Home > News

News and Events

Rising costs of insurance got you down? Simple steps to help reduce your insurance premiums!

With today’s economy, we’re all looking for practical ways to reduce costs and save money. Unfortunately, it seems every time we turn around, costs are rising. Basic necessities like gas and food are rising, and insurance costs are no different. Here are some easy, pain-free tips for helping control your home and auto insurance premiums:

1. Combine policies – many insurers offer a multi-line discount, which can create savings. Combining your auto insurance with your home/condo policy can save you up to 10% in premium!

2. Keep your insurance provider informed – as your circumstances change, you may be eligible for additional discounts.
o Parking a seasonal vehicle can offset some of your costs
o A son or daughter off to school may qualify you for a discount
o A change in your vehicle use, or distance driven annually may reduce your premiums (such as retirement, maternity leave, or change in employment).

3. Review your deductibles – Increasing your home and auto deductibles translates into savings on your premium.

4. Improve home security – smoke detectors and dead bolt locks help reduce risk. Also, insurers often offer discounts for monitored alarm systems.

5. Practise safe driving – paying attention on the road (such as not talking on a cell phone) and obeying traffic rules will help keep your driving record clean. Most insurers offer preferred driving discounts for claims free drivers and further discounts for conviction free!

6. Let your broker around. When you receive your renewal policy, contact your broker. Our job is to shop the market to obtain the best deal for you. If you’re not happy with your rate, call and discuss your options with your broker.

Little changes can add up to savings in your home and auto insurance premiums.

Want to know more?
Contact Cornerstone Insurance Brokers, the endorsed administrator for the CPSA InsuranceSave program, at 1.888.281.2772 for Ontario inquiries or the CPSA Program Network Broker in your local area (www.csib.org).

Park’n Play at Park’N Fly Toronto Valet, and Win 1 of 8 BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets every day!

Not only do you save 25%, but each time you park at Toronto Park’N Fly Valet in February, you have the opportunity to win 1 of 8 BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets instantly. 8 BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets will be awarded every day from January 25, 2012 to February 29, 2012 (plus 100’s of other prizes).

It’s easy to play, simply check in at Toronto Park’N Fly Valet and you will receive a scratch and win card. Uncover the scratch and win prize and instantly you can be a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet winner or a winner of many other prizes such as Free Parking stays, weekly or daily and many more prizes!

Click here for details.

Unprecedented online protests halted SOPA, but some say this delay only encourages online criminals.

Many popular websites including Wikipedia shut down their sites for 24 hours two Fridays ago in protest of the American bill SOPA, meant to stop international piracy mostly affecting the entertainment, publishing, and pharmaceutical industries. The protesters felt that this new law would reduce internet freedoms and proliferate censorship. In addition to the sites that shut down in protest, many others, such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook protested SOPA, but did not shut down. The result was that progress on the SOPA bill has been halted, while politicians take into consideration the concerns of protestors. However, Chris Dodd, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, says that this delay just encourages piracy criminals.

Source: National Post

Small businesses can learn from the top 10 talent retention mistakes that large companies make.

Forbes contributor, Eric Jackson, recently listed his take on the top 10 reasons why large companies fail to retain their most talented employees. Many of these points might also be useful to the small and medium-sized businesses, especially because losing sales talent is even more hard-hitting in a smaller environment. The following are the top 10 mistakes your company does not want to make: Big Company Bureaucracy, Failing to Find a Project for the Talent that Ignites Their Passion, Poor Annual Performance Reviews, No Discussion around Career Development, Shifting Whims/Strategic Priorities, Lack of Accountability and/or telling them how to do their Jobs, Top Talent likes other Top Talent, The Missing Vision Thing, Lack of Open-Mindedness, Who’s the Boss.

Read more about these talent retention blunders here.

Source: Forbes

Canadian business should still invest, Canadian Governor says.

Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says growing access to capital should make Canadian businesses confident to invest, despite the financial chaos that has rocked Europe and troubling signals out of the United States. The head of the Montreal Board of Trade said Carney's comments are reassuring to entrepreneurs who wonder if the time is right to develop their businesses and export markets.

Source: CBC.com

How much will your plane ticket really cost you?

