Happy Holidays

The team at Crabdree Insurance would like to take a few moments to wish everyone a joyous and blessed holiday season.

We cherish our clients and our home in this lovely community. It is because of you that we have the privilege of being here.

We treasure our colleagues within the companies we work with. You make superior customer service possible and enjoyable, too.

Thank you so much for being our customers, colleagues and friends. Wishing you good health, happiness, security and prosperity now and for always,

Merry Christmas!

Scott, Tina, Karen, Alita, Cris, Trish, Sierra and Tim.

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Payson People: Bobby Davis

Our first Payson People profile is about our good friend Bobby Davis. Bobby and his lovely wife Nina are fairly new to the Crabdree family of clients, but they are good friends and terrific Rim Country citizens.

I’m going to present this one Barbara Walters style. Just a question and answer session. Bobby’s wit, humor and heart shine through best with his own words.

Q: Tell me three things about our community that you think are perfect, just as they are.

            A: 1.The people, and their willingness to give back. 2. When someone is in need or sick their friends will surround them and help them overcome any issue. 3. The Rim Country (Payson, Star Valley, Pine, Strawberry, Christopher Creek & Tonto Basin) all work together to make this a great place to live.

Q: Tell me three things about our community you would change if you could.

            A: 1. This is a great place to live and raise a family; with the new college that will be built, it will change the demographics, and that will bring higher paying jobs and a nice mix of citizens. 2. The college will bring new business, new restaurants, more shopping; we the citizens need to be ready for the changes in a positive way. Now is the time to get ready before it is built.

Q. What is something that you are especially proud you learned how to do?

            A. I am proud that I learned how to give back and to appreciate the family and friends that I have in my life. 

Q. What is your absolute DREAM car? Make, model, color, everything.

            A. My dream vehicle would be a new Ford F-150: top of the line, fully loaded, black 4x4.

Q. If someone made a movie about you, who would be the best actor to play the role of YOU?

            A. Brad Pitt... but he would have to shave his head and gain about 50 lbs.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How close to that did you come in real life?

            A. Growing up in Texas I wanted to become a cowboy, and play football for the Dallas Cowboys. Well, I did become a cowboy and I worked on ranches. In high school, I played high school football. Then I joined the Marines and that changed my life. After my tour in the Marines I went to Dallas, Texas to try out for the Dallas Cowboys as a walk-on player. I found out real fast that I was way too small.  At my age I am happy with the person I have become and the family and friends that I can share my life with.

Q. Imagine you are marooned on a lovely island in the South Pacific. What three things would you wish to wash up on shore?

            A. Assuming I had food and water, then I would want a luxury yacht to dock and Ricardo Montalban and Tattoo, his side kick, to bring me a check for 100,000 million dollars. They would tell me that my beautiful wife Nina and our 4 great children and spouses and 7 perfect grandchildren were on the yacht, waiting to sail around the world.

Q, If someone wrote a biography of your life, would it be an adventure story? A love story? A comedy?  A thriller? Or something else?

            A. When Brad Pitt shaved his head and gained 50 lbs. he would find that it would be the best adventure, love story, thriller and most of all, a comedy with a happy ending.

Q. What part of the world do your ancestors come from? Have you ever been to that country?

            A. British/Scandinavian...not yet but plan on going someday.

Q. If you could wake up one day with a new talent or skill, what would you like to be able to do? Why?

            A. Understand and predicate the stock market so I could accumulate wealth. Then I would have the time and money to help others and to make a difference in children’s lives.

Thanks so much, Bobby, for playing along at Payson Profiles. Your answers made us all smile! (Maybe even an LOL or two!)

Bobby’s profile and picture appear in this space with his approval. What a good sport!

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

It Could Have Been Very Bad

Social media. That's what this is. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Pintarest, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. But do you ever stop to really think about it?

Here's what happened to us. My sister called me. We had a nice chat, conversation perking along fine. Finally, she asks me, "OK. What's the deal with your son?"
"Which one?" I ask, completely puzzled.
"Oh, my gosh. You don't know!" She says.

It turns out that someone called our elderly mother, pretending to be one of my sons. The scammer sounded like he had a cold, and told a very credible story of being in jail and needing $2800 in bail money. He said he had been arrested on a DUI, but "Honestly, I only took some cold medicine!" Could she please wire the money to him?

My Mom, she's nobody's fool. She was not taken in by the scam, fortunately. We were all very lucky. I speak to my mother very frequently, she is sharp and well aware of what is going on with our family. But how might that have turned out if Mom was more easily confused, or if the scammer had been more convincing?

