Personal Perspective

Many think of fraud as a non-violent crime. In reality, vehicle insurance scams, including staged traffic accidents, are far from non-violent. Aside from costing honest consumers hundreds to thousands of dollars in added insurance premiums, this steadily growing form of fraud has resulted in countless injuries and deaths to innocent victims of the scams. In fact, data from the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) shows that staged traffic accidents have rapidly become a leading source of insurance fraud nationwide.

How Does It Work? These criminally staged collisions frequently involve several suspects driving a car. The victim is the driver of another vehicle that’s being targeted by the suspects staging the collision for their own financial gain.

The suspects will most often use one of two techniques:

1. Swoop and Squat. Two or more suspects drive two different vehicles. They target an unsuspecting vehicle, most often an older model that only contains one victim. This is done so that there will not be any witnesses to the collision. The one or two suspects in the squat vehicle position their car in front of the vehicle driven by the victim. They slow to create a smaller space gap between themselves and their victim. Then, the swoop vehicle suddenly changes lanes to cut in front of the squat, thereby causing the squat vehicle to throw on breaks and stop. As a result, the innocent victim rear-ends the squat. Meanwhile, the swoop vehicle is long gone and the squat vehicle is claiming that an unknown vehicle cut them off and forced them to brake.
2. The Drive Down or Wave On. In this version, the suspect(s) are stopped at the entrance to a parking lot or an intersection. They wave on or yield the right-of-way to the victim. When the victim proceeds, the suspect intentionally accelerates to collide with the victim.

What Can Drivers Do to Reduce the Risk of Being a Victim?

• Stay aware of your surroundings, paying close attention to what the vehicles several in front, behind, and beside you are doing and maintaining sufficient room between you and all other vehicles.
• Use caution when making a turn in front of another vehicle, even if they yield the right-of-way.
• Since suspects tend to look for innocent drivers that accidentally cross the center line and then sideswipe them, pay close attention to staying within the lines of a lane.
• After any accident, count the number of passengers and get their personal information. You might find that more people are listed on the insurance claim than were actually in the accident.
• Avoid driving when you’re stressed; preoccupied with a cell phone, map, or food; or lethargic. All of these lessen the care with which you drive and your concentration abilities, thereby increasing your vulnerability.
• Have a camera in your vehicle to take photos of the scene, license plates, and the occupants of the vehicle with which you have an accident.
• Always call the police and get a copy of the police report. If the damage to the other car is minor, then ask the officer to specify this on the report, as this will make it more difficult for the other party to create more damage for a larger claim.
• Alert the authorities if you feel the accident was staged.

In closing, these staged traffic accidents often have criminal elements that reach far beyond just the suspected drivers. It’s often a criminal collaboration among unscrupulous doctors and attorneys who willingly and knowingly assist in the fraudulent insurance claim process.

If your Super Bowl Sunday plans include throwing a party, you’d better be sure you have adequate insurance in the event of an injury claim by one of your guests. This advice stems from a new study sponsored by Trusted Choice, the independent agent’s branding campaign launched by the Alexandria, Virginia-based Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

The study was conducted by TRC, an independent research company in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The researchers polled 1,009 adults in a telephone survey about their plans for a social gathering. Their research revealed that of 28.5 million Americans who plan to have parties in their home, 21 million do not have a Personal Umbrella insurance policy, making them vulnerable to lawsuits, which could result in financial ruin. The remaining seven million didn’t know what coverage they currently carried.

The importance of proper coverage cannot be underestimated because in 30 states, hosts can be held legally responsible for guests who drink, drive and cause an accident. Interestingly enough, 53% of those surveyed said the host should be held responsible; however, most of those who responded in this manner have not taken any steps to protect themselves. The researchers concluded that people don’t buy Umbrella policies because they think enough coverage is offered by their Homeowner and Auto policies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Large jury awards coupled with substantial health care costs make it commonplace for lawsuits to exceed the liability limits on the average Homeowner/Auto policy.