Airlines are now starting to charge for what they claim to be “premium” features: aisle seats, window seats, or emergency exit seats may potentially cost more than others. These newest fees are in addition to the recent introduction of baggage fees and increases in the prices of plane tickets in general.

Source: Tri-County Times

2012 Hotel and Car Rental Rates

Our 2012 Travel Savings Source Guide is in the process of being printed and will be sent to you directly. In the meantime, you can view the 2012 Hotel and Car Rental Rates in PDF format here: http://www.cpsa.com/HotelDirectory/index.aspx

What you need to know about using the iPad for business

Despite its mainstream success, questions have always lingered about whether the popular tablet is a true laptop substitute -- especially for the business set. How can you get the most out of your iPad and help improve the bottom line? Here are five things you need to know.
Source: Huffington Post

5 signs your small business is in trouble

It's perfectly natural for entrepreneurs to worry about their businesses. And nowadays, with all the negative news about the global economy and generalized nervousness here at home, that worry is even more understandable. But there are also times a business owner should worry about their venture. Here are five of those indicators, along with some suggestions on what to do about them.
Source: CBC

It’s never too early to go global!

Make your start-up export-ready from Day One.

We continue to fall behind countries large and small, from China and India down to Sweden and Israel. And the gap is increasing. Their companies become global market leaders and have positive exits, like going public or being bought. The root cause of the problem is this: Canadian entrepreneurs tend to launch businesses with only the Canadian market in mind. Don’t make the same mistake.

Follow this playbook to make your start-up export-ready from Day One, and you’ll improve your chances of success substantially.

Source: Business without Borders

Hiring? 5 Things You Need To Know About Conducting A Background Check

If you think it isn't necessary to conduct a background check on an employee, consider what might happen to your business if you hire the wrong person. You could wind up with an employee who steals from you, your other employees, or your customers. The wrong employee may turn out to be violent, and, if you didn't do your due diligence, you could be sued for negligent hiring.

Check out these 5 things you should think about when considering a background check.

Source: Huffington Post

Winter Driving Tips

Winter doesn’t always mean fluffy white snow. Are you ready for winter driving?

Winter driving means black ice, slippery roads, and impaired visibility – all hazards when behind the wheel. It may also mean a significant increase in fender benders or worse, extreme accidents. Fortunately, there are practical things you can do to keep you safe behind the wheel this winter.

Invest in winter tires. All season tires tend to harden and lose their grip at temperatures around – 10 degrees C. A good set of winter tires provides better traction, better braking, and overall better handling on icy roads, giving you more control behind the wheel. While winter tires do not come with a break on insurance rates, they will last for several years, and help prevent accidents which will cost you in the long run.
Be alert and pay attention. Consider driving with your headlights on during the day, particularly when weather conditions decrease visibility. You’ll see better and others will see you!
Check weather conditions before heading out, and allow extra time when the weather is bad. Never rush in icy or stormy weather – take your time and keep your focus on the roads.
To minimize the chances of hitting a vehicle in front of you on winter roads (when braking and stopping time generally decreases), keep a four-car distance from other vehicles.
If you park outside when it snows, take the little bit of extra time to completely clean your vehicle of snow. You’ll remember the benefit of this the next time you’re driving behind a mini van that didn’t clean the snow off the top of their car! Remember that a clean vehicle keeps the driver behind you safer, preventing him/her from getting a blast of your snow on their windshield.
Also, when cleaning your vehicle, raise your windshield wipers off your windshield. Not only will this prevent any surprises when you need to use them, it will prolong the life of your wipers.
Carry extra supplies in your car, such as a shovel and extra windshield wash.
Make sure you have a charged cell phone in case of emergencies, preferably with a hands-free system in your car. If not, be sure to pull off the road before using it.

Remember, if the weather is too bad, a delay in your trip might be warranted. With careful attention to the importance of safe driving, you’ll help to reduce the likelihood of having to make an insurance claim, thereby keeping your insurance costs lower.

