Personal Perspective

Are you a college student or a parent of a student heading to school this fall? If so, consider adding fire safety tips to your suitcase. Whether you live on or off campus, several precautions help you prevent fires and stay safe.

Electrical Safety

You certainly need to plug your lamps and laptop into an electrical outlet, but be careful.

• Use power strips or surge protectors with internal overload protection to avoid overloading the outlets.
• Never plug in anything that has a frayed or twisted cord.
• If your lamps or laptop start to feel hot, unplug them.

Cooking

Making your own meals and snacks in your dorm room is a great way to save money and curb the munchies late at night. For safety as you cook:

• Supervise the food.
• Never use a microwave, toaster, hot plate or other appliance if the cord is frayed or damaged.
• Unplug appliances immediately after you use them.
• Wipe up any crumbs or spilled food immediately after cooking.
• Never grill indoors.

Candles

The aroma of a candle can help you relax and light your room if the power goes out. However, many colleges ban candles because they’re a serious fire risk. If you want to relax, melt aromatic wax in an approved plug-in container. During power outages, use flashlights instead of candles.

Smoking

Smoking is banned in most campus dorm rooms, so if you choose to smoke, use outdoor designated areas. Off- campus, you can:

• Use wide, sturdy ash trays that are secured to a sturdy surface.
• Extinguish your cigarette completely before you toss it into the trash can.
• Check the sofa and chair cushions for cigarette butts after parties.
• Never smoke when you’re tired or have been drinking.

Smoke Detectors

You may notice numerous smoke detectors in your dorm. Don’t tamper with them because they could save your life!

Know the Evacuation Plan

Always know how to exit a building safely so that if there is a fire or other emergency you can get out alive.

• When you move in, familiarize yourself with the escape route and any fire escapes.
• Participate in practice drills.
• If the fire alarm goes off, exit the building right away even if you think it’s a prank.

For Parents

Even though your kids are away at college, you can help them practice fire safety.

• Ensure the dorm or off-campus housing has a working fire alarm system, smoke detectors and exits.
• Be sure your kids know how to exit their dorm safely.
• Purchase personal property insurance that covers your child’s possessions.

Staying safe on campus includes understanding fire safety. Take these precautions as you head to college this fall.

Renting a new home is exciting for novice and seasoned home renters. Before you sign your next lease, consider five things every renter should know.

Safety Comes First

You need and want to feel safe in your home, so take time before you move in to check out the safety details. Make sure the locks have been changed since the last tenant moved out, and get keys for all the doors, including the deadbolt. If the doors look flimsy, don’t have deadbolts or do not have peepholes, ask for new doors. Install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and hang fire extinguishers, too, as you prioritize safety in your new home.

Pay Your Rent 

Check your lease to see when your rent payment is due and which payment method your landlord prefers. Whether you pay by check, cash or credit card, always pay on time. Save a little money each week if you have to because late payments could cost you fees as outlined in your lease. Being late also hurts your relationship with your landlord, which could affect your ability to extend the lease or get a good referral if you find a different place.

Buy Renters Insurance

Your landlord has purchased a homeowner’s insurance policy for the house or apartment building. That policy covers structural repairs and can pay for storm damages to the house itself. It does not cover your personal belongings. Purchase your own renter’s insurance policy to protect your possessions if they’re stolen or damaged.

Mind the Neighbors

You’ve probably heard horror stories of neighbors who partied all night or let their trash accumulate on their front lawn. Don’t be that neighbor! Read your lease and be aware of any restrictions you need to follow. Check on details such as how many visitors you can have at a time, where you can park and when to take out the trash, too, as you become a respectful neighbor.

Report Problems

A small roof leak or a broken stair railing can turn into a big issue down the road, so report problems as soon as possible. Post your landlord’s contact information on your fridge or in your phone so you can contact him or her right away. When you see yourself as a caretaker of the property and try to leave it in better condition than you found it, you protect your home, increase your chances of getting a good referral from your landlord and do the right thing.

