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Monthly Archives

February 2014

MENTAL ILLNESS AND LIFE INSURANCE

By Life and Health

Millions of people have a history of mental illness. If you’re one of them, and are concerned that your condition will make it harder to obtain a life policy at an affordable premium, not to worry. Unless this problem affects life expectancy by increasing your risk of death by suicide, most insurance companies will be happy to provide coverage at standard rates.

For example, if you’ve been taking prescription medication to treat “reactive depression” (a condition triggered by a tragic or traumatic effect) , you should be able to buy a life policy, as long as you can show that you’re in treatment and have control of the situation. In general, the same holds true if you’re suffering from more serious depressive condition– such as bi-polar disorder. However, if you’re being treated for mental illness, wait for a month of two before applying for life insurance, so that your body will has time to adjust to your medication.

Before writing coverage, the insurance company will need to know your medical history, when you were diagnosed, the nature of your condition, the name of your health care provider(s), the treatment you’re receiving, and how your condition is progressing.

If your history shows one or more suicide attempts, the company might wait a year or two before issuing a policy, even if you show that you’re getting appropriate treatment, can function in society and hold down a job. The premium will probably be higher during the first few years, and the policy might include a clause that denies death benefits if the insured commits suicide within the first two years of coverage.

The life insurance specialists at our agency would be happy to provide you with more information.

GET HELP ON KEEPING HEALTHY IN 2014

By Life and Health

If you haven’t made your resolutions for health care for the new year, now’s the time! Here’s how to tap into the resources that your insurance company, employer, and community-based services can provide:

  • Tap into preventive benefits. The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to pick up the tab for such preventive services as vaccinations, screenings, and especially annual wellness visits – which provide an excellent baseline for setting your health goals.
  • Get the most out of your health coverage. For example, most plans pay for weight loss programs and weight loss surgery when appropriate. You might also have full coverage (or a discount) for stop-smoking programs, dietitian services, and treatment for such chronic conditions such diabetes.
  • Get health screening at work. Employee wellness programs usually offer rewards for participation in health screening that can pinpoint your risk for certain diseases. Says Helen Darling, President of the National Business Group on Health, “Many people don’t actually know their health status, and if you ask them, they almost always self-report as healthier than they are.”
  • Use Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). These programs offer a wide array of resources that workers and their dependents can use to help them through hard times that often lead to health-related problems (such as hypertension due to stress from a divorce or financial pressures).
  • Check out community-based programs. Such healthcare organizations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Heart Association, and American Cancer Society provide a wealth of free information and resources to help people stop smoking, lose weight, or reach other goals that improve their short and long-term health.

To learn more about keeping yourself and your family as healthy as possible, just give us a call.

CARMAKERS, FEDS, BACK HIGH-TECH DRUNK DRIVING DETECTOR

By Personal Perspective

Automakers and the U.,S. Department of Transportation have extended a five-year partnership to develop alcohol detection equipment that can help prevent intoxicated people from driving a vehicle.

This non-invasive system will be able to determine when a driver has a blood alcohol content ( BAC) of 0.08%, which is the limit in all 50 states. The device will be unobtrusive to the driver and is activated with the ignition switch.

According to National Highway Transportation Agency Administrator David Strickland, “In this age of innovation, smart technology might be the breakthrough we need to prevent drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel and endangering the safety of others on our roads.”

By early 2015, the agency hopes to have a research vehicle that incorporates two technological approaches to measure BAC: touch based and breath based. Research using laboratory-scale prototypes is underway, while testing on-road prototype devices is expected within the next few years.

Our agency stands ready to help meet your Auto insurance needs.

UMBRELLA INSURANCE GOES THE EXTRA MILE

By Personal Perspective

Why should you add Umbrella Liability coverage to your Auto and Homeowners insurance?

Consider these scenarios:

  • Your teenager was reckless with the car and injured several people in an automobile accident. Although your Auto policy will pay $250,000, total losses come to more than $400,000.
  • Fido gets loose and chomps down, severely injuring your neighbor. Her medical expenses are too much for your Homeowners insurance to cover.
  • A visitor slips and falls on your driveway, sues you for $1 million – and wins. Once again, your Homeowners policy falls short.

In situations like this, Umbrella Liability could save you big bucks by picking up a possible six-figure tab after you max out coverage under your Auto or Homeowners insurance– and the premium is relatively low.