Here's what I found out. These scummy scammers browse social media sites like Facebook, and from that and other sources, they craft a believable story. I heard one story about a girl who posted that she was going to another country. The scammer used that tidbit: they posed as this girl, sick (of course, to disguise a voice I suppose) and stranded in another country. Grandparents wired thousands of dollars to "rescue" the girl and the scammer got away with it.

Our family had a happy ending. The scam didn't work this time. Talk to your young family members about the privacy settings on their profiles, and talk to your elderly family members about the danger.... please!

For more reading on social media sites and some thought-provoking information, click here:
http://blog.central-insurance.com/2011/12/14/whos-really-reading-about-you-on-facebook/

Wishing you a safe internet experience,

Trish


We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

The Messenger

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Payson Senior Center

My Grandmother was a regular at the Senior Center, back in the early 1980s. Even though she did have family around, and had no need to receive meals on wheels, the Senior Center was a wonderful resource for her. It was social contact with her own peers, which is very important, it was information and entertainment and companionship. Payson Senior Center was a blessing for our entire family. How much more of a blessing is it to the senior who does not live with their children, does not have family nearby to be their chauffeur and may not be able (financially or physically) to prepare their own meals?

I know that most of you are familiar with the "Credit for Kids" program. I just found out that our own Payson Senior Center has been approved as a recipient of a different tax credit donation. I am going to quote directly from Joanne Conlin, Payson Senior Center Director, as she explains it much better than I could!

"We are an approved charitable organization under the Working Poor Tax Credit Program.  This program is separate from the Credit For Kids and tax credit program for the private schools.  You can donate up to $200 for an individual and up to $400 for a married couple.  You can also take it as a charitable contribution on your federal taxes.

Your donation will be put to good use.  We serve approximately 200 meals a day between our Meals On Wheels Program and our Daily Lunch Program.  We also transport about 450 seniors a month.  These programs are so important to the health and well being of our seniors.  For many of the people we service, we are their only contact with the outside for days on end and give them their main and sometimes it is the only meal of the day."

  

Contact Joanne for more information or to get the form for a donation. Call her 928-474-4876 or email her at pseniors@npgcable.com 

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Crabdree Family

Cris' son is part of the Payson Longhorn marching band. They were invited to perform at the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. What a great honor! We are so proud of our band; they were one of only 12 schools invited to perform. Here's a link to watch them

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18995074

We are all so proud of these young musicians, and we feeled honored as a community to be represented there, commemorating "a day that will live in infamy". With our deepest respects to all our veterans, and especially to those who lost their lives on that fateful day in December of 1941. Bless you all.



We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Auto Insurance 101

Should insurance coverage change for an older car?

We hear that question every week. The answer is, "No for some parts, and maybe for others." Sounds like a vague answer, doesn't it? For a complete answer, let's talk about the parts of your coverage.

First is liability insurance. This is the part of your policy that pays for damages and injuries for which you are legally responsible. This is the part that is required by law. How much liability insurance do you need? Ask yourself, how much do you have to protect?

The value of your own vehicle doesn't have anything to do with how much liability insurance you need, really. If you hurt someone or damage their car in an accident, it doesn't matter how old your car is. You want to make sure you have enough liability insurance to pay the damages you caused. If you don't have enough, their insurance company and their lawyers are not likely to just say, "Oh, that's ok. Never mind." They are going to want to collect the money from you somehow.

The same is true for uninsured and underinsured motorist. (read more about that coverage here) That is protection for you and your passengers.You aren't protecting the value of your car, you are protecting yourself and your loved ones.

Physical damage is the place you need to look to decide if you should lower your coverage. If your car is totalled in an accident, for example, could you afford to replace it? You need to seriously consider how much you could afford to spend to get your car repaired or replaced. If it is an extra vehicle in your household that you wouldn't replace at all, then maybe you don't want comprehensive or collsion coverage. But what if your car, whatever its age, is your only transportation? If you couldn't readily come up with the money for another car, it's a good idea to keep that physical damage coverage in place.

Let's talk about deductible. You know, of course, that the higher deductible you choose, the lower your premium. There are two ways you can look at deductibles. Find out how much you save with a higher deductible and then figure out how many years you would have to go without an accident to have saved any money. Many people would rather pay a little more each month, and have to come up with less money out of pocket if they did have an accident. Or you can think of a deductible as a bet: "I bet I won't have a loss of any kind, so I will save the money now and take my chances on paying more out of my pocket for a claim."

