Do you have enough
coverage?
The amount of insurance you
need can change a great deal from year to year. As a result, evaluating your
insurance coverage should always be added to your annual to-do list. It is
important to check for any gaps in your coverage and make sure you are properly
protected.
Auto insurance – If you were in a serious accident, would you have enough
coverage?
Check the types and amounts of insurance you have and make sure that your
liability limits sufficient if you were to cause injury to others or their
property. If you want to save money on your premiums, consider increasing your
collision and comprehensive deductibles.
Homeowners and renters insurance – No one like to think about the prospect of
having their home burglarized or destroyed by a natural disaster. However, you
need to be prepared for the possibility. It is essential to have enough
insurance coverage to rebuild your home and replace its contents at today’s
costs. You may also need additional coverage to protect your home and its
contents against a flood or earthquake. If you own valuable, unique items, you
might need to insure them separately. Contact our agency if you’re concerned
about any of these situations.
Personal umbrella policies – Most people, especially homeowners or those with
substantial assets, should consider a personal umbrella policy. Personal
umbrella coverage provides excess liability limits and broadens protection to
include many situations that basic policy do not cover. The coverage is becoming
more and more important as individuals are becoming increasingly willing to
initiate litigation aimed at recovering large damage awards.
If you have any concerns provide by your current policies, call our agency.
We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, or help you fill in any gaps in
your insurance.
Gas pump safety
Drivers who get back into their cars in the middle of refueling can run the risk
of igniting a fire through static electricity. Sliding across car seats and then
touching the gas nozzle can create an igniting spark. The Petroleum Equipment
Institution offers the following tips when refueling your vehicle:
For more information, log on to
www.pei.org/static.
How safe is your home?
Keeping your home safe from the many potential safety hazards to you and your
family can be harder than you might think. For example, do you know what items
in your garage are potentially hazardous? Is your backyard really a safe place
for your children to play? The website
www.homesafetycouncil.org is one place to find answers to these kinds of
questions. You can also find advice on how to do your own home improvements
safely and how to child-proof your home.
The costs of speeding
It may be tempting to travel faster than posted speed limits, but according to
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding is one of
the leading causes of motor vehicles crashes. The NHTSA reports that almost
1,000 deaths per month are a result of accidents involving speeding. Not only
does speeding cost lives---it costs money, too. Expenses resulting from
speeding-related accidents total nearly $40 billion each year.
Is your laundry room a fire
hazard
If you’re like most people, you may often start the dryer and walk away without
giving it a second thought. If dryers are not properly maintained, they can
catch fire. Such fires have been responsible for nearly $100 million in damages
in a single year.
Lint,
dirt and other debris can accumulate in the vent due to improper maintenance.
The limits air circulation and causes build up of heat. If the debris gets hot
enough, it can catch fire.
There are some obvious indications that your dryer vent may need to be cleaned,
including lengthy drying times, deactivation due to high temperatures, and
increased heat and humidity in the area of the dryer.
Maintaining your dryer vent can help keep your dryer running safely. Here are
some tips to consider:
-
Make
sure the vent length does not exceed the dryer manufacturer’s recommendations.
Include elbows, transaction and outdoor hood assemblies in your measurement. If
the vent length exceeds the manufacturer’s recommendation, move the dryer or
consider installing a booster fan.
-
Regularly inspect and clean the lint screen, duct and outdoor hood. Depending on
the vent length, options include cleaning the vent yourself with the proper
tools or hiring a professional to complete the job.
-
If you
have a plastic, flexible duct, check it frequently for kinks. This type of duct
is more likely to trap lint than ducts without ridges. You may want to replace
it with a rigid or flexible metal duct.
-
Never
run the dryer when no one is home, or when everyone is asleep. In the event of a
fire, you want to be able to respond quickly.
With regular maintenance, you can detect dryer vent
problems before they become fire hazards.
Choosing a SAFE car for your teen
For a teenager, getting a driver’s license is an exciting time. As a parent or
guardian, it can also be a very stressful time for you. The first years the teen
spends behind the wheel are very risky—in fact, they have the highest death
rates of any driver age group. You can help protect your teen driver by choosing
a safe vehicle. Here are some tips to consider:
-
Don’t tempt them – Teen drivers often lack not
only driving experience, but also the maturity of older drivers. So when
you’re picking a vehicle with high performance features that could encourage
speeding or other reckless driving.
-
Choose something stable – Higher centers gravity
make sport utility vehicles – especially the smaller ones- inherently less
stable than cars. As a result, abrupt steering maneuvers - like the kind that
can occur when teens are distracted or over-correcting a driver error—can be
more likely to cause rollovers. A more stable car would be more likely to
simply skid or spin out.
-
“Size up” the vehicle - Teenagers should drive
cars that offer good protection in case they do crash, and large vehicles
offer much more protection than smaller ones. This doesn’t mean you should put
your teen in the largest vehicle available. Many mid-to full-size cars offer
more than adequate crash protection. Consult a vehicle’s safety ratings if you
have any questions.
-
Avoid older vehicles – It may be hard to imagine,
but handing over the keys to a brand new vehicle may be the best choice. Most
of today’s cars are better designed for crash protection and offer more safety
features could mean less cost when it comes time to insure your U.S.
Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.gov/)
or the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org).
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