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The holidays are full of excitement and celebrations with family and friends. While getting ready for the festivities, meals, and decorating time that is planned can create excitement for you and your furry friends, there are several things to watch out for. As their owner, it’s important to consider how things like festive plants, lighting, and additional festive changes around your home could affect the safety of your pets. Below are some safety tips to help protect your pets during the holiday season. 

Hide and Cover Electrical Wires

Lights and electrical decorations typically lead to new cords being scattered around the house. This can lead to your pets trying to eat or play with the wires and this could cause harm if they were to break the protective coating. To ensure their safety, make sure all cords are secure or hidden from them. As an additional protection measure, unplugging the cord while you’re away can minimize the risk of electrocution. 

Cover Food

Holiday celebrations always come with delicious food at gatherings. It’s important to remember that your pets shouldn’t eat certain foods because it can make them severely sick. When you decide to wrap up mealtime, make sure that all of your countertops and surfaces are clear of any food, store all leftovers away and take the trash out. Double-check that all of your lids on your trash bins are secure to ensure that your dogs will be deterred from trying to dig into them. 

Remove Candles

Lighting candles during the holidays can add a charming glow and warmth to your home but, they can be a danger to your pets and create a potential fire hazard. Most importantly, never leave a lit candle unattended because your curious pet could burn themselves or knock over the candle. Look at using battery-lit candles instead to keep you and your pets safe during the holiday season.

Research Traditional Holiday Greenery

Did you know that common holiday plans are dangerous for your furry friends? Mistletoe, holly, and poinsettias can easily cause your cat or dog to have cardiovascular or gastrointestinal issues if they were to ingest them. Different plants can also affect different animals and breeds in unique ways. Do your research on how specific holiday plants may affect your pet before deciding to showcase them in or around your home.

Speak with your local insurance agent about policies that could help protect your pets and home during the holiday season. 

Life insurance policies can be confusing. There seem to be endless different options, plans, and policies to choose from. You might have simply selected the cheapest life insurance policy because you didn’t fully understand your options. Maybe you selected a pricier policy because “You pay for what you get!” If these describe you, you might not be getting the most out of your life insurance policy. Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering your current life insurance policy.

Do I need term or permanent life insurance?

Although this seems like a tricky question, it can really be boiled down to a few simple assessments. What is your budget? What are your family’s needs? If you’re young and single with no kids, you could save money by choosing a short term life insurance policy. On the other hand, permanent life insurance offers an added amount of safety and security. Higher incomes, larger families, and greater expenses require deeply rooted insurance plans. With permanent life insurance, you can rest assured that you won’t need to worry about renewing, re-assessing, or dealing with insurance agents.

How much coverage do I realistically need?

In order to accurately assess how much financial protection your family needs from your life insurance policy, you must know how much money would be required for your family to continue on after your death. This means estimating your current expenses, understanding funeral costs, and accounting for your income. Make certain that your life insurance policy meets or exceeds this assessment. Knowing that your family is covered if something were to happen to you will bring you and your loved ones peace.

Can I make an annual payment rather than monthly?

Finally, you could save yourself money by paying for your life insurance annually rather than monthly. Most insurance agencies are charging you a small fee for making monthly payments. If you can’t afford to pay an annual fee, you may still be able to pay larger fractured payments every few months instead. If your provider allows, make as few payments as possible throughout the year; ideally, one annual payment. This way, you will ultimately pay less money in total.

People across the nation are breaking out their winter jackets, scarves, and gloves to prepare for the winter months that are upon us. Keeping warm during winter is important for everyone, so it is likely that many people are grabbing their space heaters as well. While a space heater can be a useful tool during the winter, it can also present some dangers when inside your home or office. Here are a few helpful tips to consider while using your space heater this winter.

Only plug it into the wall.

The inevitable temptation to plug your space heater into a power strip or extension cord is common and understandable. Sometimes you need heat in places where no wall outlets are close by. However, you must resist this temptation! Most space heaters require a lot of energy, and you can easily overload a common household power strip with them. You could start an electrical fire in your home or office by overloading your extension cord, so be sure to only plug your space heater directly into a wall outlet.

Give it a break.

Try not to leave your space heater turned on for extended periods of time. You should turn off your heater and unplug it from the wall every couple of hours. By doing so, you are reducing the risk of overworking your heater. Most space heaters have heavy duty heater coils and fans inside of them, so overworking your heater could result in a dangerous malfunction. These malfunctions are rare but if you only use your heater for appropriate amounts of time, you will only further ensure safety.

Leave enough space between your heater and other flammable objects.