Frequent dry-cleaning can cause a build-up of adverse chemicals in clothing

According to a recent study, a chemical agent called PERC (Perchloroethylene), used in the process of dry-cleaning, is often retained in clothing and builds up with repeated dry-cleaning, especially in those made of wool. PERC has been previously shown to have adverse health effects and risks such as headaches and neurological issues. It has been classified as a Group 2A carcinogen. There are currently no standards set in Canada for PERC exposure from sources like dry-cleaned clothes, but there are some regulations with regard to PERC exposure in the natural environment.

For tips on what you can do to reduce your exposure to PERC from dry-cleaning, read the full article.

Source: EnviroLaw.com

Tips to make the most of the Company Holiday Party

In a recent survey conducted on over 1000 employers with 20 or more employees, about 38% of respondents felt that their attendance to the staff holiday party was required. However, about 61% of employers say that there’s isn’t an unwritten rule that employees must attend.

Use the office holiday party as a chance to get to know your colleagues and management better. Tips on how to make the most of it include: mingle with people outside of your usual circle, engage in shorter chats to give you a chance to speak to more people, reduce the amount of time spent on talking about business. For more tips, read the full article.

Source: OfficeTeam

More shoppers are using mobile shopping apps

A recent survey showed that more than 40% of consumers interviewed indicated that they have installed a retailer’s app on their smart phones, but only 14% of them have actually used it. Most of the shoppers have used these apps to check prices, specs, reviews, and to get coupons. However, a staggering 78% respondents who use these apps for information end up purchasing the product online somewhere else.

Source: Retrevo.com

International bribery laws could affect you.

Companies with international ties may need to exercise more caution.

A recent article from Canadian Business discussed the blurry line between typical business networking practices, such as wining and dining potential partners and clients or providing free products as gifts and what may be considered a bribe under zero-tolerance bribery policies. An example provided was the case of Johnson & Johnson, who paid doctors that installed its artificial surgical implants in their patients large sums for “support” and “professional education”. These payments were ruled as bribes and Johnson & Johnson was required to pay penalties of US$77 million.

Canadian business owners need to be aware of the ever-increasing focus on anti-bribery, especially in other countries. While Canada has in place is own anti-bribery laws, they primarily focus on bribes to public officials. Canadian businesses can also be affected by the tougher laws of the U.S. and other countries in which they do business, which may pursue any improper payment.

Read the full article to see more examples of how the cultural shift concerning what constitutes a bribe is changing.

Source: Canadian Business

Planning for Emergencies

We all hope it won’t happen to us…but what if it does? Are you ready in the event of an emergency?

Weather patterns have become increasingly unpredictable. The news is filled with stories of tsunamis, mudslides, and earthquakes. Closer to home, a small earthquake was felt by southern residents in early fall. A tornado ravaged through homes in the town of this summer, and ice storms/hurricanes/heavy snow storms are a regular winter reality. While we cannot control the weather, we certainly can be prepared when disaster strikes. Of course, not all disasters are natural ones – including fires, gas leaks, and power outages.

Create your own emergency plan

Taking a few moments to discuss an emergency strategy with your family can do wonders for your preparation. Consider all family members and what special needs may be required, such as elderly or young children. Ensure that you all agree on a plan and understand it.

Emergency Phone Numbers

Keep a list and make copies for everyone of emergency numbers. Do not rely on your cell phone or your memory to store important numbers. This should include:

Work and cell numbers of all adults in the home
Ambulance/emergency medical services/fire department/police
Children’s schools and daycare facilities
Doctors, dentists, and specialist numbers
Hospital or health clinic
Insurance provider/broker, including travel insurance provider
Provincial telehealth number
Utility providers – natural gas and electricity

Basic Emergency Kit

It is recommended that you keep enough supplies to sustain you and your family for at least 72 hours. Your emergency kit should include:

Batteries
Bottled water (about 4 litres per person)
Manual can opener
Candles
Cash
Clothing (extra shirt, pants, socks, underwear, and shoes)
Duct tape
Copy of your Emergency Phone Numbers
Flashlight
Food (canned items, crackers, protein bars)
Multi-tool
Sleeping bags or blankets
Spare keys to your car and house
Toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, soap and sanitizer)
Waterproof matches

You may also consider putting together a vehicle emergency kit, which includes all of the above, as well as a shovel, whistle, jumper cables, warning light/road flares, and a road map.

