Protect Yourself From Being Burned

Foresight vs. Hindsight: Protect yourself from being burned. 

 Imagine as a homeowner and family leaving your home for work and school only to be notified later in the day that your house is on fire. By the time you arrive at your home, the structure is fully involved and the fire department is on scene fighting the fire.

Imagine the same scenario as a business owner closing your store at the end of the day or for the weekend and being notified that your business is on fire, with both the above scenarios resulting in a total loss. The first and most important aspect is that there is no loss of life. Then the shock and devastation sets in. The memories, hard work, sentimental items, everything is gone and possibly all you have left is the clothes on your back. Where do you start? As much as we do not want to think of such an incident, they occur daily.

Let’s review some statistics:

 In 2008 there were 403,000 residential fires (NFPA – National Fire Protection Association)

  Every 5 minutes a business in the U.S. catches fire. 90% suffer catastrophic loss and 40% never recover (NFPA)

  43% of US companies never reopen after disaster, and 29% more close within 3 years (NFPA)

Here are 5 steps you can take to be prepared:

1. Create emergency contact list to include: insurance company (medical policy numbers, home policy number, and auto policy number), doctors, utility companies, banks, neighbors, family, etc.

2. Document and document some more… create computer file or written sheet of items in each room to include their purchase price, model and serial number.

3. Consider having artwork, jewelry and sentimental items appraised. Appraisals speed up the claims process.

4. Photograph or video tape each room of the contents. Print hard copy of the pictures to include notes on the item. Provide voice description of contents when video taping. The hard copies/disks should be stored off site.

5. Backup files created for all business files with copy maintained off site. (The Insurance Information Insitute offers free software to help with steps 2, 4 and 5 at www.knowyourstuff.org.)

What to do in the first 24 hours after a fire:

1. Contact local disaster relief services such as American Red Cross or the Salvation Army for immediate needs such as:

 Temporary housing

 Food

  Medicine

  Clothing

  Other essential items

2. Notify of your relocation:

 Insurance agent/company

  Family and friends/business partners

  Mortgage company (inform them of the fire)

 Employer

 Children’s school

  Post office

 Delivery services

 Utility companies

3. Replace important documents: Item Who to Contact, Driver’s license, auto registration, Department of Motor Vehicles, Bank books (checking, savings, etc.) Your bank, as soon as possible Insurance policies, Your insurance agent, Military discharge papers, Department of Veterans Affairs, Passports, Passport service, Birth, death and marriage certificates, Bureau of Records in the appropriate state Divorce papers Circuit court where decree was issued Social Security or Medicare cards Local Social Security office, Credit cards, The issuing companies, as soon as possible Titles to deeds Records department of the locality in which the property is located, Stocks and bonds Issuing company or your broker, Wills, Your Lawyer, Medical Records ,Your Doctor, Warranties, Issuing Company. Income tax records, IRS center where filed or your accountant. Citizenship papers, U.S. Immigration, and Naturalization Service Mortgage papers ,Lending institution.

 Sources: www.NFPA.org

 www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/

 www.firesafety.gov

Westfield Insurance Company

Homeowners Checkup

A home and its contents frequently represent a major portion of a person’s net worth. Failure to keep coverage current could result in a claim not being covered. Whose responsibility is it to maintain adequate insurance coverage? When all is said and done, it is the policyholder’s responsibility to review the homeowner policy regularly and inform his/her insurance agent of any obvious shortfalls and ask pertinent questions. While we can search through the maze of complex coverages and advise you how to cover your exposures to loss, your involvement is necessary. Who else knows more about what you have and the activities with which you are involved.

Tell your insurance agent about the remodeling project you did on your home, or the jewelry you recently bought, or inherited? Jewelry has limited coverage on a homeowner policy. Did you remember to tell us that you are now operating a business from your home? This takes special coverage. If you have a vacation rental in Flordia, and you fail to tell your insurance agent, they will not know to add the required endorsemnet to your policy to give you the necessary coverage as a landlord. Your insurance agent knows how to handle your loss exposures, but you need to tell them that these exposures are present.

Don’t forget to also consider liability coverage. Under the standard liability coverage, if a guests slips and falls on your wet patio you would be covered for the individual’s medical expenses, your defense costs and a specified limit for actual damages. But, if the amount awarded exceeds your policy limits, your personal assests could be threatened. A personal umbrella could help you in this case. the umbrella liabilty policy typically affords at least $1 million of liability coverage and blankets over your auto and home policy, providing that additional liability coverage if your auto insurance and homeowner insurance policy limits are inadequate.