We’d be happy to provide more information on this invaluable “peace of mind” policy.

STAY SAFE BEHIND THE WHEEL

By Personal Perspective

Driving on snow and ice is dangerous and can lead to panic and anxiety. To arrive safely at your destination, follow these safety tips:

  • Drive carefully. Go slower than necessary and stay mindful of your surroundings.
  • Get plenty of rest. Driving alone while fatigued is dangerous enough; throwing in adverse weather conditions and it becomes deadly. Be ready for anything.
  • Check your tires to be sure that they’re filled properly.
  • Don’t warm up your car in an enclosed area. Pull the vehicle out of the garage first.
  • Make sure the gas tank remains half full. This will keep the gas line from freezing.
  • NEVER use cruise control when driving in slippery conditions.
  • ALWAYS use your seat belt.
  • Keep emergency supplies in your vehicle. This includes blankets and jackets, batteries, flashlights, non-perishable food items, water, a radio, and a first aid kit.

Whenever you get behind the wheel, please remember that your actions affect yourself, your family, and others on the road. If you’re driving in less than stellar conditions, remain aware and cautious at all times.

We’re always ready to help meet your Auto insurance need. Just give us a call.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HOME THIS WINTER

By Personal Perspective

The “polar vortex “in January shattered temperature records throughout the central and eastern U.S.:. New York City hit 4 F o and Chicago suffered -16 F. o The cold snap killed more than 20 people, , schools closed, highways shut down, and people remain inside and kept warm.

Your home, like you, needs to stay warm. Here are a few guidelines to help you and your family keep toasty indoors this winter.

  • Cover your drafts. Seal all open areas. Including doors and windows. You can buy “snake rolls” online through DIY, or roll up an old towel and put it at the source of the draft. Caulking works great for windows.
  • Replace your furnace filters monthly. Although this item might be out of sight and out of mind, put it on your calendar.
  • Winterize your air conditioning unit and pipes. Drain all water from the air conditioner. Get styrofoam covering for your pipes to keep them from freezing. Make sure all water spigots are turned completely off.
  • Replace your doors and windows with storm units.
  • Pay attention to the thermostat. It’ s easy to run your heater on high, but you’ll also get a huge electric/gas bill each month. Adding a blanket or two instead will help keep your bill under control.

For more information on staying warm, feel free to get in touch with us or visit our agency.

MY SITE’S BEEN HACKED – NOW WHAT?

By Risk Management Bulletin

Hackers breach dozens of business web sites every day – and too many of these break-ins remain undetected due to the sophistication of the attacks and/or a lack of cybersecurity awareness among the victims.

Once you realize that bad guys have hacked into your site and stolen customer data, here’s what you should do, advises Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of internet security firm High-Tech Bridge SA (Geneva, Switzerland):

First, as soon as you learn how your site was compromised, patch the vulnerability or weakness hackers used to get in – otherwise you’re leaving yourself wide open to more hacks.

Next, notify all customers whose personal data was stolen to change their passwords immediately. Assure them that you’re investigating the breach and will do your best to make sure it will never happen again. Although this notification is essential for the security of your customers (as well as a legal obligation), let them know individually; do not publicize the incident. Hackers often carry out break-ins in order to harm a company’s reputation for providing a secure site.

Finally, file a criminal complaint against the attackers, even if they’re hidden behind a chain of proxy servers. It’s the job of law enforcement and security companies to identify and prosecute hackers. Don’t be too optimistic; many of these cybercrimes go unsolved. However, reporting the break-in might well bring results – and will show customers you’re committed to keeping their data safe.

The bottom line: do all you can to protect your web site against hackers – and be sure to invest in comprehensive cyber liability insurance coverage that can minimize losses to your business.

We’d be glad to review your exposure to cybercrime and recommend the policy that’s best for you.

MAKE RISK MANAGEMENT EVERYBODY’S JOB

By Risk Management Bulletin

Reducing the risks your business faces should be the business of everyone in the organization. Unfortunately when employees and managers see a potentially risky or unsafe situation, they often fail to speak up – thus endangering fellow workers, not to mention the potential loss of productivity, revenue, and profits due to workplace accidents.

