When it's Time to Talk

It happens. The time comes when we look at our parents or siblings or family friends and realize that maybe they shouldn't be driving anymore.

How do you approach the subject? Giving up driving is giving up independence. That has to be a tremendously difficult decision to come to. Unfortunately, to protect both our loved ones and the public, the day may come when we'll have to have "The Talk".

Hartford offers an excellent guide to opening this painful discussion. If you would like us to email you a pdf version of the guide, please call today, or email us at info@weinsurepayson.com.

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

 

Cool New Tool!

It's finally here! Central Insurance proudly announces their new apps for your smart phone--both i-phone and android apps are available.

To download your MyCentral app, you must have or set up an account using your regular computer at MyCentral (click here!). Then you can download the app to your smartphone.

The MyCentral App lets you pay your bill or check your balance, view your auto id card, sign up for e-bill, contact us, report a loss, get accident help and more. Download it today!

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

 

Internet vs. Independent

You've seen the ads for those websites where you can enter all your personal information and get rate quotes from "several top companies"? It sounds so easy. To learn more, we tried it. It was an eye-opening experience.

We received calls and emails from several different agencies, so clearly our internet inquiry put the name on a list of leads, which are then sold to agencies who wish to buy them. In the era of Snail Mail, you would have called it a mailing list.

Some of the agencies were not around here. Each one needed more information, of course. In order to get a quote from those "several top companies", we would have had to hand out that personal information to each one.

I had to wonder, too: how many people had access to the information between the time we entered it and the time it landed in the lead-buyer's email?

How is working with Crabdree Insurance, as an independent agent, different?

• You answer the questions once.
• Your name doesn't land on a high-tech mailing list. Your information is treated with the utmost privacy.(click the link to see our Privacy Policy).
• When your insurance needs change over time, you don't have to start the whole process all over again. We do the shopping for you, and present you with your available options.
• You work with a licensed professional from the beginning.
• It's our job to assess which companies are going to be the best fit for your insurance needs. Then we evaluate the quotes and present the best ones: both in terms of premium and coverage. You don't get emails with quotes giving you sky-high premiums or half the coverage you requested.

Crabdree Insurance doesn't buy those "leads". Instead, we offer professional, friendly, dedicated customer service and an array of companies to fit almost every insurance need. Our customer's kind words about us bring us more business than a cartoon character ever could.


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

Resolution Time

We're already into the second week of the new year. Amazing.

Do you make New Year Resolutions? There are the usual ones: eat healthier, exercise more, stick to my budget, get organized, call Mom more often...everybody thinks of that kind of resolution. How about a New Years Resolution for your financial well-being? Here are some ideas:

1. Meet with your insurance agent for a review of your policies. How long has it been? Things change. Are you getting your discounts? Are you still insuring a car you sold last year? It happens all the time. Sit down for a review. You may be paying for coverage you don't need, and skipping something you do need.
2. Make an appointment with a financial planner. Are you on track for your long-term and short-term financial goals? Could you realign your investments and improve your portfolio?
3. Take a careful look at your spending. What can go? How can you simplify? Are you saving enough?
4. Have you been attending to your home's maintenance? Many losses can be prevented by keeping your home well-maintained. That loose board on the front step could be the one that breaks an ankle.
5. Read. Yes, I know: it isn't a thrilling read. Read your insurance policy. Read your prospectus. Anything you don't understand, ask! Professionals are here to help. We can translate those abstruse paragraphs into English for you.

We are here to help you. It is important that you understand your insurance policy. You need to know what the conditions and exclusions are. A good example is a job delivering pizza. Your auto insurance might not cover you while you have that sign on the roof of your car. What about having a trampoline? Lots of families have trampolines, and many insurance companies exclude them. So if your child's friend gets hurt on the trampoline, YOU could be responsible for their medical bills. Find out for sure. There can be exclusions for pets and/or livestock, business activities and much more, depending on the policy.

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.

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.

6 Tips for a Safe Halloween

With thanks to Central Insurance for the post!

Six Tips for a Safe Halloween

With Halloween around the corner, there are sure to be ghouls and goblins knocking on doors and demanding sugary treats. Below are some tips to keep these little “monsters” safe while out trick-or-treating.

1. Use reflective tape on costumes to help night drivers identify pedestrians. Most costumes are dark in color and can render pedestrians nearly invisible to drivers. By adding reflective tape to a costume, you can help assure that drivers will see someone in the road.
2. Carry a flashlight to avoid hidden pitfalls while going door-to-door. Walking down dark streets and cutting across lawns that may not be well lit can hide dangers causing you to trip and fall, possibly spraining an ankle or bumping your head.
3. NEVER eat unwrapped candy or candy with damaged packaging. Although we would all like to think our neighbors are benevolent people, the truth is, you never know who could be the “bad apple” of the bunch. If a stranger is handing out candy with easily resealable packaging or no packaging at all, it is best to throw these items away. You cannot be sure that they have not tampered with the treat in some way.
4. Travel in groups at all times. Safety in numbers is an age old rule that applies as much today as ever. Predators will often forego approaching a group of kids in favor of a lone child as they are more vulnerable. Although not comforting, this tip is imperative to keeping children safe.
5. Wear a mask that does not obstruct your vision too much. Most Halloween masks obstruct the wearer’s view by cutting off peripheral vision. By finding a mask that allows some peripheral vision, you can better assess your surroundings and the potential dangers around you. This can help avoid a litany of issues including being hit by a car you couldn’t see, bumping into a passerby, tripping over unseen objects, etc.
6. Travel on sidewalks whenever possible. Halloween is a very exciting night for kids, and the tendency to wander into the road is much higher on  Halloween than other nights of the year. Kids and parents alike are crossing the street constantly and sometimes this creates a false sense of security for trick-or-treaters. They believe that drivers will see the throngs of people and slow or stop well ahead of time. While this may be true for most drivers, all it takes is one driver who is too close to the edge of the road where you are walking or one driver to look down for a moment and not see you crossing the street to cause serious injuries. Trick-or-treaters should choose streets they know have sidewalks in order to limit the amount of time spent on the roadway and your exposure to night time drivers.  This news story is a prime example of the inherent danagers of the roadway on Halloween.

Halloween is a lot of fun for kids and adults alike. By adhering to these tips and using common sense, we can help ensure a safe celebration for everyone. Are there any tips not listed that you would recommend? If so, please post them in the comments section. Happy Halloween!

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

Going Green

I have to tell you: I'm in love with email! I love it that I can get a memo or an ID Card or a quote to my client instantly. I love it that clients can have their entire policy in seconds; they don't need to print it. If they save it to their computer, they can look at it any time without having to dig in the file cabinet. When a client asks me a question, they can save my email response if it is something they might wish to refer to again or discuss with another person.

I also love that my clients can email me and give me information I might need, request a certificate, or set up an appointment, almost anything at their convenience and not wait for business hours. Especially for business owners, it isn't always easy to get out of the office or get in a phone call when you're making a living. I bet 90% of my commercial clients do their paperwork in the evening after the doors close. Now they can take care of insurance during that evening cram session, too.

Our computer system is very secure. We never spam you. We only share your email address with your insurance company if you approve it, such as to get a paperless discount. We're saving paper, ink cartridges, postage and time. We are also walking a little lighter on the earth. It's all good.

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