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Pae. Viitby Free Pmes. Weclnesday, Oct*ber20,.1993 Whlmtby VI .IIu$inemes~ Brokers oppose chamber insarance offer By Mark Reesor A group car and home insurance plan offerad te Whitby Chamber of Commerce membors has upset local insurance brokers. The plan wesprepared and presented, by Hardiman, Mount and Richardson Insurance Brokers of Wihitby, and provides members "with aconomically priced insurance products and very attractive termis and coveags" by giving tham "the buying clout of a large group," according ta an article in t he chamber newsletter. Ron Fennaîl of Fennell Insurence Brokers and Noel Mowat of Warren J. Mowat Insurence Broker are submitting letters of resignation ovar the plan and othars have thraatened te resign. Mowat seys running the article and a half-page profile on Hardiman, Mount and Richardeon two pages later "lends credence that they (the chamber) really do ýsupport and are promoting this. "(It) indicates that there's savings te be had, which would indicate that the other brokers in tewn are charging tee much for their produci;." Fennell is aIse bothered. by the inference "that the people providing the insurance coveragas for the public are overcha.rging and not providi ng as good a service as is available uder this group plan... what they really are saying i5 that none of us can do tLh job right and I resent that." He's upset too that Hardiman, Mount and Richardson has been given three years axclusivity in offring the plan te chamber mambers. Bey Whale of Whale Insurance Brokers sa~r Hardiman, Mount and Richardson 'did something thatfs really against the law; they caa't offer the chamber anything botter than we cen... "Under the Ontario Moterist Protection Plan (OMPP) yeu cannot effer a chamber member a btter deal (than anyone eIse)... yougoioa certain rating category ae n your use, your driving expérience and your ve9c Ie." The idea that chambor members can save money is "dead wrong" and he says the saine thing applies te, home insurance. "By law, we are not allowed ta rebate commissions, and any discounting we would do is done by the company we represent, with such as a non-smoker's or mature citizen's discount... Based aIl on the sme criteria, thay cannot do anythingY more than we cen."YI He accuses Bob Richardson, a past president of the chaibr of "railroading" the plan through without the chazaber board taking a close look et it. c lardeon, of Hardiman,Motad Richardson, says all he did was find a company that would- consider chambor membors a aoup plan. "They d s or it. It was a marketing strategy that I developed and then prasented te the board of directors... te see if they would accept it." Othar brokers could have put tog ether a similar plan, he seys. o'chardson seys his firm ha gone with an underwriter that specializes in group auto and home plans. When askad if chazuber members can save money through- the plan, he replied, "Oh absolutely, wre doing it already." Whale says from the brokers' points of view, the newsletter.story about the plan gives the connotation that "they're btter than we are, and we ail beg te differ, there's nobody better than we are.'$" Whale has threatened te, resign, and says whether he does or not depends on how the cheniber responds. "(for now) I jusi; wanted ta stay in and fight fromn the inside.' Peter DiLello, owner àf DIS Insurance Brokers, is also considering resigmng. He's upset because the chamber took a proposaI from one member and approved t without talking te, other local brokers;. "Why didn't they put the proposal eut te the other six or seven insurance brokers who belong te the chaniber?" If the chaniber waats te recommend one specific broker, says DiLéello, why not go further and say "Hey go te one doctair te get your medical aàvice, go ta, one real estate agent te, seIl your house or ot one accountant te get The chamber has "always" offered members group life, medical and dental insurance, but DiLello says auto and home insurance are "very individuel items" and companies don't give anything in any way, shape or form comprale ta, a group rate" because rates are dependient on individuel circumstances. 1 - - 'Hometown- Trees' pIAlatqed by loca IGA staff On Saturday, Oct. 16, owaers and staff from more than 100 Ontario IGA stores, including one ia Whitby and one in Brooklin, ted in a Hometawn 8, one of the province's largest-ever tree-planting efforts. IGA and its corporate, conimunity and environmnental partners mouated the major Ini the first day alone, the prograxn planted more than 13,000 three-fcot saplings te launch Ontario's participation in a worldwide Hometown Trees initiative. "Its ail part of IGA's global environmental commitment te plant 100 million trees, in aIl the countries in which it operates, by the year 2000," explained TiMm Carter of the Oshawa Group, ........oZ CORPORATION 0F THE TOW N 0F WHITBY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT. SPECIAL THANKS The Parka and Recreation Departmnent would like to thank VOLUNTEERS PROM E.D.S. CANADA for asslsiting in the reforestation of the Manning Trail "F" in the Pningle Creek area on their jGlobal Community Service Day, October 16,1993 AND Mme Parks and Recreation Departmnent would like to ackriowledge the IGA HOME TOWN TREE PROGRAM for their contribuitions on October 16, 1993 to the reforestation program in the Pningle Creek area. VOUR EFFORTS ARE GREATLY APPRECATEli.:a~ 'TAK YOU"f ADVERTISING POLICY The Whtby Free Press is a business which derives almost ail its revenue from advertising in one form or another. For obvious self-lnterest. we want our clients' advertising to work. Our policy îs to reach as many homes in Whitby as possible (usually more thani 99%) and to provide local higr-interest