Finally, when using your heater, take caution in what is near or in front of the main vent. Because the airflow is usually upwards of 85 degrees, it will slowly but surely warm up anything to dangerous levels. In some cases, the heat exposure may cause certain fabrics to catch fire if left too closely for too long. To avoid this, allow at least three feet of space between your heater and anything that might be damaged or catch fire, including yourself and your clothes.

Protect your assets with insurance. 

If you remember all of these tips this winter, consider yourself protected from any avoidable disasters caused by your space heater. Of course, not all disasters are completely avoidable. If you want to protect yourself from any unpredictable damage to your home this holiday season, be sure to do your research and find an insurance plan that works for you. Whether it be homeowner’s insurance, renters insurance, or additional asset protection, it is always important to make sure that you are covered.

Life insurance: you may not want to think about it too hard, but you need to. It can be difficult to consider the possibility of your own passing, but when you realize what the financial consequences of your death might be for your loved ones, you’ll realize just how important life insurance is. If you have a policy, that’s the first step. However you cannot simply let that policy sit untouched for all the years of your life. There are certain changes you may go through that would necessitate updating your life insurance beneficiaries. But what are those changes? We’ll dive into it a little deeper.  

You Get Married 

When you consider the many changes your life will go through after tying the knot, updating your life insurance beneficiary might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But when two become one, often combining their finances, ensuring your spouse will be taken care of in the unthinkable event of your death is one of the most loving things you can do to secure your new life together. Many couples will change their beneficiary to their spouse once the nuptials are over. In fact, depending on where you live you may be required to. The death benefits would ensure your spouse will be able to take care of final expenses, pay off your debts, and not have to experience the burden of entirely losing their partner’s income.  

A Child Is Born  

You may be having a child together, adopting, or taking over care of a friend or relative’s child. Whatever the case, if an important child comes into your life, you may want to take another look at your life insurance beneficiaries. Some do not recommend adding your new child to your list of beneficiaries, since they will not be able to receive death benefits until reaching the age of majority. However you can still specify to your spouse or other beneficiary that you would like the policy benefits to go towards something specific, such as your child’s education expenses.  

You Start a Business 

If you own a business with partners, it is possible to include them in your list of life insurance beneficiaries. However, you should also consider creating a buy-sell agreement with any business partners. This will allow your business partner(s) to use the benefits from the agreement to buy out your shares in the company in the event of your death. If you wish to protect the business you have built, make sure to speak with an experienced insurance agent to ensure you have all the coverage you need to keep your business running no matter what.  

Whoever you name as your life insurance beneficiary, be sure to inform them right away. This is especially true if you choose someone outside your immediate family, since they may not even expect to be named in your policy. Life insurance benefits will not bring you back after you are gone, but they can go a long way towards protecting the people you care about. 

As we get closer to the time of celebration and being grateful, it’s a good time to think about all you are thankful for. One thing that may not always come to mind is your independent insurance agent! When looking into getting your own set of insurance policies, no one else is going to have your back like your local agent. This Thanksgiving season, here are five reasons to be thankful for your local independent insurance agent.

Finding The Best Policy For You

Your insurance agent is always looking out for what is best for you and your circumstances. They are focused on providing the right policy that will match your specific needs – no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Explaining Everything You Need to Know

Your agent is there to explain everything so you fully understand exactly what you are getting with your policy. In addition, they are happy to explain all the risks and evaluate all options when it comes to insurance! They are focusing on more than what specific insurance carriers provide to help you identify potential areas of exposure.

Bundle Your Personal Policy

One of the best things your agent does for you is building a personal insurance bundle that is specially catered to you! They are able to bundle multiple policies from various carriers in order to cover all of your needs in one package and cover your needs all year-round. 

Community Focused

Your local agent is also a member of your community! They are committed to your success and the success of others throughout the community! They are also great at connecting people throughout the community and creating everlasting networking opportunities for you.

Knowledge Beyond Insurance

Your agent will often provide more knowledge than that of their insurance expertise. As they have worked with many individuals and businesses throughout the years, they are covered in many different types of situations that all require different sets of coverages. This can be beneficial if you are experiencing a situation where you need coverage but aren’t sure what policy is best suited. 

Give your local agent a call and let them know you are thankful to have them in your life!

Millennials (young people born between 1981 and 1996) are now reaching a place in their lives where they have to start making important financial decisions, such as when to buy a house or have children. With the average amount of millennial debt rising, it is becoming more difficult for young people to build up savings. That is why it is incredibly important that millennials make the investment in insurance. If the unexpected occurs, many uninsured or underinsured millennials will be without any safety net to help them recover. 