If you’ve decided to rent a house or apartment, do these five things. They help you be a responsible caretaker of your home.

You wouldn’t let your kids ride in the car without a seat belt or play with a bottle of cleaning chemicals. Yet you may not have considered the danger your kids are in because of your home’s furniture. It only takes a second for an accident to happen, so protect your kids from furniture tip-overs.

Mount TVs Properly

Every 45 minutes, a child visits the emergency room and every three weeks one child dies because of TV tip-overs. Instead of placing your TV on a cabinet or other piece of furniture with no security, always use anti-tip devices. If you watch a box-style TV, secure it to a low piece of furniture that can handle the weight, is stable and can’t tip over. Mount your flat-panel TV on the wall according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Secure Furniture

Bookcases, china cabinets and even your refrigerator could be unstable and top-heavy. They can topple over if your child tries to climb them or pulls hard on the doors. Use anti-tip devices, brackets, wall straps or braces to secure these pieces of furniture to the wall and floor.

Stop Drawers

Furniture drawers are designed to slide easily which compromises the stability of the dresser or cabinet and increase its likelihood of toppling over. Install stops that prevent drawers from being pulled out all the way.

Rearrange the Furniture

When you place heavy furniture in the playroom, you increase the likelihood that your kids will want to explore it and possibly be hurt. Instead, locate heavy furniture to a low-traffic room.

Remove Tempting Objects

Where you place household items can increase safety. Place heavy items on bottom shelves or drawers to reduce its chances of tipping over. Don’t put food, toys or other kid-friendly items on the top shelves, either, since your kids may reach for or climb up to those items and be hurt.

Remove all Unused Furniture

It’s tempting to let that old dresser or old TV you no longer need or use to sit around until you need them. Those items pose potential threats to your kids, though, so recycle unused furniture as soon as possible.

Look at Your Home Through a Child’s Eyes

To you, the dresser in your child’s bedroom is useful for sorting clothes. Your child or one of their friends may see it as a jungle gym or the perfect spot for hide and seek, though. Take time to walk through your house and look at everything as if you were a child, and remove any furniture that’s potential dangerous.

Furniture safety can prevent fatal furniture tip-overs. Follow these tips and discuss additional ways you can protect your kids when you meet with your home insurance agent.

In 2014, 64 million vehicles were recalled. While one in five vehicles on United States roads requires a recall repair, one in four of those vehicles will not be repaired, which affects the safety of everyone on the road. Before you drive your car anywhere, understand car recalls and how they affect you and your vehicle.

What is a Recall?

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) mandates that automobile manufacturers meet federal safety standards. If a faulty, defective or compromised part is used on a vehicle, the NHTSA will issue a recall. It notifies auto owners that a repair is needed on their vehicle, and it provides the necessary part to local dealers. Affected vehicle owners pay no fees for the repair.

What Parts Could be Recalled?

The average vehicle has thousands of parts that can break or be compromised. However, a recall is only issued if a part is found to be faulty because it poses a safety risk. Normal wear and tear does not qualify a vehicle for a recall, so you will have to pay to repair your vehicle’s worn brakes or an old battery. However, other defects are safety issues. They can be minor or major and include:

• Ignition switches

• Airbags

• Steering components

• Fuel components

• Accelerators

• Windshield wipers

• Engine cooling fan blades

• Wiring systems

• Other faulty components

What Should you do if Your Car is Recalled?

Any defect in a vehicle affects driver and passenger safety. That’s why all defects should be addressed quickly. Follow the recall directions and schedule an appointment right away

If the recall affects a small number of vehicles, you may be able to get an appointment quickly. However, be prepared to wait a few weeks or months if the recall affects a large number of vehicles. Most repairs take a few hours, but if your specific vehicle repair takes a few days, as the dealer if they offer a loaner car.

How do you Find Recalls?

In most cases, you’ll receive a recall letter from the government or your vehicle’s manufacturer. You can also check recalls.gov for an updated list. Enter the manufacturer, model and year of your car.