Liability claims are an unknown possibility. How bad might an accident be? What if you hurt more than one person? Worse, what if someone dies in an accident you caused? What if you cause an accident that damages a very expensive car, a fancy motorhome or even causes a pile-up? You have to insure for a worst-case scenario there. Physical damage of your own car is a known risk. "My car is worth $5000 so that is the most I would be out if it were damaged or stolen." That kind of risk you can anticipate.

Insurance is all about risk. It's about choosing the risks you want to take and the recognizing the ones you can't afford to take. You are the only one who can assess what risks you want to take. We are here to advise you and show you the options you have. But ultimately, YOU are in the driver's seat. (Pun intended!)

Drive safely out there. And always...if you have questions or concerns, come talk to a licensed professional.



We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Classic Lightning Protection Inc.

We are proud to present the first post in our series, “Payson Profiles”.

Let us introduce you to Classic Lightning Protection, Inc of Payson. They offer quality lightning, grounding and surge protection systems.

Kevin and Linda Morris are the hardworking people behind Classic Lightning Protection; they have been Crabdree clients since 1999. The Rim Country’s clean and beautiful outdoors is one of the many reasons why they love living and working here.

The owner of any residential, commercial or industrial structure needs to consider lightning protection to safeguard the building and surge protection to safeguard its contents. The NFPA reports an average of nearly 32,000 lightning-caused fires every year, and 16% of those are homes. Lightning protection is not only for the tallest building on the highest hill (but it’s definitely for those buildings!)

When you stop to consider the value of all the electronics in your business or home, you will immediately understand why surge protection is so important. You should also know that many insurance policies have a cap on or even exclude losses caused by artificially-generated current. In other words, the initial lightning strike would usually be covered, but if that lightning damaged the power company’s transformer and subsequent damage occurred...you may have a problem.

Classic Lightning Protection Inc. is UL Listed and an LPI Certified Master Installer/Designer with 14 years in business. You can find them at www.classiclightningprotection.com, or call today: 928-474-1727

This post was approved by Classic Lightning Protection, and their photo appears here with their kind permission. Thank you, Kevin and Linda!

Get A Checkup!

You already know that you need to get your checkups. You visit the doctor, the dentist and the ophthalmologist. When was the last time you saw your INSURANCE AGENT for a checkup?
Make an appointment today, because things change!

• Is your home covered adequately? If you've had your homeowners policy for more than 5 years, you may be underinsured. If you've made any improvements to your home, you may be underinsured. You need to review your coverage with a licensed agent.
• Has the size of your family changed? What about your employment status, or how many miles to work you drive each week? A good example is a real estate agent who has changed careers. Are you still paying a "business use" rate? What if you are now using your vehicle in business, but you are rated for pleasure. Are you covered correctly?
• Has your business changed? If you have downsized, grown, expanded your services or increased your inventory, you should discuss that with your agent and make sure your coverage is suitable.
• Did you know that your policy probably specifies how your coverage is DECREASED if a building is vacant? Talk to your agent if you have a vacant property.
• New discounts become available, new programs become available and carriers are added to our repertoire every year. Schedule a visit so that we can review your insurance portfolio.
• Do you have vehicles insured with different companies? That can be a huge risk to you. Get them on one policy right away. If your insurance company won't cover a travel trailer or motorhome, maybe you should shop around. One exception: motorcycles and ATVs: those are almost never insured on the same policy as an automobile.
• And what about your ATV? If you told your agent to just get you the minimum coverage to make it legal, since you use your ATV so seldom, you may be leaving money on the table. You may be able to get more coverage for the same dollars. Schedule a review!
• This is a concern that I see very often: does the named insured on the policy match the true owner of the property? If you purchased property in the name of a trust, an LLC, or in partnership with another party, are you properly protected by your policy? Visit with a licensed professional to discuss it. (more on this topic in a future post!)
• Did you pay off your mortgage? It complicates a claim if a mortgage company is listed on the policy but they don't have a lien on the property. That's also true if you paid off your vehicle loan. See your agent!

Did I say it too many times? Schedule a review! Get a checkup! Visit a professional TODAY!


We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Photos

Autumn color at The Pocket, by Scott Crabdree

Photos submitted by our customers are presented with the owner's permission and our thanks. Owner retains copyright, and consents to have photo shown here.