Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 242016 lake StewardS newSletter | 11 Rebuilding Values The purpose of an insurance policy is to repair or rebuild your cottage in the event of a loss. The limit of insurance shown on your policy should reflect the cost to completely rebuild your cottage following a total loss. While many of us used our own labour to make additions or changes to our cottage, when rebuilding after a loss your insurer must make use of local contractors to complete the work. In most cases, policies will provide a ‘replacement cost’ coverage, which commits the insurer to rebuild the cottage with materialsofalikekindandquality,andwithoutdeductionfor depreciation. Cottages accessed only by water face higher costs of construction when factoring in the rental of barges and specialized equipment. Considering these expenses, a sufficient limit of insurance is critical. To ensure your policy provides sufficient coverage, you are encouraged to obtain a rough estimate from a reputable local contractor of the cost to totally rebuild the cottage. Market valuations, such as real estate estimates or MPAC tax evaluations, are not reflective of rebuilding values. Fire Protection dId yOu knOW?: Terms like ‘semi-protected’ and ‘unprotected’ are used by Insurance companies on policy documents to indicate how your cottage is rated, and what coverage is afforded, related to the distance by road to accessible, professional and/or volunteer fire hall protection, and whether that protection has year-round access to your property. To avoid any surprises with respect to coverage should a claim occur, it is important to review your existing cottage insurance policy documents to be certain your Insurer’s understanding of your cottage’s proximity to fire protection is correct. Note: While many lake and cottage associations doanexcellentjobofprovidingportablefirepumpsfortheir members, and despite the close proximity of most cottages to large bodies of water, these are not considered reliable sources of fire protection by insurers. CottageFirst All FOCA Supporters and members of FOCA associations have access to CottageFirst, the group insurance program built for cottagers, and offered exclusively to FOCA members. CottageFirst can provide excellent, cost-effective coverage in a packaged insurance solution for your home, cottage, watercraft, automobiles and other personal policies. Designed first and foremost for cottagers, CottageFirst provides one of the broadest forms of insurance coverage available, including damage against the perils of windstorm, theft, falling trees and other objects, bears, or collapse due to snow-load. CottageFirst also offers attractive options for high limits on personal umbrella liability policies. Members in more than four dozen FOCA member groups havealreadytakenadvantageofthismemberbenefit!When will you get your quote, to find out how much you could be saving? Contact 1-844-223-3178 (CADE-1ST) or visit www.cottagefirst.com. Maybe it’s time for you and your association to get a lake management plan started. FOCA provides resources in the Lake Planning Handbook for Community Groups. The publication is now out-of- print, but the information is still available in digital format from FOCA. This is a self-help guide for getting down to work on community-based lake planning, breaking the process into small, manageable chunks, and providing samples and templates from your lake association peers. https://foca.on.ca/lake-planning- handbook-overview/ Community Lake Planning for getting down to work on community-based lake