The researchers made the following recommendations:

• Discuss your insurance coverage with one of our agents before hosting a party to familiarize yourself with your state’s host liability laws, and to make sure you are insured properly.
• Limit invited guests to people you know.
• Host the party at a restaurant or bar that has a liquor license, rather than in a home or office.
• Be sure that you provide filling food for guests and alternative nonalcoholic beverages.
• Schedule entertainment or activities that draw partygoers away from drinking.
• Arrange transportation or overnight accommodations for those who should not drive.
• Stop serving alcohol at least one hour before the party is scheduled to end.
• Do not serve guests who are visibly intoxicated.
• Consider hiring an off-duty police officer to monitor guests’ sobriety discreetly or handle any alcohol-related problems as guests leave.

The Prevalence and Impact of Drowsy Driving, a brand new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, indicates that two in every five surveyed drivers admit that they have fallen asleep at some point in time while driving. Of those drivers responding in the survey, more than a quarter admitted being so sleepy as to have had difficulty keeping their eyes open during their past month of driving time.

The study was partly based on the responses that 2,000 Americans gave to telephone surveys. According to the responses, researchers found that one in ten drivers reported falling asleep in the past year of driving. The researchers pointed out that one of the biggest mistakes made by drivers is simply underestimating just how tired they really are and overestimating their capability of dealing with tiredness while driving.

Another portion of the analyzed data was derived from crash data that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) collected during 2008 and 1999. From this data, researchers estimated that 16.5%, or around one in every six fatal road and highway crashes, involved someone driving while drowsy. More than half of all driving-while-drowsy accidents involved a single vehicle leaving its appropriate traveling lane. It further found that lane departure accidents were almost seven times more likely than other types of drowsy driver crashes. Thirteen percent, or around one in every eight road and highway vehicle crashes, required hospitalization. Other interesting statistics among crash-involved drivers include:

• Men were 61% more likely than women to have been drowsy.
• Drivers younger than 25-years-old were 78% more likely to be drowsy than their counterparts older than 40-years-old.
• Solo drivers were 81% more likely to have been drowsy than those with a passenger.

Researchers say that the main component is attitude, as there seems to be an overwhelming number of drivers who are indifferent or complacent about driving safety.

In relation to travel, experts suggest starting off early and getting a good night’s sleep instead of starting extended travel following a regular work day. Using common sense about driving and tiredness is also recommended. If you’re tired, don’t start driving. If you become tired while driving, do whatever necessary to remove yourself from the roadway.

Most everyone knows that the use of social media has grown by leaps and bounds during the past decade.

What many people don’t realize are the unique risks associated with social networking.

Anyone using Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or other social networking sites should exercise extreme caution in what they decide to say online.

As an example, in 2009 a teenager in New York sued some of her classmates and their parents, accusing the classmates of bullying and humiliating her in a Facebook Forum. Whether or not the allegations are true, the teenagers and their parents require legal resources to pay for the possible judgments against them.

Many people believe a standard Homeowners insurance policy will cover them in such a situation. In fact, it probably will not provide the necessary coverage. A standard policy covers bodily injury or property damage done to someone else. It defines bodily injury as sickness, harm or disease, and it defines property damage as destruction of or injury to physical property. Neither definition includes publishing or saying something that injures another person’s reputation. Hence, the policy is not likely to cover a Facebook post. In other words, the policy is unlikely to cover the act of making someone else feel miserable due to social networking.

A good source to consider for additional coverage is a Personal Umbrella policy. This kind of policy provides additional insurance in circumstances where a loss has depleted the amounts of Liability insurance offered under a Homeowners policy. Umbrella policies usually have a deductible of $250 to $500; but have the potential to protect the policyholder from financial devastation.

As you become more exposed to risk through social networking, choose your words carefully on any social networking site. Additionally, speak with our insurance professionals to see if an Umbrella policy is a good match for your insurance needs in an increasingly risky world.