content that ensures that people read the paper and henoe thie adverising as welI. We urge readers to patronize our advertisers in order that we can povide even better coverage in thei uture. We also stress creativity. We will provide our protessional experienoe ro advise clients on ways 10, make their advertising more effective, but for a product thal cannot be repossessed. triere are no guarantees. We strive to avoid errors. but wrien we make them. a correction will be made in a subsequent issue or a discount oftered. Thie newspaper's legal liability is only for trie actual spaoe occupied by trie error. Advertising is sold accordirVg to tie space il occupies. No additional charge is made for artwork or layout and hence the newspaper retains trie copyright on ail its oniginal work. The newspaper reserves trie right to refuse advertîsing wrich il finds objectionable or detrimental to its business. wholesaler to 10ký In Whitby, staff of Pringle Creek IGA planted white ash trees along Pringle Creek, near Manning Road. At Brookij Memorial Park, staff of the Brooklin IGA planted. about 100 trees. Both projects were co-rdinated by the Town of WVhitby parka department that is providing planting sites. The Greater Homne Builders' Association (GTHBA) reports that real estate activity throughout the Greater Toronto Area improved in September as 1,125 new homes sold, up 56 per cent from the 717 sales recorded in August. Sales for the firsi; nine months of the year total 8,031, paralleling the 8,050 homses sold during the saine period last year. Fifty-two new homes sold in Whitby last monith. We Watch', PrWfte l1onaCage The systom that provides... *Unscheduled home visits ensure quality care for your child " FuIly traîned providers rocerve ongoing Agency support " Reliable local back-up covers Provider iliness or holidars " CompYete insurance coverage " Income tax receupts *Chidren six weeks and up " Full or pari-time For muore Information olil: 686-3995 a ienised Agency IGA's Homnetawa Trees is co-sponsored by Coca-Cola Beverages and the National Community Tree Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organiza- tion, formed under Canada's Green Plan te manage Tree Plan Trea Plan Canada was created te encourage the planting and care of trees-in and around more thon 5,000 Canadien cities, tewns and villages by 1998. JA sale Thursday On Thursday, Oct. 21, Junior Achievement of Oshawa/Durham will hold a reserve bid sale of woedworkcing equipment. Viewing will be held at the Junior Achievement Centre, located west of Stevenson Road on Wentworth Street in Oshawa from 2 te 4 p.m. and from 7 te 9 P.m. Some items up for bid are a nine-inch table saw, drill press, radial arm saws, band saw, bel; sander, along with an IBM- compatible computer. The items have been used by achievers and are still in good condition, but are now surplus ta, Junior Achievement needa. Funds raisad by the sale will help defer Junior Achievement operating expenses. Each item has a reserve bid that must be exceeded for the purchase. Sealed bids must be subnitted in writing in an evelope marked 'JA reserve bid sale' the day of the viewing. If mailed, the bid muait be received by noon, Oct. 28. Ia the event of equal bide, the purchaser will be determined by lottery. This is one of the projecta ta get ready for the large number of students for this year's prograin. StUR required are advisorsfrom the business community who will invest their time te, the programn. Contact program manager Renée Staples at 571-4193. Fundfest in Witb A 'Mutual Fundfest' will be held in Whitby on Saturday, Oct. 30. Money managers representing financial firms wîll discuss how te invesi; money. Hosts will be Gordon Laighit of Fidelity Investments, Marcus Siade of Mackenzie Financial, Howard Gross of AGF Manage- ment, Jim Douglas of Trimark Investments and Peter Cowie of Templeton Management. Topica will include investingin emerging markets, in the Far East; interest rates and the Canadian dollar; how proper asset allocation works;'«Ae Canadien stocks a good place ta be?'; 'Do Canadian bondâ make sense now? The conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. te 2 p.m. at Le Gala. For more information eall 576-1726 or 1-800-661-0243.' 1 President Lynn Woods says the chamiber didn't endorse the plan, it fell in our laps; we didn't pursue it, we're net promoting, it, we're not marketing it -we're neýt doiU aaything other than offering an agent the opportunity te offer ut ta our clentèle b=cuse the chamber as a whole qualifies as a group. "That's aIl we've really done... weïre not saying it's better or it's worse or whatever. "If anybody comes ta, us, like a hair salon, and says we'll offer any chaniber of commerce member a 10 per cent discount, we'd put t in our newsletter ad say 'OkÃ"ýay, there's another benefit to belonging to the chaniber."' It's a member-to-member service tye of thing. But I don't want te belittle tPhe complaint. in taking it seriously and we are looking inta it. Woods says no other broker was contacted about the plan because "we aren't the oriDinators of it_. (they) came te us te, say Oaa we offer this te your members because collectively your members qualify as. a group and they may be able tta ke advantafe of a group home/auta insurance plan.. I don't think we had any choice but te a 'well, if you want te offer ut to our members, who are we te say no?"' Hardiman, Mount and Richardson aslced the chamber for a five- year exclusivity period because of the work involved in ýputting the plan together, says Woods. The board rejected that but sad'We will give you a three-year period, and we will put performance clauses into any actions such that... if our chamber members have some problemas with it, we have the right te cancel t."