A crucial part of emergency preparation is making sure you have adequate coverage for your home. Take time to review your policy, and if you have any questions, contact your insurance provider, who will walk you through what’s included in your policy and what is not. For example, many insurance policies do not cover damage caused by earthquakes, but you can always purchase additional coverage if you feel it’s necessary. A qualified insurance broker will be able to answer all questions you may have, and get you ready for a tumultuous weather season.

Want to know more?

Contact Cornerstone Insurance Brokers, the endorsed administrator for the CPSA InsuranceSave program, at for Ontario inquiries or the CPSA Program Network Broker in your local area (www.csib.org).

Female MBA grads still face a gender disparity in salary

The University of Chicago recently released research indicating that more women are completing their MBAs, they are still not get paid as much as men with similar credentials. The study considered factors such as GPA, job experience, and lifestyle choices.

Source: Canadian Business

Surveys show that the cost of Cyber crime for businesses is increasing.

What can you do to protect yourself and your business?

Surveys show that the cost of Cyber crime for businesses is increasing at an alarming rate. What can you do to protect yourself and your business?
Read More

A study released earlier this year by the Ponemon Institute show that the median cost of cyber crime is now $5.9 million a year, which rose by 56% since the previous year. In addition, the frequency, complexity of these crimes, and time it takes to resolve them is increasing as well. These crimes can range from theft of intellectual property to introducing viruses on an organization’s network.

Click here for the full report and tips on how you can protect yourself and your business: 2010 Annual Study: Global Cost of a Data Breach.

Source: Forbes

Test your ticket IQ

Ever wondered how a traffic ticket will affect your insurance rate? The answer, unfortunately, is that all traffic tickets impact your rate, sometimes severely!

Tickets issued under the Highway Traffic Act, Insurance Act, or Criminal Code affect your insurance rates. This includes all tickets classified as Minor, Major, or Severe/Criminal. Parking tickets are the only type of ticket issued that has no impact on your insurance rate.

Minor convictions involve speeding (under 50 km/hour over the speed limit), and a host of other violations such as failure to signal, failure to use seatbelts, stop sign infractions, improper lane changes, and many more. Relatively new laws, such as driving in the high occupancy vehicle lane on some highways, also count as minor offenses, and will affect your insurance rates.

Not surprisingly, major and criminal offenses affect insurance rates to a greater extent. These tickets include: speeding 50 km/hour over the posted speed limit, school bus or school zone improper driving (or failure to stop), all insurance related offenses, such as driving with no insurance or producing a false insurance document, and failure to report an accident. Criminal offenses include driving while impaired, careless driving, dangerous driving, failure to obey police, and racing.

Minor offense convictions can see your insurance rates rise by approximately 10% for each offense (please note this can vary by insurance provider). Major convictions generally result in an automatic rise of 15%. Serious or criminal offenses increase your rates significantly, sometimes as high as 100% for a conviction.

Ticket convictions stay on your driving record for 3 years.

There is no substitute for following the rules of the road. Be careful not to speed, and remember to put the cell phone away while driving. Be aware of how driving rules vary from province to province (and state to state) when travelling, so that you’re not vulnerable. Drive carefully for everyone’s sake – not just because tickets impact your wallet immediately and can cost you thousands in increased premiums over time.

Want to know more?
Contact Cornerstone Insurance Brokers, the endorsed administrator for the CPSA InsuranceSave program, at 1.888.281.2772 for Ontario inquiries or the CPSA Program Network Broker in your local area (www.csib.org).

RIM offers $100 of free apps to make up for service outage

RIM recently announced that they are offering Blackberry users about $100 worth of free apps to show their appreciation for customers’ patience with the worldwide service outage two weeks ago that lasted about 4 days. The apps, which include several popular mobile games, will become available over the next few weeks until the end of the year. Additionally, their enterprises clients will be given one month of free technical support. Just over 50% of users who responded to an online poll from CBC news have indicated that this offering of apps does make them feel better about the disruptions.

You can take the poll here.