In our high-tech world, there are more and more instances of driver distractions that contribute to car accidents, some of them fatal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, there were an estimated 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries attributable to distracted driving. If anything, the actual number is likely higher because distractions can be hard to quantify and the true number of accidents caused by driver distractions is difficult to define.

Our changing driving habits and increased dependence on technology have steadily raised the number of potentially dangerous distractions. Consider the attention-diverters in your own car: Radio and climate controls, cell phones and navigation systems. Matters are complicated further when there is more than one distraction, such as eating while trying to discipline a child in the backseat.

Furthermore, the National Safety Council released a white paper in early 2010, discussing the effects of cell phone usage while driving, and the news is not good. The white paper pulled information from at least 30 different scientific studies, and the results showed that cell phones have quickly become one of the leading driver distractions, even when drivers opted for “hands-free” devices. The NSC reveals that cell-phone usage causes the driver to multi-task and weakens the brain’s ability to capture driving cues. The overwhelming result is impaired driving performance.

Because of the grim data, many states have placed restrictions on drivers’ use of cell phones. The number of wireless phone users in the U.S. has grown from five million in 1990 to more than 200 million today, and surveys show that 85% of these people use cell phones when behind the wheel. In fact, calls from moving vehicles account for half of all cellular air time use.

So what can you do to avoid falling into this trap? Below are some important anti-distraction tips:

• Keep your eyes on the road. Consider the possibility of turning your cell phone off while behind the wheel.
• NEVER text while driving.
• Keep your hands on the wheel by programming your favorite radio stations, and arranging tapes and CDs in an easily accessible spot. Don’t attempt to retrieve objects that have fallen on the floor while driving.
• Teach your children the importance of good behavior in the car.
• Avoid eating and drinking while driving. If you must, choose easy-to-handle foods and keep beverages in a nearby cup-holder.
• Designate the front-seat passenger to serve as navigator rather than fumbling with maps and navigation systems yourself.
• Take a break if you find yourself lost in thought.
• Avoid stressful or confrontational conversation while driving.

It’s hard to tell exactly how they do it. Maybe you threw away some papers with your account number on them, somebody watched you put in your PIN number, or maybe you fell victim to an email phishing scam. Identity thieves don’t care where they get your information, they are just out take your money and ruin your credit in the process. Because there are so many different ways for identity theft to occur, it is important to know how to protect yourself and your assets.

Identity thieves are criminals who prey on other people’s personal information, for instance their social security number, credit card information, bank account information, and online account log-in information. Thieves even want to know your pet’s name or mother’s maiden name to help them steal passwords. Using this critical information, thieves are able to make unauthorized transactions and transfer funds behind your back. Before you ever find out, an identity thief could be enjoying a Caribbean vacation at your expense. Although these damages can be repaired, it will cost you plenty of headaches and potentially thousands of dollars.

The threat of identity theft is ever present, but there are some things you can do to keep your credit protected. The first thing you should do is prevent yourself from revealing personal information over the phone and on the Internet. If you do not understand why a business would need your social security number or similar information, then do not give it out. Junk mail and credit card offers are also potential threats and should always go through a paper shredder before being thrown out.

Bank receipts and discarded deposit slips are a goldmine for thieves and should never get tossed in a public trash bin. When ordering new checks, request to have your first initial printed in the corner instead of your full name, to make it harder for forgeries to occur. Checks should never be printed with your social security number on them.

In your free time, take a trip to the library or use your office copier to make paper copies of everything in your wallet. Keep these duplicates in a strongbox or other safe spot at home so you can reference your driver’s license and credit card numbers if you ever lose your wallet or have it stolen. Make sure to photocopy the backs of your credit cards too, which contain the customer service phone numbers to call to deactivate the cards. Having these numbers handy will get your cards suspended quickly and cut down the amount of time the thief can access your accounts.

