Category: Uncategorized

Witches and ghouls are scary for the kiddos, but as a homeowner, you know that the real terror of Halloween lies in vandalism, lawsuits, and liability claims. Use these tips to make your home and belongings safe on Halloween night, both for you and your spooky visitors.

Be All In or All Out

Trick-or-treaters expect to get candy when they knock on your door, but it is understandable that you may not be in the spirit of the holiday or have the finances to supply candy every year.

When it comes to Halloween, it’s in your best interest to stick to your plan. If you give out candy, have your porch light on and be prepared for the foot traffic! If you’re not giving out candy, turn out the main lights and make it appear as if you aren’t home to the best of your ability. Greeting trick-or-treaters with no candy is awkward, and in some cases, it can lead to the worst kind of person being vindictive and coming back later to vandalize your home. It sounds bad, but it happens more than you’d think!

Hide Your Car

Halloween is a notorious night for automobile shenanigans. From toilet paper and water balloons, to eggs, paint, and bologna, vandals can pull “pranks” that wind up doing real damage to your car. If you’re not out and about on Halloween night, keep your car locked in the garage or at least park it behind the house.

Keep Your Pets Inside

Our furry friends don’t understand the spirit of Halloween. All they know is that masked figures keep ringing the doorbell to their home, and it is understandable that they get scared and defensive. No matter how sweet your pup usually is, he may still turn into Cujo on Halloween if he’s under enough stress! Don’t put your home insurance policy’s liability limit to the test over a dog bite or other, unintentional injury; keep your dogs safely in the house until the night’s excitement is over.

Light Up the Night…

Little trick-or-treaters are so excited to get candy, they tend to run up the driveway to your home. Make sure your porch and walkway are well lit and unobstructed so they don’t stumble on their way to the door. Not only could a fall ruin their fun night, but a real injury could come back to haunt you as a homeowner. Play it safe and keep it bright outside!

…But Don’t Use the Candles

Those glowing Jack-o-lanterns are super spooky and cool, but costumes, straw, and paper decorations are all very flammable. Use battery operated tea lights instead of real candles so your Jack-o-lantern only looks dangerous.

Imagine you are driving down the interstate when black smoke starts rolling out from under your hood. Do you have any idea what’s going on? How are you going to react? Automobile fires are pretty rare compared to other types of highway incidents, so most people don’t know what to expect or how to handle the situation when it happens to them. However, car fires are extremely dangerous, so it’s important to avoid panic by knowing how to react if it occurs.

Reasons Why It Might Be On Fire

Car fires can be caused by a variety of things. Fuel leakages, overheating, short circuits, and car accidents can all cause fires. If you frequently see fluids collecting underneath your car in parking lots, or if fuses in your car’s electrical system are getting blown out from old or loose wiring, it’s a good idea to get your car serviced right away. Older cars and vehicles that aren’t very well maintained are at a higher risk of catching on fire, so make sure you get your car checked regularly and address any issues you notice.

What to Do If Your Car Catches Fire

• Turn your signal on and immediately move to the safest place to stop.
• Put the car in park and turn off the ignition. Stopping the fuel flow and electric current is very important to prevent the fire from getting worse.
• Get every person out of the car, and don’t allow anyone to go back to retrieve personal items.
• Move at least 100 feet away from the burning vehicle to avoid the flames and toxic fumes and also keep bystanders back.
• Call 911.
• Alert oncoming traffic if possible.

What NOT to Do

Anytime drivers pull off the road to address a car issue, their first instinct is to look under the hood and try to determine the problem. If your car is smoking or you see flames, there’s no need to check it out – you know what the issue is here! Opening the hood sucks in a gust of air that actually fans the flames and exacerbates the problem. You can find out the cause of the fire later.

Also, don’t try to put the fire out yourself. Car fires can escalate quickly, and explosions are always a risk. It simply isn’t worth putting yourself in danger just to attempt putting out the flames. Let your insurance take care of the loss.

