Top Tips and Tricks to Fight Heat Related Illnesses

By Ari Rush Health Insurance

Top Tips and Tricks to Fight Heat Related Illnesses

Summer brings sunshine and longer days, but it also comes with rising risks, especially when it comes to heat exhaustion and other forms of heat illness. As temperatures climb, our bodies work harder to stay cool, and prolonged exposure to high heat can quickly become dangerous. From heat cramps to heatstroke, knowing how to recognize and prevent these conditions is essential. Whether you’re working outdoors or enjoying a day in the sun, these tips will help you stay safe, cool, and prepared.

Sip Smart: Stay Hydrated

In extreme heat, staying hydrated isn’t just about comfort – it’s about protecting your health. Dehydration is one of the leading causes of heat exhaustion and other severe heat-related illnesses. To keep your body functioning properly and help regulate your internal temperature, it’s important to hydrate early, often, and wisely.

Here are some key hydration tips to help you stay safe in extreme heat events:

  • Drink water regularly: Don’t wait until you feel thirsty. Sip water consistently throughout the day and keep your hydration levels steady.
  • Increase fluid intake during outdoor activities: If you’re working, exercising, or spending extended time outside, drink at least one cup (250 mL) every 15-20 minutes.
  • Start your day with water: Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning to jumpstart your hydration before the heat kicks in.
  • Choose water over sugary drinks: Beverages like soda, energy drinks, and sweetened juices can contribute to dehydration.
  • Limit alcohol and caffeine: Both are diuretics that can increase fluid loss, putting you at a greater risk of heat-related illness.
  • Eat water-rich foods: Add hydration foods to your meals, such as watermelon, cucumber, oranges, and strawberries.
  • Carry a reusable water bottle: Keep it with you at all times, so you can take regular sips, especially when on the go.

Don’t underestimate the power of water when temperatures soar. Staying well-hydrated is one of the simplest and most effective ways to defend against heat stroke.

Beat the Heat: Time Your Outdoor Activities

The sun is the strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., making this window the riskiest time to be outdoors. Prolonged exposure during peak hot weather can quickly lead to heat exhaustion or other illnesses, especially if you’re active. Whether you’re exercising, working outside, or running errands, managing your time outdoors is key to avoiding heat stroke and keeping yourself healthy.

Here’s how to protect yourself when the heat is at its peak:

  • Stay indoors during peak heat hours: Plan your day around the hot weather. Aim to complete outdoor tasks early in the morning or after sunset when it’s cooler.
  • Find shade or shelter often: If you have to be outside, take frequent breaks in a cool or shady area like malls, libraries, or community centers with air conditioning.
  • Use cooling accessories: Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and use a portable fan or cooling towel to reduce body temperature while outside.
  • Avoid strenuous activity during peak hours: Postpone heavy yard work, intense workouts, or other physical tasks until the heat eases.
  • Schedule smart: If you’re hosting or attending outdoor events, consider rescheduling them for later in the day or moving them to a shaded or indoor location.
  • Create a cool zone at home: Use fans, close curtains during the day, and run air conditioning to maintain a safe indoor temperature.

By being intentional about when and how long you’re outside, you can dramatically lower your chances of developing heat-related illnesses. Remember, protecting your health is more important than sticking to a schedule.

Ease Into the Heat: Adjust Gradually

Jumping straight into extreme heat without preparation can put your body under serious stress. If you’re not used to hot weather, it’s important to give your body time to adapt. Heat acclimatization can significantly reduce your risk of heat exhaustion and avoid a medical emergency.

Here’s how to safely build your heat tolerance:

  • Start slow: Begin with short periods of outdoor activity and gradually increase your time and intensity over several days.
  • Give it a few days: It typically takes one to two weeks for your body to fully adjust to very hot days.
  • Wear appropriate clothing: Lightweight, moisture-wicking fabrics help your body temperature cool down more efficiently as you acclimate.
  • Stay well-hydrated: As your body temperature rises, you’ll sweat more, so replacing lost fluids becomes even more critical.
  • Avoid back-to-back intense heat exposure: Mix outdoor time with cooler indoor breaks to prevent overheating while your body adapts.
  • Pay attention to warning signs: Dizziness, fatigue, or nausea could mean you’re pushing too hard, so slow down and rest.

Taking the time to ease into hot conditions can make a big difference in how your body responds and recovers. Acclimating properly ensures you stay safer, feel stronger, and perform better when the heat is on.

Don’t Ignore the Heat: Know the Warning Signs

When temperatures rise, there’s an increased risk of something happening. Heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heatstroke can develop suddenly and escalate quickly, especially if you have chronic health conditions. That’s why it’s essential to recognize the warning signs early and respond immediately. Whether you’re working, exercising, or simply enjoying the outdoors, staying alert to how you feel could save your life.

