.
  • Check your windows, air vents, skylights and chimney for any leaks. If you find leaks, be sure to repair them immediately. 
  • Floor Drains – After looking at windows and other openings in the ceiling, check the floor drains and remove anything that could cause it to clog. Keep the area surrounding the floor drain clear. 
  • Clear eavestroughs and downspouts of leaves and other debris
  • Check your sump pump and follow proper maintenance suggestions
  • Well Covers – Consider installing window well covers to keep window wells clear of pooling water and debris. As the winter weather subsides, you want to make sure that the snow and ice is far enough away from the edge of your home that it won’t melt, accumulate, and leak into your basement.
  • Check the Roof – Checking the roof for snow, ice, and missing shingles is also a crucial part of preventing water damage to your home. If you have any missing shingles, replace and repair them as soon as possible.
  • Review your insurance policy and consider adding additional coverage as your typical home insurance may not cover basement flooding or sewer backups. 

Between spring bringing spring showers, or a summer thunderstorm, water can cause serious damage to your home. Contact us at dbi Brokers today to have all your home insurance questions answered when it comes to water damage and let’s get you protected. 

Spring Forward

Twice a year, we need to change our clocks. Now that spring is arriving, we need to gear up to spring our clocks forward an hour on Sunday, March 14th. 

Many people don’t agree with changing the clocks, but there are benefits to it. The sun seems as though it stays out longer throughout the day. That means you won’t need to turn your lights on in your house so early and you can see outside clearly as the night goes on.

A lot of people like daylight savings because they hate driving in the dark. This makes drivers feel more safe and better about driving conditions, and they feel that it helps reduce accidents.

More than anything, daylight savings time has a lot of health benefits. Seasonal depression seems to level off once we turn the clocks forward, since there is much more sunlight all around us. People enjoy waking up to the sun, and leaving work while it’s still light out.

The sunlight encourages people to enjoy the outdoors, and are motivated to walk more as the weather starts warming up in the spring months.

Daylight savings, is just that, saving the amount of daylight we get throughout the day. You can enjoy the sun for a longer amount of time. Whether you’re driving to work, enjoying the many trails we have around the County of Brant, or are just enjoying time with your family later into the day.

With the way this past year has been, it will be a welcome relief to be able to spend time with others outside. Even if it’s from a distance, it will still be a nice change. 

Whether you set your clock back before you go to bed on Saturday, March 13th, or stay up and change it at 2:00 in the morning on the Sunday, daylight savings time will be welcomed with open arms by many, many people.

Same Values, New Feel/Look

dbi-logo

If you haven’t already heard, Dalrymple – Burns Insurance has been rebranded as dbi Brokers Ltd.  We still have the same small town values that Mr. Dalrymple and the Burns Family instilled in their brokerages years ago, but times have changed a little bit, and we needed to as well.

We made this video to help reintroduce ourselves, check it out, and learn what we are all about.

Out with the old and in with the new seems to be the trend more and more frequently these days.  Although we still have the same values, we’re now able to offer you a new/better experience:

  • We’re on social media, sharing valuable content.
  • Our website has been updated and is more user friendly than ever.
  • We can work with you and complete applications via email and e-signatures.
  • You can e-transfer payments to us instead of bringing in funds or supplying your credit information.

We encourage you to explore our website, and better yet, contact us to truly experience the dbi difference!

Insurance Brokers vs. Agents; What’s The Difference?

questions

Let’s be honest; the insurance industry can be difficult to navigate.  It can be frustrating when you’re trying to find the best combination of service, rate, and coverage.  It can even be trying for brokers and agents at times.

To begin to simplify insurance, let’s review a frequently discussed insurance topic.  The “what’s the difference between an insurance broker and an insurance agent?” question comes up a lot.  Below you’ll find some facts that compare, contrast, and recap differences.

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Brokers vs Agents

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Quick Facts about Brokers:

    • Brokers partner with multiple insurance companies and sell products for them.

  • Brokers are able to shop multiple insurance companies to find the best fit.

    • This includes different product types, coverages, deductibles, discounts, and prices for your situation.

  • Brokers provide help through the claims process. dbi Brokers Ltd even has a dedicated in-house claims rep that works for you!

  • Brokers must pass licencing exams, register with an official provincial body, and earn annual education credits to ensure they maintain their knowledge and expertise.

 

Quick Facts about Agents:

    • Agents represent one insurance company.

    • Agents know their products very well, but don’t have as many options.

      • Limited to product types, coverages, deductibles, discounts, and prices offered by their insurance company.

    • Agents generally don’t assist in the claims process, and the claims adjuster works for the insurance company, not the client.

    • Agents get licensed from a provincial body, but aren’t required to complete the same in depth education as brokers.

As you probably noted from the above, insurance agents offer products from one company, and they work for that same company.  In contrast, brokers are able to offer products from a number of different companies that they have partnered with, and they work for their clients.

Something specific to dbi Brokers is our in-house claims department that will assist you with the claims process from start to finish.  We pride ourselves on our customer service and work with your best interest in mind.

Obviously insurance isn’t something you really want to think about or deal with, but this should give you a little bit of insight into some key insurance industry differences.  Hopefully these facts assists you with your future insurance decisions.

4 Tips to Prevent Water Damage

It doesn’t matter if it’s a mild winter day, a spring thaw, or a sewer back up issue, water can find ways to places we don’t want it to be. Much of the time we don’t even think about the ways water damage can affect our homes until it’s too late. And that usually leads to frustrating fixes, and costly cleanups.

Following these simple water damage prevention tips could save you from the headache, and some expensive scenarios!

  1. We all know that water flows down into the ground. So, if your foundation has cracks, these could be possible inlets for water. Seal cracks in the foundation walls and floor.

  1. Part of your seasonal house maintenance should be making sure all water ways are clear. Clean eavestroughs, connecting downspouts, and sewer grates to ensure water can flow without obstruction.

  1. If water issues occur regularly in your house, consider installing a sump pump with a battery backup. A sump pump will move water out of flooded low points, and the battery backup will kick in during power outages.  You may even qualify for a discount if a sump pump and battery back up is installed.

  1. Have you ever poured grease down the kitchen sink? Or put paper towel or kitty litter into a toilet? These are habits to stop immediately if you’re wanting to avoid a sewer back up situation. Make sure your household disposes of waste properly!

Even taking these steps doesn’t ensure that you won’t be the victim of water damage, but it is a good start.

Your property insurance policy should also be set up to protect you against water damage. If you’re unsure if you’re covered, look for words like sewer back up, and overland water. If you can’t find those words, or if you’re still not sure what you’re covered for, get in touch with us and we’ll lend our expertise.

Stay Dry Friends!