Welcome to a new decade! We would like to wish all of our clients, friends, family and associates a very Happy New Year and best wishes for health and happiness in 2020!
2019 was another busy and challenging year for the insurance industry, especially with respect to auto insurance. Many insurance companies placed restrictions on new business and renewals, including limiting coverage options and payment plans. The rate cap was removed in August and we are hopeful that things will start to improve in 2020. In case you missed it, here is our video that explains the changes to the automobile insurance industry in a bit more detail.
As in previous years, 2019 started off with our Team attending the Calgary Motorcycle Show from January 4th- 6th. We handed out our motorcycle calendars, pens, keychains and candy. We also gave away a grand prize of a Metal Motorcycle Model, and held a draw to win up to $1,000 off insurance premiums. We will be attending the show again this year, which falls on the weekend of January 10th – 12th. Hope to see you there!
In March, we attended the Calgary Home and Garden Show for the first time. There was a steady flow of trade show traffic and we had the chance to speak with some great people and business owners. We held a draw for a $200.00 Home Depot gift card and gave away some other Costen swag. Our Team is looking forward to attending the show again this year.
Andrew, Phong and Crista attended the IBAA (Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta) Convention in May, which was held at the beautiful Banff Springs Hotel again this year. They attended seminars, mingled with Insurance Company representatives and fellow brokers, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and all the town of Banff has to offer. Andrew and Crista were both lucky again this year, walking away with some cool draw prizes from the annual trade show!
At the end of April, we welcomed three new commercial insurance brokers to our Team: Jessica Smith, Tracy Miler, and Esraa Hamdan. We are excited to have these ladies as part of the Costen Family and we look forward to serving more commercial clients in the years to come!
In June we attended Two Wheel Sunday. It was a warm but windy spring day and we had to hold on tight to our Costen balloons to keep them from blowing away! We handed out more Costen swag and held a draw for a $100.00 VISA gift card.
In July, we held our first annual Costen Insurance Stampede Breakfast. It was a huge success and we had a lot of neighbours, clients, and company reps come out to enjoy our delicious pancakes, sausages and blueberries. We are looking forward to making this an annual tradition!
August brought some big changes to the automobile insurance industry. As of August 12, 2019, digital pink cards became legal in Alberta and on August 31, 2019, the rate cap was removed.
After what seemed like a very busy summer, we celebrated the end of the summer holidays with our annual Team BBQ on September 7th at Larry’s home in beautiful Ghost Lake, AB. The rain put a bit of a damper on our outdoor activities, but everyone enjoyed the good food and company!
In October, several of our Team members raised funds and walked for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in their Light the Night walk. It was an awesome event to be a part of and we look forward to making this an annual tradition!
We celebrated several anniversaries again this year, the big ones being twelve (12) years for both Andrew Shareski and Nirmal Lombsar, nine (9) years for Kristel Wilson, and twenty-one (21) years for Crista Costen. We are so fortunate to have such amazing people as part of the Costen Family!
Our Charity of the Year for 2019 was AAFS Calgary. 2019 was another successful year with referrals (Thank You) and we are looking forward to sending them a donation at the end of the year. We also submitted their charity information to Intact Insurance’s “Better Communities” program and they were chosen to receive an additional $5,000 donation. For more information on this great charity or how you can help, please visit their website here.
From our family to yours… we hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!
Our Team looks forward to providing you with excellent customer service and new and innovative products and services in the years ahead. All the best for an amazing 2020!
The Costen Insurance Team