Source: CBC News

The Truth (or lack thereof) about Résumés

According to a recent survey by OfficeTeam, more than 40% of managers surveyed believed that job applicants are somewhat or very often prone to lying on their résumés. Additionally, 1 in 5 people said that they personally know somebody who includes dishonest information on their résumés. This survey showed that the areas that are most likely to contain fibs are job duties and education.

Click here for a chart showing the results.
Click here for 5 tips that will help you verify the authenticity of résumés.

Source: OfficeTeam

Facebook users surveyed on what they want from brands

In a recent survey, 43% of respondents indicated that they want more entertainment on Facebook brand pages, while 38% wanted more coupons. Customer service did not seem to be a huge concern for respondents with only 19% voting for this. These results may be used to tailor Facebook marketing strategies to get the most engagement from potential customers.

Source: Forbes

Anti-spam law to come into effect in late 2011

A new anti-spam law that was passed in December of last year is forcing business marketers to ensure that the people on their email, text messaging, and social media lists have given explicit permission to be contacted and are given the option to opt out. Any organization and individual with an online presence will need to follow this law, and the penalties for not doing so for both individuals and businesses are steep, starting at $1 million and $10 million, respectively. The concern with this law is that it is so broad that people may be penalized for unintentionally breaking it, especially since social media use is so widespread.

Source: The Toronto Star

Exercise at work increases productivity

A recent Swedish study demonstrated that employees can maintain the same amount of work results even if they decrease the amount of hours they spend working and use it for exercising instead. Two dental care offices were compared; both decreased their weekly working hours by 2.5, but only one replaced those hours with mandatory exercise. The office with 2.5 hours dedicated to exercise was able to maintain similar levels of production despite the reduction in work hours. This means that more physical activity at work leads to higher productivity, perhaps owing to the resultant increase in stamina and improved health.

Source: Sciencedaily.com

Canadian international travel deficit is high

In the second quarter of 2011, out-of-country travellers to Canada showed the largest percentage increase (5.7% to $4.1 billion) in spending since 2004, but it wasn’t enough to negate the already high Canadian international travel deficit. Canadian spending abroad rose 4.4% (to $8.0 billion), almost double the amount of spending of travellers from abroad. Specifically, Americans spent about $1.8 billion in Canada, while Canadians spent about $4.8 billion in the United States, mostly during same-day car trips.

Source: Statistics Canada

Most small businesses-owners feel prepared for a double-dip recession

Results of a survey conducted in August by Citibank showed that although 90% of small business owners feel concerned about the potential for a double-dip recession, 79% feel they are prepared for it. Over half of respondents said that they would be continuing business as they have been, with an increase in efforts for marketing and acquiring lower prices and new products, while only 5% believe they need to reduce their number of employees.

Source: BusinessWire.com

Increased need for awareness of distracted driving

A recent poll demonstrated that when asked about what may distract drivers, 72% of respondents mentioned cell phones, while less than 5% mentioned other distractions such as eating/drinking, passengers, other drivers on the road, changing the radio station. This may indicate that the public is not sufficiently aware of the vast array of distractions that could hinder their driving ability. Attempting to multi-task potentially reduces reaction times, and may result in near crashes. 27% of Canadians said they had to brake to avoid a collision because of a distraction.

Source: Newswire.ca

Privacy settings may affect your business relationships on Facebook

A recent study has shown that your Facebook page can affect the way other people perceive you and in the business world, it can affect whether people are inclined to form/continue business relationships. The study implies that Facebook’s default privacy settings are not considered to be enough protection by 76% of users surveyed. With 47% of men and 25% of women using Facebook to learn more about a potential employer, adjusting your privacy settings may aid your business’s success through social media.

Source: Retrevo.com

Insurance Fraud – What You Can Do

Insurance Fraud costs Canadians an estimated $3 billion annually – or approximately 10 to 15% of your insurance bill.

Insurance crime is on the rise. In June of 2009, a seemingly harmless two car collision slowed traffic for hours on one of Toronto’s busiest highways, Highway 400. When officers arrived, they quickly realized it was no accident, but a staged incident – one that involved 11 people, including two tow truck drivers who were already on the scene.