Lastly, don’t hesitate to call your insurance agent. After you’ve dialed 911 and authorities are on their way, give your agent a call from the scene if you can. The earlier you get in touch with your agent, the sooner he or she can start working on your claim and get you back on the road safely!

Accidents are sudden and very nerve-wracking. Although we try to avoid them as much as possible, they still occur in great volume. On average, there are almost 1.23 million deer-related accidents in the United States every year. This number grows around the later months when mating season is in session. This causes more deer to accumulate in populated areas, making some roads very dangerous for drivers. Hitting them is sometimes unavoidable because they appear in your direct path. While we hope this never happens to you, here are the steps you should take if it does.

Move Over

We understand that during a wreck you are so shocked that your priorities are all over the place. However, you should try to stay calm and pull to the side of the road as soon as possible. You are still at risk for being hit by oncoming traffic even though the wreck has already occurred. If you are able to move your car over, do so. Once you are safe, turn on your hazard lights, check your passengers, and take a deep breath.

Alert Authorities

Don’t wait to give the police a call. Alert them of the situation immediately so they can handle everything. If the wreck is bad enough, they will need to direct oncoming traffic out of the way so you and others are kept safe. If the deer is still at the scene, it could block traffic and needs to be removed. When authorities do arrive, you will probably need to fill out an official report with them. Having the details fresh from the scene will be handy when filling out your insurance claim.

Document the Incident

When the road is safe, it’s time to start documenting. Take pictures of the scene including your surroundings, your car, the road, and any injuries you or your passengers have sustained. This will all be important information for your agent to look over when filing your insurance claim.

Stay Away from the Deer

Although it’s okay to check on the deer, you might want to do this at a safe distance. If the deer survives the collision, it will be rattled up and might pose as a threat if it decides to attack out of fear. Deer are known for having powerful legs and sharp hooves that provide a damaging kick.

Contact Your Agent

Like with the authorities, don’t wait to give your insurance agent a call. The sooner, the better. They can immediately get started on your claim when the situation is fresh on your mind rather than later when you might forget some details.

Examine Your Car

Although you are probably more than prepared to go home, take a moment to examine your car thoroughly. If it has sustained a significant amount of damage, you should not drive home in it. You could put yourself in even more danger if you do. Instead, contact someone you trust that will take you and your passengers home while you have your car towed.

When you are met with a tough situation such as a car accident, the last thing you need is added stress. Having the right agent on your side will give you peace of mind. Let us take care of you today. Give our office a call to see how we can assist you and your family.

Most of the time, collisions happen when you least expect it whether you are driving or parked. While the right thing is for both drivers to step out of the car and handle the situation, some have other ideas and try to flee from the scene. This is always shocking, but you can still be prepared for it by following these steps:

Call the Authorities

It’s understandable that you might be shaken up from the collision so it’s wise to take a moment to assess the situation. Once everything is clear, call the authorities immediately to let them know what happened. If you wait too long, the police may not be able to track down the perpetrator in time. You will also need a descriptive account of the situation when you file your claim, so make sure you get in touch with your agent soon, while the incident is still fresh in your memory.

Get As Much Information As You Can

This may not be a simple task since the vehicle is on the move, but it is still possible to gather enough information for a claim. Your first plan of action should be to get the license plate number of the perpetrator. Also try to determine the make, model, and year of the car. If their vehicle has any damage, take note of that too so they can be tracked down easier. Also take note of which way the vehicle went to give others a starting point. After you have all the information down about the other driver, focus on your car next. Like with any collision, you have to document the entire event. Where the location was, where it happened, how it happened, etc. Then take photos/videos of your car. This documentation will help your agent later on.

Stay at the Scene

While it may be tempting to go follow the person that hit your car, you are actually putting yourself in a bad position if you do this. You will need witnesses when filing your claim. If, however, you flee the scene, you could lose this opportunity to speak with others who provide valuable information that you need.

Be Patient

Like with any collision, there will be a lot to handle in the aftermath. You may need someone to come tow your car depending on how severe the damage is, and making a claim is not a quick process. While it might be a frustrating time, be patient while everything gets sorted out. Talk with your loved ones to make any necessary arrangements and let everything work itself out over time.