Saving Money On Your Auto Insurance

In today’s environment of rising prices, we are looking for ways to help you keep your budget under control. There are a number of ways we can help you do this without compromising the quality of your coverage.

The first recommendation we have is that you always call us before you by that next car. You will be surprised at the difference in premium from one vehicle to another. the reasons for this difference range from the vehicle being considered a sports model to the high cost of repair due to unique or difficult to acquire parts. Many models also have worse than average injury statistics, which increases the costs associated with physical injury and recovery. Lookfor a car with automatic restraints – especially airbags. Many companies give discounts for air bags, anti-lock brakes and passive restraint systems.

Your driving record is of paramount importance. Companies are systematically reviewing all their policyholders, some on a monthly basis, ordering motor vehicle reports and reviewing claims history. Your driving history is probably the single most important factor on which your rates are based.

If your car is older, you might want to consider dropping comprehensive and/or collision coverage. If your automobile is only worth a couple of thousand dollars, and you carry a $500 or $1000 collision deductible, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to carry collision coverage at all. What if you buy that dream car you have always wanted? It stands to reason that high value cars are more expensive to insure. Here is where utilizing large deductibles is smart.

Do you have a youthful driver in your houshold? If so, make it a requirement that he/she carry at least a B average in school as a requirement to drive. You would be amazed at the difference in youthful driver rates. The loss experience for these drivers is much better than the average youthful driver as well. These young drivers seem to exercise a greater degree of care while driving.

For more information, call your professional independent insurance agent.

PIA

Keep Your Home and Auto Insurance With The Same Company. Getting the Most for Your In$urance Dollar.

Executive Insurance Group

Keep Your Home and Auto Insurance With The Same Company.

Many insurers offer a discount if you purchase both auto and homeowner coverage with them. While this does not always guarantee a cheaper premium, in most cases you should see some overall savings.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking cheaper is always a better deal. A big mistake made by insurance shoppers is only looking at price and not considering the quality of the insurer and the value of a reliable and competent agent.

Getting the Most for Your In$urance Dollar. Drop Full Coverage On Older Cars.

Drop Full Coverage on Older Cars.

Usually it makes no sense to carry collision coverage on an older car if the value is low. In the event of a total loss, once you subtract your deductible and what you are paying for coverage, the net claim payment could be rather low. Web sites such as www.kbb.com provide current values on used cars.

Maintain Good Credit. Getting the Most for Your In$urance Dollar.

Maintain Good Credit.

Many studies by the insurance industry and independent groups have shown that using credit ratings are useful in determining the potenial for profitability of a particular policyholder. Studies have also shown that drivers with long stable credit records have fewer accidents and claims. Each of the three major credit agencies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, can provide you with a copy of your credit report.

Getting the Most for Your In$urance Dollar. Buying a New Car.

Call Your Agent Before Buying a New Car.

When purchasing  a new car, give some consideration to the insurance premium for each particular model. Narrow down your search and ask your agent to calculate the premium for that new car. Sometimes even the most mundane car can generate a high insurance premium if it has a poor safety record, high theft rate, or lacks many of the available safety features which reduce chance of injury.

Getting the Most for Your In$urance Dollar

Have high oil and food prices put a bind on your budget? Here are a few ideas to help ease the pain by saving on your auto insurance.

Higher Deductibles – With both auto and homeowner insurance, taking a higher deductible can be a great way to cut your premium significantly. Take advantage of this savings by choosing the highest deductible you feel comfortable absorbing on your budget. Ask yourself when you last had a claim, and during that time how much money would you have saved with a higher deductible.

PIA Professional Insurance Agent

IDENTITY THEFT

 Your identity is a valuable asset.

WHAT TO DO

Identity Theft varies widely, and can include check fraud, credit card fraud, financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, governmental identity theft and identity fraud.

To get your free yearly credit report go to www.annualcreditreport.com .

IF YOU ARE A VICTIM:

1)    Contact  Social Security

2)    Contact Federal trade Commission

3)    Contact local police department

4)    Contact each of the following credit bureau fraud divisions:

• Equifax
• Experian
• Trans Union

Go to www.idtheftcenter.org for more information.

An Insurance Policy Note About New “Toys”

If you find yourself the proud new owner of a motorcycle, boat or another new “toy,” remember that a packaged insurance policy is your best bet. Many people when buying a new “toy,” get a seperate insurance policy. In fact, a packaged insurance policy will usually cost less.

After all, your current insurance company knows you – they are more likely to be confident about insuring you. You can package all of your insurance needs – home, life, commercial, auto and boat or motorcycle – often at a considerable savings over seperate policies for each.