Here are common signs to watch for:

  • Heavy sweating: Your body may be trying to cool down by sweating excessively but can’t keep up in extreme heat.
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness: Feeling faint or off-balance is a red flag that your body is struggling.
  • Nausea or vomiting: Heat stress can impact your digestive system, especially when hydration is low.
  • Rapid heartbeat or shallow breathing: These signs can indicate that your body is overheating and working too hard.
  • Muscle cramps: Often an early symptom of heat exhaustion caused by dehydration and electrolyte loss.

What to do if you notice symptoms:

  • Stop all activity immediately: Don’t try to push through when your body’s ability to regulate itself is compromised because it could make the situation worse.
  • Move to a cooler area: Find somewhere with cooler air, like a shaded area or an air-conditioned room.
  • Hydrate immediately: Sip water slowly, and avoid sugary, caffeinated, or alcoholic drinks.
  • Apply cool clothes or take a cool shower: Lower your body temperature gradually.
  • Elevate your feet: It helps when you feel faint or lightheaded.
  • Call for medical help: If symptoms are severe and don’t improve within 30 minutes, seek professional care for proper treatment.

Older adults, young children, people with chronic illnesses, and outdoor workers are especially vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. If you’re spending time in the hot weather with others, keep an eye out for these signs in your group, and don’t hesitate to step in and help. Staying informed and responsive is one of the best ways to prevent these situations.

Stay Cool, Stay Safe – We’re Here for You

Your well-being comes first, especially when temperatures soar. By recognizing the signs of heat illness and following practical safety tips, you can enjoy the summer while keeping yourself and your loved ones protected. At Oracle RMS, we care about more than just insurance – we care about your peace of mind.

If summer adventures are on your horizon, make sure you’re covered:

Enjoy the season – and know we’re always here when you need us.

 

2023 Goals

New Year’s Resolution: Make Sure You’re Covered

By Blog Editor Auto Insurance General Info Health Insurance Home Insurance Life Insurance No comment

Happy New Year! Now that it’s 2023 and we’re beginning a brand new decade, this means it’s time for new goals and resolutions. Some examples of the most common New Year’s resolutions are to live life to the fullest, save more money, get organized and more.

While starting a new decade may seem exciting and motivating to many, have you looked at the bigger picture and thought about making sure you’re covered by purchasing the right type of insurance for 2020? Although majority of Canadians have insurance  in one form or another, surprisingly, there are few who would rather take the risk than be protected or they simply ignore getting insurance as they believe it is too expensive. However, having insurance should be part of your New Year’s Resolution because it will ensure you are financially secure to face any type of problem that may occur in life.

Below are the most important types of insurance policies you should purchase:

  1. Home Insurance

The biggest purchase that you’ll ever have to buy is a home. With home insurance, you will protect your home and the contents in it against unexpected risks. It will also protect you from paying a large sum of money in the event of serious damage caused to your home or destruction. Personal liabilities like slip and falls on your property or inside your home, damaging a third party’s property or accidentally injuring someone else are examples of what home insurance will cover. For those who don’t own a home and are currently renting, it is essential to have tenant insurance, which will provide coverage for the renter’s belongings and liability. For more information on tenant insurance, click here.

  1. Auto Insurance

For all car owners, auto insurance is not only a requirement, but it is also mandatory in all of Canada. Driving without insurance is a very serious offence and can result in a fine of a minimum of $5,000.00. Auto insurance will provide coverage for all listed drivers on the vehicle, the vehicle itself and any loss or damages. It will cover you if you’re involved in a car accident with another vehicle that also has damages or if someone is injured, including yourself. With the help of your insurance company, they will help provide the medical and rehabilitation care, financial assistance if you are unable to work and financial protection if you’ve hurt someone that results in a lawsuit.

  1. Life Insurance

There comes a time in life, where you are no longer making decisions for yourself. Eventually you will make decisions for your family instead. In doing so, you will want to put some thought into purchasing life insurance. It can protect the financial security of your family by giving them a tax-free payment after you’ve passed away. The amount and type of coverage you choose will depend on your needs and circumstances since there are four types of life insurance policies that you can purchase: term life insurance, permanent life insurance, participating life insurance and universal life insurance. Keep in mind that life insurance is age-branded, which means that as each year passes by, your policy can become more and more expensive. In addition, the cost of these four types of life insurance also depends on your gender, health, medical history and lifestyle.

