Safe Holiday Shopping Tips

Everyone is busy shopping at this time of the year–including the criminals. There are a variety of insurance protections for some of the possible loss situations we face while gathering gifts for friends and family. Auto comprehensive coverage, might help cover the loss if your car window is broken, and it may even cover the loss of some of the gifts stolen. Your credit card company will work with you in the event someone finds your plastic left at a check stand, or on the ground at the mall. Your homeowners insurance may help if someone follows you home only … Continue reading →

Don’t Let Your Pipes Freeze-Tips to Avoid Home Water Damage.

Most homeowners don’t consider the damage from frozen and broken water pipes as catastrophic as a natural disaster, but the damages caused from water pipe failures are one of the most common and least recognized catastrophe losses homeowners suffer every year. Second only to hurricanes, frozen and broken water pipes cause more losses in terms of the number of homes damaged and the total amount of claims paid by insurance companies in the U.S. Repair costs of $50,000 are very common for homes that suffer damage from frozen and broken water pipes. These damages can be a homeowners worst nightmare. … Continue reading →

How To Have a Claim Free Holiday Season

I just love the holiday season, I love cooking, baking, making gifts, entertaining and everything about being stressed-out with the joy of giving my family and friends the best I have to share. It’s the time of the year I enjoy giving others something they wouldn’t ordinarily give to themselves. We always have a huge party and invite everyone, It’s my turn to show off and give them the taste of my cooking. We all (hopefully) invest in a Homeowner or Renters insurance policy for a reason. The fact is that every year the holidays bring multiple opportunities for families … Continue reading →

3-Tips To Keep Your Kitchen Bacteria Claim Free While Cooking.

The last thing we want if we are, the host of a dinner or party is to make our family and guest sick. If we are going to go to all the trouble to be a host then we want everyone to remember the experience for the right reasons, and not because someone is hurt or sick due to a liability we have in our kitchen. We might have a Homeowner or renters insurance policy that would cover Guest Medical and Liability Claims but the most important part of risk management is to avoid the claim in the first place. … Continue reading →

Things To Do To Survive An Earthquake

I grew up in Southern California and earthquake drills were part of regular life for families and school children. We were always waiting for the big one to hit. The truth is that big ones do hit and knowing what to do when an earthquake happens could make all the difference. Today, I live in the Pacific Northwest and I have learned that earthquakes can happen anyplace. If your home is located near the epicenter of an earthquake you may need to know what to do if you suddenly find yourself in a big one. When an earthquake starts it … Continue reading →

Things Homeowners Can Do Before An Earthquake Strikes.

Insurance policies are only one part of managing personal risk. The most important tool we have for protecting our families and our finances is to be prepared for the unexpected. Earthquakes happen and in most cases without warning. Unlike many other natural disasters earthquakes typically come suddenly. Homeowners may want to follow some basic safety tips which may reduce the damage or personal injury risks in the event of an earthquake: Strap and fasten gas appliances, water heaters, and other types of fixtures securely. In most areas the gas company will safety check your appliances and give you information about … Continue reading →

Social Security Disability

Disability is something we hear about happening to other people, but don’t think will happen to ourselves, until the day it does. The risks of becoming disabled before retirement are 3-in-10 for the average 20-year-old worker, according so some studies. As we build our families and develop our careers we balance risk and do our best to build a strong foundation to provide for our families in the worst case scenario. Disability is something none of us want to expect but, the odds are great we may in fact need to plan for the possibility. Disability Insurance is one way … Continue reading →

What To Do If You Are A Victim Of A Home Invasion.

It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon and everyone was getting antsy for spring to arrive. My mother-in-law lives in a neighborhood with predominately elderly, middle-class people. The sub-division was built in the 1970’s and most of the families have lived there and known each other since the beginning. It seemed that every other garage door was open wide and the men were tweaking with the lawn mowers and other yard tools trying to get a head start on the chores of spring. When it happened to the couple across the street and two doors down from my mother-in-law. A nice … Continue reading →

Eliminating Risks

My husband and I are in the middle of moving to our dream home after two years of looking for just the right place. He originally wanted to find some property on the Columbia River I wanted a view. During our long and painful hunting we found some very wonderful homes some filling his dream and some mine. One of our major concerns about our new home is that we can live there for a long time and face minimal risks. It didn’t take a lot of hunting for us to realize living on the river itself was more risk … Continue reading →

Controlling and Reducing Risks

When it comes to personal risk management controlling and reducing our risk is where we have the greatest power over the cost of the worst case scenario. Those who pay attention to the facts that make a risk more or less likely and control what they can will not only avoid some of the risk completely, but may also have discounts on their insurance premiums. Most homeowner insurance companies offer discounts for insureds with alarm systems, or other security devices. Other discounts may be available for homes with fire sprinkler systems. These things not only reduce the risk your home … Continue reading →