If you discover or suspect that your identity has been compromised, call the local authorities after you have deactivated your cards. Filing a police report legitimizes your claim and opens an investigation to find and stop the thief. Also, make a report with the fraud department at the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration. To stop further attacks to your credit, alert the three credit reporting bureaus to block the use of your social security number and name on any new credit applications.

Insurance companies offer Identity Theft policies to individuals who want added protection. These policies cover the costs of unauthorized purchases and restoring your credit. Sometimes identity theft protection is included with Homeowners insurance or it can be added as an endorsement to a Renters or Homeowners policy.

Nearly 100,000 people each year have their identity stolen, according to Federal Trade Commission statistics. Just one bank slip or piece of mail can lead to having your credit destroyed by an identity crook. By making only a few changes to your lifestyle, you can keep your identity from being targeted by crafty thieves.

What do you buy for that special someone when you can’t think of anything else? With increasing frequency these days, the answer is a gift card. The National Retail Federation has reported that Americans spend more than $26 billion on gift cards during the holiday shopping season, and the average consumer spends more than $120. The reasons are simple. Gift cards are easy to purchase, never come in the wrong size or color, and the recipient is guaranteed to get an item she wants with it. Like anything else of value, however, they come with risks. Some have fees attached to them, and some expire if the owner does not use them within a certain period of time. They are also vulnerable to theft, disappearance and destruction. If your gift cards are stolen during a burglary or burn up during a house fire, will a Homeowners insurance policy reimburse you for them?

The standard Homeowners policy provides partial coverage for gift cards. It limits coverage for money, bank notes, coins, “stored value cards,” smart cards and similar cash-like items to $200 for all property in that category. Also, the policy covers personal property, including cash and similar items, only for a list of 16 causes of loss. The list includes such causes as fire or lighting, windstorm or hail, explosion, smoke, vehicles, theft, vandalism, weight of ice, snow or sleet, and others. The policy provides no coverage if a cause that is not on the list is responsible for the loss.

A few examples will illustrate how this works.

Joe receives a $50 gift card for an electronics store for his birthday and leaves it in his living room with his other gifts while he goes out to celebrate. Someone breaks into his home and makes off with all the gifts. His policy will provide full coverage for the clothes, DVDs and workout gear he got and the full $50 for the gift card. This is because the value of everything in that category of cash-like items was less than $200.

Joe’s family can’t think of a thing to get him for Christmas, so he gets a sweater and a pile of gift cards to various electronics and sporting goods stores and coffee shops. He feigns enthusiasm for the cards and leaves everything under the tree when he goes out to visit friends that night. Unfortunately, he has forgotten to water the tree for two weeks; an exposed tree light wire ignites it. The resulting fire cooks his downstairs. The policy covers the damage to the home and contents, but it pays only the $200 maximum for the $300 worth of gift cards.

Next year, Joe’s gift cards survive Christmas Day and, because he enjoys being stuck in traffic jams, he goes to the mall the day after the holiday to use them. However, when he steps up to a cash register with a Blu-Ray player under his arm, he cannot find any of the cards. He searches his car, every pocket in his coat, pants and shirt, and every place he went to in the mall, but he never finds the missing cards. Unfortunately, because disappearance is not one of the causes of loss listed on the policy, his insurance will not pay anything for them.

Some insurance companies might offer to increase the amount of coverage and the covered causes of loss for these items, so check with our professional insurance agents to identify those companies and find out the cost. For a small amount of money, you may be able protect yourself against the loss of these common gifts.

Millions of Americans own special vehicles for recreation, personal assistance, property maintenance, and for other purposes. Residents and visitors in snow belt regions use snowmobiles. Golf carts cruise around golf courses and around many residential communities. Individuals with limited mobility use motorized wheelchairs and scooters. All-terrain vehicles and dune buggies are always popular. These vehicles can be expensive to purchase and can become involved in accidents. Individuals who own and use them need insurance protection when something goes wrong. Fortunately, the standard Homeowners insurance policy provides some of the coverage users need.