  1. Health Insurance

Changes in your health can impact your financial plans. By purchasing health insurance, you will receive coverage that protects your savings from the many healthcare costs not covered by government plans. According to Health for All, there are an estimated 200-500,000 people in the country that do not have health insurance. This is a shocking number for many as Canada is known for their universal health-care program.

  1. Disability Insurance

There are four types of health insurance products that provide protection you could potentially need later on in life. The one you should most likely consider is disability insurance. This is because it will help protect your income, in case you’re no longer able to work temporarily or permanently, due to a life changing injury or illness. By contacting your Oracle RMS licensed broker, you will receive more information on the different types of disability insurance coverage options that are available.     

Worried About Cost?

If part of your New Year’s Resolution is to also save more money, take advantage of the insurance discounts you can get on your home and auto insurance policies. For example, when you combine your home and auto insurance from the same insurance company, you are qualified to receive a discount to lower your overall premium! For more available discounts on your home insurance policy, click here. In addition, for more available discounts on your car insurance policy, click here.

Contact Oracle RMS Today!

The types of insurance products to have are reflected on what’s most relevant for you, your situation and your lifestyle. It truly depends on a number of factors. By contacting Oracle RMS on purchasing insurance, we will advise you on what coverages to have and what coverages to not have, considering that some insurance companies will insist you purchase unnecessary coverages. We will also provide information on optional coverages that are available.

All in all, by ensuring you are insured and secured, there’s no doubt you will achieve your 2023 New Year’s resolution!

Fitness Professional Insurance: What You Need to Know

By Ari Rush General Info Health Insurance Life Insurance Oracle Info No comment

As more people have stayed in and gyms have had to close, folks have been turning to fitness experts in order to trim down those extra pandemic pounds. 

But as it turns out, however, a key part of keeping your company protected is having the right insurance. We’ve put together a fitness professional insurance guide that’ll give you a solid understanding of what that looks like.

Before We Get Started

When it comes to getting business insurance as a fitness professional, there are a few general rules of thumb:

  • Individual trainers and full-scale gyms may have different insurance needs
  • Online personal trainers do still have professional risks 
  • The “right” insurance package may change depending on your current and future plans

Key Insurance Types for Fitness Professionals

1. Professional Liability Insurance

In many cases, the quest to get fit isn’t purely about the number on the scale. People who are looking to get fit are often pursuing a certain aesthetic or chasing a specific health outcome. In addition, you’re often telling clients what they should do to get the results they’re after.

If a disgruntled client takes your advice and gets hurt or doesn’t get the results they want, you could be sued. Professional liability insurance can cover the costs of your defence. 

2. Contents Insurance

Whether you’re a weightlifting expert or you’re all about helping your clients tone up, there’s one thing that all fitness professionals can agree on:

Fitness equipment is expensive. 

Weightlifting machines, treadmills, and ellipticals can all easily cost several hundred or several thousand dollars each. 

If you offer an online course or a bunch of additional fitness training videos, your computers and your cameras may also be indispensable to your business. A contents insurance policy can compensate you if an insured peril ever damages your equipment. 

3. Commercial General Liability Insurance

Gyms see a lot of foot traffic on a day-to-day basis. 

As the manager of a fitness facility, you never know when someone might trip on a weight or slip on a wet floor. That’s why one of the coverage options we offer in our yoga insurance package is commercial general liability insurance.

If you accidentally damage someone’s property or if someone gets hurt while on your property, this is a coverage option that you may need to have.

Protect Your Business with Fitness Professional Insurance 

As a fitness professional, you can protect your livelihood and your business by having up-to-date insurance. 

If you or your studio offers yoga, you can get a FREE yoga insurance quote from us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Travel Health Insurance

Insurance Coverages for March Break Travelers

By Blog Editor Health Insurance Home Insurance Life Insurance Travel Insurance One comment

Since March Break is right around the corner, families are in the midst of preparing everything that goes along with traveling off to a new destination for the week, such as running some last minute errands needed for their trip, getting the whole family packed and getting to the airport as early as possible, since the Friday before March Break is usually the busiest travel day for all.

However, before even arriving at the airport, it’s important to have insurance to ensure that all individuals are protected and insured. Enjoy your March Break vacation with peace of mind knowing that you’re safe and secured with the following insurance coverages below:

  1. Travel Insurance

Travel insurance should always be purchased after you’ve booked and paid for your March Break vacation. In doing so, travel insurance will provide coverage for unforeseen travel situations such as medical emergencies, trip cancellation and interruption, baggage loss, damages, delays and flight and travel accidents. However, travel insurance coverage depends on the type of coverage you may want since there are different types of packages available.