The reasons for this reluctance aren’t hard to find:

  1. Overemphasis on productivity. Many managers turn a blind eye to hazards because they’re focused on increasing production. Whether they’re making widgets or constructing a building, they perceive anything that might slow this process, such as safety control measures, as an obstacle.
  2. Personal experience of taking frequent risks without harm. A homeowner who has been climbing on his roof every fall for years to clean out the chimney with nothing but experience between him and the driveway will be unlikely to report potentially risks.
  3. Continuing risky behavior despite close calls. Think of repeat drunk drivers or skiers who won’t wear a helmet because they believe that they’re immortal.
  4. Workplace machismo. The ironworker who refuses to tie off at 28 feet up because “it takes away my manhood” remains the classic example.
  5. Fear of unemployment. An employee who refuses his supervisor’s order to operate a dangerous machine without proper safety precaution is likely to be out of a job.
  6. “System Creep.” Over the years, every safety system shifts inevitably from what’s right to what’s allowed. This phenomenon led directly to the Columbia shuttle disaster.

Because there had been several previous incidents of foam striking orbiters during launch, NASA came to accept these anomalies as the “new normal,” and the missions all went well – until they didn’t.

Educating all your employees to get beyond these attitudes should play a key role in creating a comprehensive risk management “culture” in your business.

SAFEGUARDING CLIENT INFORMATION – THE LOW-TECH WAY

By Risk Management Bulletin

Even though your business uses the latest cyber-security systems to protect confidential client data, low-tech thieves might well be tapping into this information without your knowledge: “Dumpster divers” rummage through company trash for discarded passwords and records. ATM cardholders often write their PIN code on the card itself. People hold loud “confidential” conversations in coffeehouses or walking down the street.

Have you ever considered how much of your customers’ private information might be left lying around the office? Fellow employees, cleaning crews, other customers, and repair people can easily walk by an absent employee’s desk and see confidential information scattered about or left on the computer screen. While you’ve invested in software to protect files against hackers, those same files could be sitting open in your office for all to see – and don’t overlook the most obvious and massive security breach in any organization – human error.

Walk through your business after hours or while employees are at lunch and see how much information is left openly accessible. Sit in the middle of the office or at the next booth or table at lunch, and listen for how much of your employee’s conversations (and possible confidential customer information) you can overhear.

Then decide what you can do to minimize this risk. Make sure that desktops are clear at night; add password-protected screen savers to your computers (and change the passwords often); and remind employees to be sensitive about what they reveal in public conversations.

It’s far better to clean up this problem now than to have it clean you out later.

Our agency’s risk management specialists stand ready to offer their advice at any time.

‘IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!’ – PROTECT YOUR OUTDOOR WORKERS

By Risk Management Bulletin

The nation’s record-breaking “polar vortex” cold snap last month reinforces the need for businesses to reduce the risk of injuries or accidents to employees working out of doors under winter conditions.

The human body has a core temperature of 98.6°F. Unconsciousness can occur at 86°F, and death below 73°F. Symptoms of a dangerous temperature decrease include persistent and severe shivering, fatigue, lack of co-ordination, drowsiness or apathy, hallucinations, resistance to help, and skin that turns blue before becoming pale and dry.

Employees working outdoors in extremely cold weather face two major health problems: frostbite and hypothermia. Frostbite freezes and crystallizes the fluids in body tissues and cellular spaces, which causes blood clotting and reduces the flow of oxygen to affected areas and deeper tissues. Hypothermia develops when the body can no longer maintain its core temperature and attempts to reduce heat loss by shutting down blood flow to the skin, arms and legs, as well as shivering to increase internal heat.

To help protect your outdoor workers against these risks, make sure that they:

  • dress warmly and carry extra dry clothing if they’re likely to get wet
  • stay dry (wet skin freezes quickly)
  • drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration
  • work during the warmest part of the day, as much as possible
  • avoid sitting still outdoors for long periods and take regular breaks from the cold
  • don’t touch metal or wear metal jewelry outdoors – metal conducts cold, increasing the risk of frostbite
  • avoid cigarettes, alcohol, and too much coffee or caffeinated beverages. Smoking decreases circulation, while alcohol increases the rate of body cooling; caffeine also lowers circulation, its diuretic effect speeds dehydration, and its stimulant effect can hasten hypothermia)

For more information, feel free to get in touch with our agency.