The Homeowners policy does not cover legal liability resulting from the use of motor vehicles that are registered for use on public roads or property or that the law requires to be registered for use at the place where the accident took place. However, it does provide some coverage for vehicles designed to be used off public roads if either the user does not own them or if the accident occurs on an “insured location,” as the policy defines that term. The term includes the place where the person named on the policy (the named insured) resides, other residences he acquires during the policy term, premises he doesn’t own and where he temporarily resides, vacant land he owns or rents, land he owns or rents where he is building a residence, and other premises he occasionally rents for non-business use.

Therefore, the Homeowners policy will cover him for liability resulting from the use of:

• A motorized wheelchair at his home and surrounding property
• A dune buggy at a beach house he’s renting for a week
• A snowmobile he owns on vacant land he owns
• An ATV he rents while he uses it on someone else’s property.

It will not cover him if he takes a vehicle he owns off an insured location.

The policy contains special provisions regarding golf carts. It covers the person’s liability for use of a golf cart he owns that is designed to carry at most four people and is not designed to go faster than 25 m.p.h. on level ground. Coverage applies only if the accident occurs at a golfing facility or at a private residential community where golf carts can legally travel on its public roads, subject to the authority of a property owner’s association, and where an insured person has a residence. Therefore, an individual has coverage if he strikes a person with his golf cart while driving from one hole to another or if he lives in a gated community and damages a neighbor’s deck with his golf cart. He does not have coverage if he takes out a mailbox while driving a golf cart down a public road.

The policy covers certain vehicles if the insured person uses them solely to service his premises. For example, he would have coverage for a riding lawn mower that he uses on his own property, but he will not have coverage for it if he also uses it to cut a neighbor’s grass. The policy covers vehicles designed to assist the handicapped, but only while they are being used to assist a handicapped person or while they are parked on an insured location. A healthy 15 year-old who takes a handicapped person’s scooter for a joy ride does not have coverage.

Because coverage for these vehicles is so situation-dependent, people who own them should discuss the best way to insure them with our professional insurance agents. In some cases, policy changes might be available that will improve the coverage for an additional premium. All motorized vehicles carry a risk of accidents, so it is important to have the right insurance protection in place.

The changing of the seasons usually brings along a laundry list of chores to most homeowners, in addition to some chilly weather. One task that should be at the top of the list is making sure your home’s carbon monoxide (CO) detector is working properly.

The presence of carbon monoxide gas is almost impossible to detect without some sort of device. The gas is odorless, colorless, and invisible, and can weave its way throughout your home much easier in the winter months. CO gases are created when heating elements that use natural gas, propane, wood, or oil do not completely burn off their fuels. Breathing in these fumes poisons the body and can be deadly. The effects might appear mild at first, as the individual begins to feel dizzy and nauseous, but can quickly turn to exertion and loss of consciousness.

Fortunately, carbon monoxide poisoning is preventable by performing routine safety checks around the house, and by installing and maintaining carbon monoxide detectors within the home. Proper maintenance of the home’s cooking and heating sources is the best place to start, but also consider safeguarding the house from the exhaust fumes of generators and vehicles. Recent statistics from the U.S. National Safety Council show that the two leading causes of accidental death from gases or vapors come from carbon monoxide given off by running vehicles and cooking and heating equipment.

The Center for Disease Control and the National Fire Protection Agency agree that having carbon monoxide detectors in the home is a family’s best line of defense against poisoning. Follow these tips to help protect your home from this deadly gas:

• Only use CO detectors that have been approved by a qualified, independent testing laboratory.
• The sensors in CO devices do not last forever. Abide by the manufacturer’s suggested replacement interval.
• Battery-powered detectors should receive new batteries once a year, unless the directions give a different time frame.
• Choose a centralized location outside of the family’s sleeping area to install the detector, making sure that its alarm can clearly be heard in each bedroom.
• List the phone numbers of the local fire and rescue services with your other emergency contacts. * Perform a monthly test on all carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are powered and working.

