1.Obtain Property insurance: Off late there have been a spate of robberies in mississauga/north york/markham areas where desis have lost all their gold jewelleries including their family heir looms and also their savings from gulf.

2.Obtain a Safe Deposit Locker: Store your passport, PR card and all jewellery in this.

3.Report to nearest collission centre in case of auto accidents with damages more than $1000. Newer leave the scene of the incident and exchange information with the other driver. Make a note of the climate that day. Make a sketch of the accident and make a note of the actual sequence of events and stick to the same.

Good Luck & God Bless !

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Speech by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times....

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our
vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the
starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my
children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India
who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

I agree. Recently, my house was broken into. However, I did have bank safety box so all my jewelley was in the box and not at home. The thief did not get much contents from the house though he stole my credit card and used it.

Also be careful to remove your contents from the mail box. My neighbour's credit card was stolen from his mail box and used for $ 5,000 in one month. He was waiting for his credit card in stead he got first month bill of $ 5k.

I did that three days back! Renters insurance with State Farm. They gave a good quote. You are right it gives you peace of mind and is worth it.

Quote:

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Orginally posted by shankaracharya

1.Obtain Property insurance

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Quote:

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2.Obtain a Safe Deposit Locker: Store your passport, PR card and all jewellery in this.

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wow! thanx for the info guys...and the experiences. would take precautions.

But shankaracharya cud u put some light on this... where cud we obtain a safety deposit locker? in canada do we normally get it in the same banks with our accounts, for a nominal charge?..or whats the procedure... please i'd like to know.

regards

mg

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....SmILinG aLL d WaY!

I have mine in RBC bank. It is just like in India. You need to put up your name on waiting list for the locker of your choice. A small box would cost around $78 per year while it would be $120 per year for slightly bigger. Lockers at banks like TD & RBC at high traffic areas would be difficult to get. You need to get the card of the teller who handles bank lockers and keep calling her for the same. Typically November/December is the period when people vacate to obtain a newer locker.
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In regards to the property insurance, you should contact the auto insurance company of yours. They offer a discount on your car insurance from 5 to 10%. And you'll need to pay about $100 only more per year on the same. When you plan to buy your own home, you will find your property insurance will be lower as you are already having one.

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Just an Anecdote:

My friend who had his house burgled and lost his jewels was telling me that, he has contacted all the people in his percinct police station and every time he gets a response that they are working on the case. That police station knows their family by first name as they have been calling periodically. Now a days when his wife calls the police station, the constable on duty immediately recognises her voice and remarks that the concerned person is on call and will return the call when she gets back !

While in India, when a similar thing happened he met the police in Chennai and when he said he will pay Rs.10,000 for recovery of the gold, the police were able to catch the thief within 6 hours, recover the jewels from the local pawn shop. In India police knows the thiefs, at times even tips them for a %. When required they can also catch them as they know who they are and who specializes in what type of thievery or burgarlary.

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Speech by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times....

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our
vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the
starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my
children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India
who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

My 2 cents:

Try to get the bank locker at the bank very close to your home so that you can operate easily. Ask the bank if they are open on Saturday and late in the evening on some weekdays. It is not necessary to have bank a/c with the bank near home. e.g. your a/c can be with CIBC and locker with Royal.

Sorry i meant to say It is not necessary to have bank a/c with the bank you have a/c with but with a bank that has branch near your home.

This is definately good information for new immigrants. Thanks Shankaracharya and others!

I'm going to make this thread a sticky and move it to the "Just Landed" section.

Please add more information of this nature for new immigrants to this thread so that it stays in one thread.

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