The last thing you need after a hit and run is a massive bill to pay. Luckily, with the right coverage plan, you don’t have to worry. Give our office a call today and get in touch with our professional staff who can find you the insurance plan you need in case of any accidents down the road.

When running a business is already expensive, one of the last things you may want to do is add on expenses for insurance. Every business owner hopes they won’t need it because hopefully nothing would ever go wrong. However, there are several reasons why having business insurance is helpful as well as reasons why not having insurance can hurt you. Check out these risks you run below when you try to put off having your business insured.

Breaking Laws

Most of the country has laws stating that businesses must have certain types of insurance or a certain amount of coverage. If you have at least one employee, you must have at least general liability insurance for your business. You may even be required to have additional protection for things such as workers compensation, property insurance if you are located in an area prone to natural disasters, or even coverage against lawsuits.

Not Protecting Your Employees

You shouldn’t have insurance for your workers just because you are required to. Workers compensation coverage helps both you and your employees by taking care of them if an accident happens and making sure you are able to afford any medical bills they have from the incident. If you don’t have a workers compensation policy in place, you could be liable for a lawsuit and be out a lot of money. In addition to workers compensation, you will also need unemployment insurance for if your employees are unable to continue work for a while.

Business Interruptions

If anything were to happen to your uninsured business such as a fire or flood, you won’t have any means to recover and you will be left with the financial consequences of repairs and interrupted business operations. So while you won’t be making any profit, you’ll also be losing money if you plan to reopen your business. Insurance can help protect you by covering any losses as well as any lost income during the period that your business will be paused.

Property Loss

Buying property insurance for your business helps you hold onto your most important asset in the event of a disaster: the property you exist on. Without that insurance, you will end up losing possession of your property and be unable to continue operation if anything were to happen to your building.

The risks you take of not having adequate insurance coverage for your business just isn’t worth taking. Call one of our agents today to make sure your business is protected against the unexpected.

At first, it may seem like all that money you put into retirement savings over the years is pointless. However, in actuality, you will be thanking yourself for setting aside so much money once the time comes. Take a look at what you can look forward to after saving for retirement for so long.

Savings For: Travel & Vacation

Now that you have so many hours in the day to fill up, why not spend it going to places you’ve always wanted to see? Instead of daydreaming about paradise, you can actually go visit it with all the money you have saved up in your retirement plans! Retirement is the perfect time to see the world and all it has to offer. You may be surprised what you find out there. And with the right amount in your 401(k) or IRA plans, you can even make a vacation out of your adventure. You don’t have to worry about taking a personal day when you can have as many as you want to do whatever you want!

Savings For: A New Hobby

Have you ever wanted to take cooking classes? Or maybe even dancing classes? You may not have had time for hobbies in the past, or money, but now you do! Enjoy the things in life you couldn’t before by putting your savings to use the way you want. There is no better time to do this than during retirement.

Savings For: Your Loved Ones

When saving for retirement, you are not just trying to put aside money to spend on things you couldn’t afford before. You are also ensuring time with your loved ones. By saving enough money to enter retirement through various plans, you can spend your free time with your loved ones and bond like never before instead of focusing on work. You have worked so hard to ensure they have a good and happy life. Now you can be a part of it too.

Savings For: Volunteer Services

Volunteering is a great way to help those in need, but it can be difficult when you have to take care of yourself first. However, with your savings on your side, you don’t have to worry. Instead, you can spend your time volunteering without worrying about the fact that you do not make money profit because you know you are safe and secure with your retirement plans. Instead of constantly working to make ends meet, you can work the way you want by helping others.

Savings For: A Better Future

Many people look forward to retirement because it provides a time that is dedicated to the things you want. You can finally live happily after all the work you’ve put in. Without saving or investing in an insurance plan, your retirement may not be a fun time filled with all the opportunities listed above. Enjoy retirement by having our agency go over with you the best options for your retirement plan so your future is filled with joy.