In the event that your detector’s alarm sounds, immediately evacuate your home, leaving doors open and turning off cooking and heating equipment, if possible. Alert the fire department and seek appropriate medical attention if anyone shows symptoms of CO poisoning. After the carbon monoxide levels return to normal, have your home’s equipment inspected for leaks and areas of weakness by a qualified technician.

Remember, carbon monoxide poisoning is serious and deadly, and its symptoms should never be taken lightly. By following the tips mentioned above, you can help protect yourself and your family from the “silent killer” during the wintertime and throughout the year.

According to a fire loss study done by the National Fire Protection Association, house fires accounted for 75% of all structural fires in the United States. There are about 400,000 residential property fires in the U.S. each year, and these residential fires account for more than 3,700 human fatalities each year. Even when all other natural disasters are combined, fires still typically claim more American lives per year.

Considering the cost, frequency, and loss of life related to residential fires, it’s important for homeowners to have loss control measures in place. A fire extinguisher might seem like a simple item, but when properly selected, placed, and maintained, a fire extinguisher can be a powerful tool to prevent widespread fire loss. The best thing is that a fire extinguisher is a relatively cheap investment, as prices start at around $20.00. It’s important to become familiar with the different classes of fire extinguishers. There are five classes, with each class based on what type of fire the extinguisher is capable of extinguishing. The five extinguisher classes are marked with a class specific color, geometric symbol, and/or picture.

Class A Fire Extinguisher
Color – green
Geometric symbol – triangle
Picture – burning garbage can and woodpile This class of fire extinguisher is intended to be used on ordinary solid combustibles. These types of fires might involve cloth, wood, rubber, paper, or certain types of plastic.

Class B Fire Extinguisher
Color – red
Geometric symbol – square
Picture – container of fuel and burning puddle
This class of fire extinguisher is intended to be used on flammable liquids and gasses. These types of fires might involve lacquers, gasoline, alcohol, diesel oil, oil-based paints, or flammable gas.

Class C Fire Extinguishers
Color – blue
Geometric symbol – circle
Picture – burning outlet and electric cord plug
This class of fire extinguisher is intended to be used on energized electrical equipment. It would be used for fires that involve an appliance, electrical wiring, circuit breaker, or electrical outlet.

Class D Fire Extinguisher
Color – yellow
Geometric symbol – star or decagon
Picture – burning bearing and gear
This class of fire extinguisher is intended to be used on combustible metals. These fires might involve magnesium, potassium, sodium, or titanium. It’s important to note that some Class D fire extinguishers will work on multiple metal types, but others are metal specific.

Class K Fire Extinguisher
Color – black
Geometric symbol – hexagon
Picture – burning pan
This class of fire extinguisher is intended to be used on combustible cooking fires. It can be used to put out fires from cooking oils and fats.

Fire Extinguisher Tips

• Fire extinguishers are important fire protection tools. However, it’s vital to know the fire type and extinguisher class before attempting usage. Using the wrong extinguisher on the wrong fire can make the fire worse and cause life threatening injury.
• It’s extremely important for all members of the household, babysitters, housekeepers, and any other potential user to know how to safely and correctly use the fire extinguisher. Since most will not be using an extinguisher on a regular basis, it’s also important to periodically review the instructions.
• Because fires might often involve a combination of elements, most fire protection experts recommend a fire extinguisher with an ABC rating.
• Fire protection experts recommend that a medium-sized fire extinguisher be placed in the kitchen and garage. A fire extinguisher should also be placed on each additional floor of the home.
• All fire extinguishers should be inspected annually and maintained by a professional fire equipment supplier. If not properly maintained, a fire extinguisher might not discharge when needed. There’s also the risk of it rupturing when pressurized, which can result in serious injury.
• Having fire extinguishers in the home might reduce the cost of home insurance. Contact the insurance broker for the home to find out if a discount for fire loss prevention measures is offered.

Keep in mind that fire extinguishers are vital protection against fire loss, but they must be properly selected, placed, and maintained.