It is something that none of us look forward to paying for; however, when disaster strikes, it is something that we are all glad to have. Jaycee Turtle, the Branch Manager at Lakeview Insurance in Martensville is all too familiar with this.
Turtle is no stranger to the world of insurance, as she has been involved with the business since her parents bought the local insurance company back in 1998. At the time, they named it Martensville Agencies, and the business was based out of a small house on a big lot for numerous years. The business brought Lakeview Insurance in as a partner in 2008, which was another family brokerage based out of Winnipeg being ran by a father and his two sons. In 2011, the lot was sold and the current building at 117 Centennial Drive North was constructed. “It was a big deal at the time as it was one of the first big construction projects on the north end of Centennial Drive. We were so excited to be able to move into the new office space and work on growing our business and although we did plan for growth, we are growing even faster than we originally anticipated,” Turtle said. In 2013, the company officially changed its name to Lakeview Insurance, which was the same name as all of the other offices located in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. “We have a lot of people and a lot of experience at our disposal, which is nice. All we need to do is make a phone call and we can get access to a lot of markets when you have a bigger brokerage to work with,” added Turtle.
At Lakeview Insurance, there are all of the common insurance requirements available; personal and commercial auto, home, tenant packs, mobile homes, seasonal, farm, commercial, bonding for contractors and motor sales, and more. Additionally, Lakeview Insurance has two notaries on staff that will provide the service free to anyone that has a policy within their office, and for those that don’t have a policy, it is a mere $5 fee per signature. They also have photocopying and fax services available. One thing that they are unable to offer however is passport photos.
In the past few years, they have worked hard to implement new programs that can better benefit their clients. One example of this is the ‘Elite Hobby Farm Program’, which is not provided by any other brokerage. This is a policy that is specifically tailored to people living on acreages, but do not farm on the property. “We have worked really hard over the past few years to get this program implemented in our area because it is such a prevalent type of home scenario. It is unique to us and we are proud to be able to provide it to our clients. It is a really good package with awesome coverage and reasonable rates,” Turtle explained. The coverage is available for small sized acreages, or acreages with a large amount of land, as long as the primary income is made off of the property.
Another option unique to our local brokerage is the ‘Launch’ Marine Program for boats. For all boats that are ten years and newer, this policy provides good rates, great coverage and guaranteed replacement costs on boats, which Turtle says is hard to come by in marine programs. “You aren’t going to find this in any other office in Saskatchewan, or in Western Canada at all. It includes similar things you would find on other marine policies, but it is better coverage, your limits are higher and the rates are competitive.” On other marine policies, much of the wording is more so geared towards oceans and ocean water vessels, whereas, this policy is worded to accommodate boaters that transport their boat to the water and then bring it home to be stored within the garage or a boat house instead of being moored, or staying within a marina.
Ideally, at Lakeview Insurance, they want to be able to provide all of your coverage needs under one roof, which is why they focus on bringing new options in to cover all of your property and belongings in case of emergency.
In 2016, Lakeview Insurance was the proud winner of the Community Involvement Award at the Warman Martensville Business Excellence Awards. This was the first year the awards were hosted, and all of the staff at Lakeview Insurance took great pride in their achievement. “We know that no one enjoys coming here and paying for their insurance, but we feel as though the place that we can shine is letting people know that we do appreciate their business and we do appreciate being in the community and being involved in the different aspects of the community,” Turtle said. Each year, Lakeview Insurance provides sponsorship to many different teams, organizations, events and more to do what they can to support the community they are based within. Additionally, each year they host their own Customer Appreciation event, ‘The Banjo Bowl’ after Labour Day weekend. “We live in this community, our kids go to school here, we shop at the local stores and we are proud to be a part of it. It is our community too and it is a community that we are trying to protect with insurance,” added Turtle.
As a local business, Turtle says they are proud to be able to provide job opportunities for residents of Martensville and surrounding areas, often hiring people out of high school and providing them with a career option. “We love that people can find that career path locally and find a business that they love and a company that they want to work for and build their career on that. It’s exciting,” Turtle commented. Currently at Lakeview Insurance there are seven full time employees, two part time employees and three producers that work from home offices. Having this range of employees offers clients the opportunity to come into the office, or communicate via phone, email, text and even through home and business visits.
Turtle also noted that they encourage clients to provide feedback, good or bad. “We love to know if certain companies or adjusters are doing a great job and we love to know it they aren’t. We can’t fix something if we aren’t aware that it needs fixing,” said Turtle. In addition, clients are also encouraged to ask questions if they are unsure of something within their policy. “We would way rather have that conversation before something happens and be preemptive. The policies can be confusing, so if you are unsure, call us, or come into the office and we will be happy to help you go through it.”
For more information about Lakeview Insurance, visit www.lakeviewinsurance.com, call (306) 931-2888 or find them on Facebook at ‘Lakeview Insurance Brokers – Martensville’.