  1. Health Insurance

By having health insurance coverage, it will protect you from healthcare costs that are not covered by government plans, should there be an unexpected illness that occurred while on your vacation. It should be noted that there are four types of health insurance products to provide protection that you may need such as personal health insurance, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance and disability insurance.

  1. Life Insurance

Not many families will think of life insurance when going on vacation, but if an unexpected scenario occurs on your trip that’s a matter of life or death, then it’s definitely a type of coverage that should be considered. With life insurance, it will protect the financial security of the people you love by giving them a tax-free payment after you’ve passed away. Life insurance also depends on the type of coverage and amount that you want, since it is up to what the insured’s needs and budget are.

  1. Home Insurance

Although you’re away on your March break vacation, you should never leave your house without having home insurance. Oftentimes, there are unfortunate circumstances that leave homeowners with their house broken-into while on vacation. Due to this serious matter, home insurance will provide coverage for your contents, valuables and personal belongings that reside in your home. In addition, if your suitcase has been stolen while you’re traveling, home insurance will provide protection, but you must have an enhanced or comprehensive policy in order to be covered.

Don’t forget that it’s critical to know what your insurance covers before your vacation, especially with the current Coronavirus outbreak. For Canadian travelers considering cancelling their trip due to this pandemic should know that travel insurance does not provide coverage for your trip. Insurance carriers such as Manulife and TuGo recently announced that they will not be providing any refunds to consumers with regular travel insurance due to the coronavirus fears even if a travel advisory was issued after they’ve booked their trip. Even the National Post stated, “it’s important to keep in mind that fear alone of a rapidly spreading disease is not covered under most travel insurance.”

With that being said, before you go away for your March Break vacation, know that having these types of insurance coverages should be a top priority to have in order for your family to stay protected and secured. Contact Oracle RMS today to speak with a licensed broker who will gladly answer any of your questions and concerns regarding your insurance or to simply update your current coverage.

Insurance Tips For Your Travels This Winter

By Blog Editor Auto Insurance Health Insurance Home Insurance Travel Insurance No comment

The first snowfall that hit Ontario in November meant it was officially time for all the snowbirds to start packing their bags! The term “snowbird” is a person who migrates from the colder northern parts of North America to a warmer southern location during the winter season. Whether it is migrating to Mexico or the Caribbean, for most Canadian snowbirds, travelling down south to the sunshine state of Florida is typically the first option.

According to the Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA), they’ve estimated that at least 350,000 Canadians spend three to six months in Florida, while another 100,000 spend between one to three months in the state. For all snowbirds, they would need to have the right coverage as they enjoy travelling down south. Here are a few important insurance tips that snowbirds should know about before they go down south.

  1. Travel Insurance

    Travel insurance should always be at the top of every list when it is time to leave home. Whether travelling through bus, plane, train or a car, travel insurance will provide coverage for the widest range of unexpected travel situations. These include loss of baggage(s), damages to belongings, trip cancellation and interruption, claims and emergency medical care. Travel insurance offers many different packages for all, depending on the desired coverage. All travelers are entitled to choose a travel insurance package that will suit their travelling situation and receive the best coverage needed.

  2. Health Insurance

    As previously mentioned, some snowbirds stay in the U.S. for up to six months within a 12-month period. With that being said, they must make sure to find out how many days they can spend in the U.S. and check in with their government. This is because snowbirds can lose their provincial health insurance. The longer they are outside of the country, the more chances they could lose it. This depends on the rules from the province as every province has a residence requirement. This applies especially for all Ontario snowbirds, as the Ontario government plans to cancel OHIP’s Out of Country Travellers Program in the new year. Therefore, it is crucial to check their health insurance coverage and to make sure they still have their provincial health insurance for when they get back home.

  3. Home Insurance

    During the time that snowbirds are away, their home is vacant. They must check their policy and see if it requires them to have someone check on their home while away. If so, usually asking a trusted family member, friend or neighbour to come over and inspect the home is the best choice. Otherwise, about eight in 10 Canadian snowbirds own property in Florida. Therefore, it is required that they must purchase home insurance.

  4. Car Insurance

    Oftentimes, some snowbirds opt out of flying and decide to go on a road trip instead. That is when having car insurance is beneficial.  Every Ontario car insurance policy allows all drivers to leave the province while maintaining their current auto insurance coverage. However, there are conditions such as how long you’ll be out of the province for. This is because coverage will only be provided for a certain amount of time. Snowbirds should always review their liability coverage before they leave and to inform their broker ahead of time that they’ll be taking their car out of the country.

Now that snowbirds and snowbirds-in-the-making are aware of these insurance tips, they can feel at ease and more relaxed, while having fun in the sun. Contact an Oracle RMS licensed broker to gather more information on the above insurance products or update their current policy before heading down south!