Part of the problem with people of this age being uninsured or underinsured is simply a lack of information. So, for any millennials reading, here are 4 practical insurance tips for you.  

Work with an Independent Agent – Not Google 

What do you do when you need to do something difficult for the first time? You go to an expert! For many people, this expert is Google. But there is a lot of misinformation out there, and millennials know more than anyone that you can’t trust everything you read online. Millennials are smart – there is no doubt about that. However, many do not realize what kind of insurance they may need, or just how important it is, so they don’t have all the coverage they should. This is a big mistake, especially for those who are starting families or building a business. An independent insurance agent is a friend in the business who can guide you in the best course of action. Sure, you could buy insurance online, but you may not get the best rates. The job of an independent agent is to do the hard work of finding the best possible coverage for the lowest possible price tag. This means less stress on you and more time to spend doing the things you love!  

Stop Worrying So Much About the Price Tag  

We get it. Many millennials have a lot of expenses, and it can sometimes feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck. How much do you think insurance costs per month? Whatever number you are holding in your head, there’s a good chance the true number is lower. There are also a lot of discounts that are available if you perform certain behaviors. Yes, this often means “adulting” things. Your agent is your resource for this kind of information, so don’t be shy about asking what kind of discounts are available. 

Cover Your Gaps to Protect Your Valuables  

Again, this is where the advice and expertise of an independent insurance agent is invaluable. While it’s true that your possessions are covered under your homeowners or renters insurance, you may have items that require higher limits to be properly covered. This could be an engagement ring or other high-value jewelry, musical instruments or equipment, sporting equipment, expensive electronics, or other items of value. Your agent can advise you on adding additional coverage for these type of items.  

Don’t Shoot Down Life Insurance  

You may think you are too young to purchase life insurance at this age, but that simply is not true. Your 20s and 30s is actually the ideal age to buy a life insurance policy, because you will likely receive much better rates now when you are young and healthy than you will later in life. Life insurance is designed to provide a financial net for expenses you leave in the event of your death. We know it’s probably crazy to think about, but life insurance is designed to protect against the unthinkable, and just because it’s difficult to think about does not mean it isn’t necessary.  

If you are a millennial who needs a guide in purchasing your own insurance for the first time, we can help! As independent agents, we will be on your side – not the side of the insurance companies. This means you can trust us to act in your best interest. Get in touch today! 

If you own a business, you may be familiar with the term Business Owner’s Policy, otherwise known as a BOP. This policy combines business property and business liability insurance into one business insurance policy. The intention of a BOP is to help cover your business from claims resulting from things like fire, theft, or any other covered disasters. Additionally, this policy can cover claims that could arise from your business’s operation. Claims such as bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury, or general property damage.

Requirements to Qualify for a BOP

Not all businesses are eligible for a business owner’s policy. Of course, as with most things, different insurance providers will have a varying set of requirements the business owner must pass in order to achieve eligibility. These requirements can range from the business location, the size of the location, revenue, and class of business. Did you know that most insurance providers only cover businesses that handle all business on-premises? 

Who Needs a Business Owner’s Policy?

These are the business types that are typically eligible for BOPs: retail stores, apartment buildings, small restaurants, and office-based businesses. If you fit into any of these three options, you should look into getting a Business Owner’s Policy:

• Your business has a physical location.
• There’s a possibility of you getting sued. 
• You have assets that could get stolen or damaged. 

What is Included in a BOP?

Business owner’s insurance usually includes:

• Commercial Property Insurance 
• General Liability Insurance
• Business Income Insurance

What Else Do You Need?

It’s important to remember that business owner’s packages do not cover professional liability, auto insurance, worker’s compensation, or health and disability insurance. Once you’ve begun looking into insurance you will need to purchase separate insurance policies to cover professional services, vehicles, and your employees.

Interested in adding a business owner’s policy to your coverages? Reach out to your local agent to learn more.

Umbrella insurance, usually referred to as excess liability insurance, is a form of personal liability insurance that covers claims in excess of regular homeowners, auto, or watercraft policy coverage. An umbrella insurance policy is put in place to help the policyholder pay what they owe. To put it in simple terms, if a dollar limit of the original policy has been used the umbrella insurance is used as a fail-safe so the policyholder will not have to dip into their savings fund to pay the outstanding balance. 

Costs and Premiums 

Like many insurance policies, the cost of an umbrella insurance policy will depend on how much coverage you are purchasing, the state where you reside (insurance rates tend to vary by the state), and the risk of insuring you will cost the insurance company covering you. Depending on the number of cars, homes, and family members needing coverage will decide the cost of the policy. The more you have of each, the more expensive the policy will be. Among other types of insurance, umbrella insurance is considered to be quite cheap in comparison with how much the policy actually covers. 

