We are very pleased to announce the addition of Jodi Clarke to the Hubbard Insurance Group team in the position of Operations Manager.

Jodi has developed extensive management experience, people leading, project planning and brings organizational skills to the table that will help her in the duties of supporting the already strong and dedicated team at Hubbard Insurance Group. 

Prior to joining the Hubbard Insurance Group, Jodi held the position of regional manager & territory coordinator, for a large national fitness facility company. Her responsibilities included process implementation, strategic organization and coordination of sales and service representatives’ training, giving her a broad scope of problem solving experience to draw on.

Jodi’s experience as a creative problem solver is a fine complement to the Hubbard Insurance Group’s long tradition of providing our client partners with knowledgeable and professional services.

We’re very excited to have Jodi join our team!

Though November has been a historically warm month so far, Ontario has seen its first proper snowfall of the year. The Canadian winter is nefarious for many reasons – one of them being how much more difficult it can be to drive in snowy, icy conditions.

With that said, whether you are a seasoned driver or someone who is about to drive through winter for the first time, here are 5 tips to make life easier!

Stay Composed

This is perhaps the most important aspect of being an excellent driver in snowy conditions – composure. Under regular conditions, slamming the brakes when you need to slow down quickly is almost muscle memory for many. However, in wintery weather, that could be catastrophic.

The best way to stop your car in this situation is to pump your brakes. Most modern vehicles come equipped with an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) – which is a technology that rapidly pumps the brakes for you and brings you to a safe, steady halt.

On the other hand, it is widely accepted that the worst thing to do in challenging driving conditions is to brake or accelerate hard into and out of corners. Make sure to keep your movements composed and steady.

Correcting A Slide

Despite taking all the necessary precautions, you might still find yourself in a slide – it happens to the best of us. Typically, there are two types of slides – a front-wheel slide and a rear-wheel slide.

A front-wheel slide, also known as understeer, occurs when your front wheels lose traction. So, how should you respond?

Firstly, as mentioned above, stay calm. The first instincts of many in a situation like this are to accelerate quickly or to turn hard – both are things you want to avoid. Instead, ease off the gas, and allow the tires to steer the vehicle using their own traction – while making sure to steer in the direction you want to go in. Then, once the car is stabilized, you may safely accelerate again.

For rear-wheel slides, or oversteer, the immediate response should be the same as the above – ease off the gas, do not accelerate. Then, though it may seem counterintuitive, steer into the slide to ensure the cars straightens out.

Remember, overdoing it with the steering can make the problem worse – so keep composed and avoid knee-jerk decisions.

Keep A Safe Distance

The best way to avoid a crash in the winter is to make sure there is plenty of space between yourself and the other cars on the road. As discussed above, the worst thing to do in these tricky conditions is to slam the brakes – something that you might be forced to do if there isn’t enough space between cars.

It is also crucial to remember that sometimes there will be other drivers on the road who are either inexperienced or don’t have their winter tires fitted. That is why it is imperative to drive slow and keep a safe distance between your vehicle and those around you.

Avoid Freezing Rain At All Costs

The rule of thumb when it comes to freezing rain is this: if it at all can be helped, do not drive in that weather. However, in parts of Canada, driving in these conditions cannot be helped. If you have no choice but to drive in freezing rain, try and follow the following steps:

Firstly, the commute is going to take much longer during freezing rain so take that extra time into account when planning your route. Secondly, make sure to keep even greater distance than normal with other cars as you don’t want to slide into them – nor do you want them sliding into you!

In such conditions, it is common to see road maintenance vehicles salting or sanding the roads – make sure to drive behind these vehicles at a safe distance and not beside them. As always, be light on the brakes and the accelerator.

Clear Your Car

Visibility is a massive factor when it comes to driving safe in wintery conditions – and, as a driver, you will want to make sure you can see as clearly as possible. If there is snowfall or freezing rain, make sure to brush off all the windows, the hood of your car, the taillights, and the headlights.

Not only is it dangerous to your own safety to not do this, but it can also be punishable by law in some provinces.

Make sure to turn your car on at least 5-10 mins before you depart on your journey to allow the vehicle to warm up as well as to give yourself time to remove any ice and snow from your windows.

Driving in the winter will always be a difficult task – and, when it can be avoided, it should. However, if you follow the aforementioned steps and take these tips into account, you will be undoubtedly safer behind the wheel.

If you have questions or concerns about how the coming winter may affect your insurance policies, reach out to one of our licensed experts today at 905-696-9090 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It costs nothing to reach out!

If it seems like weather forecasts are becoming decreasingly accurate and increasingly speculative – well, that’s because they are. Experts use present-day climate models to predict how severe the weather will be in the future; except those predictions are becoming inaccurate because of the destabilisation of weather that has been observed across the world.