More recently, the Toronto Star reported on a $1.3 billion insurance fraud spanning hundreds of Ontario clinics, involving falsified medical insurance claims. All appear to stem from bogus rehabilitation clinics, where victims are often referred after an accident. At the clinics, victims are given forms to sign that allow the clinics to submit claims to their insurance company on their behalf. From there, false or exaggerated claims are submitted, such as thousands of dollars in medical treatments that were never received by accident victims.

Many people may not realize the cost of insurance crime. In actuality, insurance fraud affects us all – to the tune of 10 to 15% of insurance premiums for home, auto, and business are allocated to cover the cost of false or exaggerated claims.

Insurance companies and police have become more aware of these scams, but the cost continues to balloon out of control. The Ontario government has recently set up a task force to look into the growing problem of insurance fraud, which will introduce new rules to ensure that invoices submitted for treatments are indeed valid. This group will also place more responsibility in the hands of insurance companies to investigate claims fully. In September of 2010, the government introduced auto reform, which reduced minimum amounts of basic medical and rehabilitation benefits (among other items), which is expected to help reduce the overall effect of insurance fraud.

What can you do to help reduce insurance fraud?

While driving, do not tailgate, and look beyond the car in front of you while driving. Be alert behind the wheel.

In the event of an accident:

Call the police to the scene.
Be sure to get the other driver’s licence plate number, and do a quick analysis of the damage. Make note of how many passengers there were in the car, and a description of each, including their injuries (make note, for example, if the passengers seem at ease, but more injured when the police arrive).
Take pictures of the other car, if you can, with your cell phone (or a digital camera if you have one available).
If a tow truck is called, make sure it’s reputable. See if it has some type of licensing number on its side and ask the driver if he/she has a police contract. Carefully read everything you are asked to sign, and listen for clues such as whether the driver recommends a repair shop without being asked.

After an accident:

Contact your insurance company or broker.
See only medical and legal professionals you know and trust, or that are recommended by people you know.
Know what your medical benefits are. Learn what’s covered and what isn’t (your insurance broker will help with this information, and it is also included on your policy).
Keep detailed records of your medical treatments, including dates, locations, services received, and the names of the persons who provided the treatments.
Never sign blank insurance claim forms.
Never give strangers your policy number, insurance ID number or any other information, particularly if they offer an incentive, such as a free gift or treatment.

If you suspect an insurance crime, please call the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s tip line at 1-877-IBC-TIPS (422-8477).

The Job Interview through the Employer’s Eyes

OfficeTeam, a staffing company, recently identified 5 things all job-seekers should be aware of during an interview that take into account the potential pressure the employer might be feeling to avoid making a costly hiring mistake and find the right person. Their advice: Be prepared to take the interview through the highlights of your resume and answer questions in a way that shows your personality, reasoning skills, and the real you.

Source: Newswire.ca

Cell Phones Influence Canadians’ Shopping Habits

The preliminary results from the annual Canadian Mobile Snapshot demonstrated a connection between cell phone use and product awareness and purchasing interest. Specifically, about 80% of respondents indicated that mobile media is a good way to learn about products and can cause them to find out more about it. Also about 70% said that mobile media can affect the way they think about a product and influence their decision to buy it. This has implications for how companies can specifically design content for cell phone interfaces in order to expand their brand awareness and target specific audiences.

Source: Bell Media

Stock Market Decline Negatively Impacts Small Businesses

Global stock markets decreased by about 4 percent last Friday, hinting at another possible recession on the horizon. This may have implications for small businesses that were recently seeing small improvements. U.S. economist, Ian Shepherdson said that small businesses account for about half of the GDP, and could be crucial in recovering from this economic disaster.

Source: AllBusiness.com

Canada’s economy grows and interests rates increase

Interest rates are expected to increase since the Bank of Canada expects the Canadian economy to grow by about 2.8% in 2011. A senior economist at BMO Capital Markets anticipates these interest hikes to take shape in October and December.

Source: Canadian Business Magazine

Online Education Increases in Credibility

A survey conducted in Calgary this year showed that 7 in 10 respondents found online education to be valuable, with 21% ranking it as highly valuable and 31% ranking it as highly credible. With the development in scope and content of online course offerings over the past few years, many people appreciate the convenience and flexibility.

Source: Newswire.ca