There are always premiums involved with insurance. If you have purchased an auto, home, or watercraft insurance policy through the same carrier it may be a little less expensive to add an umbrella policy through that same carrier. Of course, depending on the policy provider, the policyholder who is wishing to add an umbrella insurance policy will be required to have a base insurance coverage of $150,000 to $250,000 for auto insurance and $250,000 to $300,000 for homeowners insurance.

What Isn’t Covered?

The best part about umbrella insurance policies is that they are focused on providing broad coverages. Any incident that the policy does not specifically exclude is covered. Remember that there is no insurance policy that covers everything! Below is a list of things that may not be covered by an umbrella policy:

• Damage of your own property. This is a form of liability policy, so it will only cover if you do damage to someone else’s property. 
• Any damage caused on purpose by you or a covered member of the policy. 
• A liability incurred in business or professional activities. Business liability insurance is needed to cover these types of incidents.
• The liability you agreed to assume under a contract you signed.
• Liability related to war or armed conflicts. 

Wanting to learn more about umbrella insurance and maybe add it to your coverages? Reach out to your local agent for more information. 

The first question that you may be asking yourself is, “When will I ever have a vacant property?” It’s surprising how common owning a vacant property is. There are four common scenarios where you may have possession of a vacant property:

• You own rental properties and are between tenants
• You’ve moved for a new job but your house is unsold
• A property is undergoing renovations
• As executor, you are selling a house to close an estate

Depending on the length of the property’s vacancy, the type of policy you are required to have will change. 

Longer Vacancies Require Special Policies

Longer vacancies (usually a year and beyond) require you to purchase a special policy. This policy is traditionally known as peril protection. Peril protection covers the causes of loss listed by name in the policy documents (fire, lightning, wind, hail, explosion, and others). The upside is that this policy covers all the essentials but it doesn’t cover everything. If you have a total or partial loss, having Actual Cash Value (ACV) loss settlement coverage will settle the actual cash value of the loss reported. This ACV will take depreciation into account when settling the claim. 

Policy Terms Available

• 3 months
• 6 months
• 12 months

Eligible Home Types 

• The home must reflect proper maintenance
• Up to four-family construction
• Valued up to $500,000 (most states > $1M in a few)
• Renovations in the process are accepted without surcharge

Vacant Properties Are at a Higher Risk

Did you know that vacant properties represent a higher risk to insurance companies versus a property that is occupied all the time? The reason for this is the lack of an eye on the property increases the chance of damages, vandalism, or other mischief that could occur. In addition to this, the lack of regular maintenance on the property increases the chance of water and fire damages. If you are needing vacant property insurance to cover an older building that wasn’t maintained properly can increase your risk profile and premiums. 

Need to add vacant property insurance to your coverages? Reach out to your local agent for more information.

Mornings are difficult, aren’t they? You’re rushing to get showered and dressed – and if you have kids, to get them up, showered, and dressed – and you have to make it to work on time! With everything going on, stopping and making breakfast is not on your to-do list. You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” But do you really know what skipping breakfast does to your body? Here are the reasons why you need to kick the habit of kicking breakfast to the curb.  

Your Brain Slows Down 

It’s not just the Monday morning blues. It seems like every time you get to work and start your day, you simply can’t focus. When you skip breakfast, your blood sugar drops, and the glucose that your brain needs to function at top capacity is nowhere to be found. There are plenty of studies that have proven that both adults and children perform better at work or school after they’ve started their day with a balanced breakfast.  

Your Mood Drops 

Another way that missing breakfast affects your brain is by affecting your dopamine and serotonin levels – the chemicals in your brain that regulate mood. You might have heard of the phrase “hangry” – a combination of “hungry” and “angry.” No one wants to be known as the hangry person in the office! Aside from the chemical effects, hunger can also cause headaches and tiredness, which further bring down your mood.  

You’re at Greater Risk for Health Problems  

You might think skipping breakfast is harmless, but studies have shown that regularly missing “the most important meal of the day” can increase your likelihood of diabetes and heart disease. The reason behind this is that skipping your first meal after a night of fasting (as you sleep) causes extra stress in the body that can lead to insulin resistance and plaque buildup.  

Adopting better wellness habits such as eating breakfast every day is one of the best things you can do for your overall health – mental and physical. By taking good care of yourself, you increase your happiness, lengthen your lifespan, and can be there for your loved ones longer. Not only that, your insurance rates may be lowered as well! Start tomorrow – the most important meal of the day may save your life.