The scary part here is that the volatile temperatures and climate shifts we face isn’t even the worst part. It’s one thing to be able to predict, track, and account for these changes. However, if those predictions become unreliable, we cannot truly prepare for those shifts. That, then, is where the real danger lies.

If apocalyptic weather is on its way, you want to be prepared for it at the very least. This uncertainty around it is exacerbated by the fact that it is entirely one-sided. When experts get their estimations wrong, it is almost always because they have underestimated the severity of what was to come.

Here is how the prediction process works. As with all scientific experiments, there is a “control” and then there is the variable change. Traditionally, experts were able to use a control model – one that does not account for climate change – to test for how often severe weather would occur. This control would then by compared to a similar model that accounts for climate change.

Through this comparison, then, scientists were able to account for the increase in severe weather – it was trackable. This meant that this information could not only be used for purposes of public safety but also for further research on how to tone down these effects. That, though, is no longer the case.

Despite still using this model, the accuracy of its results are now falling. The reason for this seems to be that, despite accounting for climate change, recent weather patterns have become so erratic that they are throwing off the entire model.

At this point, the obvious question is “well why not overestimate in the model to compensate?” Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. These models and mechanics are incredibly complicated – using depictions of jet streams to measure amplitude. However, current generation models don’t have the capacity to account for the severity we are seeing right now.

Yes, that means exactly what it sounds like. Climate change is now at the point where our current climate models don’t have the capacity to predict the severity of weather. This is why simple things such as using the weather app on your phone is not as accurate as it used to be. Moreover, this is why natural disasters are now occurring at a scary pace and we aren’t able to predict or deal with them.

A lot has been made about climate change. Some deny it, others think it might be overstated. The fact of the matter is, though, that it is worse than feared. Furthermore, it is going to keep getting worse if massive changes aren’t made and we will lose further capabilities to predict what will happen next.

When it comes to the Insurance Industry, climate change has a direct impact. Managing risk is the name of the game yet risk becomes unmanageable if even the weather cannot be predicted accurately. This has an effect on everything – from your car to your home to your business. Your next vacation may even be affected.

To learn more about how to stay protected, contact one of our licensed brokers at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us today at 905-696-9090. Let us help keep you safe.

If you have your finger even remotely on the pulse, then one thing is clear to you – we are living in an increasingly digitized, cyber world. In this world, there are obvious dangers; and these dangers apply universally.

When discussing the threat of a cyber-attack, often times the subject of cost comes up. Is it worth it to have cyber protection? Is the cost worth it?

However, there is a major problem with this approach. Here is why.

Those seeking cyber protection typically focus on costs related to forensics and becoming notified of the attack (or the threat of one.) Yet, the most significant cost seems to be forgotten.

The name of this cost? Reputation.

Lindsey Nelson, a cyber development leader, stated that “when we’re talking about cyber claims, it’s typically the costs that nobody talks about that end up being the most expensive for the victim of the event”. She continued, “I think that’s fairly understandable when it’s a cost that only affects the business rather than their customers and the larger public.”

According to Nelson, reputational harm is more relevant today than ever before – and this is in part due to businesses having an obligation to inform their clients when their data has been compromised.

A recent example of this is the data breach at Capital One. Whilst this data breach was a highly publicized case that cost Capital One over $150 million directly, there was a further 6% drop in shares due to reputational harm and inaction.

“Customers are likely to either cancel their contracts or take their business elsewhere,” said Nelson. “We’ve seen several instances in which we’ve had insurance policyholders experiencing downtime of their systems, and they were actually forced to re-route their customers through their competitors in order to fulfill time-sensitive services that were required. So [sic] it’s not a position that any business envisions themselves being in.”

Though the cyber world is still in its infancy, all data points to the same thing – reputational harm is an incredibly expensive cost and one that many small-to-medium sized businesses may never properly recover from.

Studies show that 90% of Canadian businesses do not have a fully-fledged out cyber policy. Despite all this data being available, a number this high poses an important question: why aren’t more businesses adopting cyber policies?

The answer is twofold.

Firstly, many companies still hold the antiquated view that a cyber-attack will never happen to them. Ironically, it is this belief that puts a major target on a company’s back as an easy target. However, a bigger reason is now developing.

Nelson argues, “A larger percentage feel that if they do have one (a cyber event), their IT department is going to handle it effectively. But as time has consistently shown, IT and incident response — though they’re very complementary to one another — are two very different things.” She continues, “Incident response gives you access to specialist experts who can project manage and triage forensics, negotiations with the criminals, legal response — and they can often work with IT departments.”

For many, adopting a cyber policy will be a lesson hard learned. It will come after a cyber event and will ultimately cause a lot of damage that could have been prevented.

To make sure that you are protected, contact one of our licensed experts today at 905-696-9090 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your options. Remember, it costs nothing to ask questions!

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