What Should you do if you have a Problem?

All recall repairs are free. Contact the NHTSA at (888) DASH-2-DOT if you are charged or have problems with your repair.

Recalls protect you and other drivers as they make your vehicle safe. Be sure to participate in any vehicle recalls. Contact your insurance agent, too, to ensure you have adequate insurance for your vehicle as you protect your ride.

Do you have a pile of papers collecting dust on your desk, in your filing cabinet or in a safe? Instead of stockpiling every electric bill, tax return and retail receipt from the last 20 years, learn which papers to keep and which to toss.

Bank records – Shred your checking and saving account statements monthly or after you reconcile your accounts.

Credit card statements – Shred them after you pay the bill except if you need to prove a charitable donation for your tax return.

Health records for humans and pets – Keep medical records and paperwork that documents your health history, including details about medications, immunizations, x-rays, medical tests, surgeries and major health events.

Instruction manuals – Keep these papers until you sell the item.

Insurance policies – Save copies of your auto, home or renters insurance policies to prove you’re covered and to compare coverage during your annual renewal. Shred the old copies when you get new ones.

Investment statements – Shred monthly and quarterly statements but keep annual ones until you sell the investments.

Loan documents – Shred closing documents for loans after you pay them off.

Pay stubs – File with your tax return information until you file your taxes and then shred them.

Retail receipts – Shred or toss receipts after you reconcile your receipt with your budget. Keep them if you need to return an item, purchase items that are eligible for a tax deduction or wish to retain proof of an item’s original cost.

Savings bonds – Keep them until you cash them in.

Tax returns – Retain them and any supporting documents for seven years in case you are audited.

Utility bills – Review each month’s bill for errors then shred them.

Vehicle records – Retain receipts, registration info, titles and maintenance and repair records until you sell the vehicle.

Warranties – Store these until you sell the item.

The following papers you should store in a safe place indefinitely. Consider making copies of these documents, too, and storing them in a location outside of your home.

• Birth certificates

• Social Security cards

• Marriage licenses

• Divorce decrees

• Military service records

• Pension-plan documents

• Estate-planning documents that pertain to your will, power of attorney, end of life and trusts

• Life insurance policies

• Death certificates

Whether you store your papers in a pile on your desk or in a safe deposit box, reduce clutter when you understated which papers you need to keep. For more details on reducing paper clutter while maintaining the protection you need, talk with your insurance agent.

Six in 10 Americans track their regularly according to a Pew Research Center study. Do you? If so, you may use a fitness tracker. It’s a convenient way to meet your health and wellness goals, but it also can lead to identity theft. Take precautions as you get and stay healthy.

What is a Fitness Tracker?

You used to need a pencil and notebook to track your daily calories and exercise routines. Now, you can wear a device on your wrist or waistband that calculates how many calories you burn each day, how many steps you walk at work and how well you sleep. By 2018, as many as 780 million fitness trackers will be in use.

The information collected by your fitness tracker is synced to your computer or smartphone. Use the data to measure your progress, meet fitness goals and achieve your desired weight.

Who Has Access to Your Fitness Tracker Data?

It might seem strange that anyone would want to know how you sleep or how much you walk. However, fitness trackers can also include data like your gender, age, height and weight. This data can be valuable to companies that wish to market their diet, exercise and wellness products to consumers like you.

Additionally, fitness trackers offer real-time and location-based tracking. Burglars with access to that data know where you live, when you’re home and when you’re away from home. You and your family could be at risk.

How do you Protect Yourself?

Protect yourself from identity theft when you take five steps.

1. Review the privacy policy of your fitness tracker. It will tell you who has access to your personal information and if the company sells or shares your data. The policy should also tell you if your data is encrypted, where it’s stored and how long it’s stored for. Contact your fitness tracker provider if you can’t find this information.
2. Disable location tracking. Don’t share your location with social media sights, and turn off your Bluetooth when it’s not in use.
3. Use strong passwords. Mix letters, numbers and symbols in a unique password that you keep secure from others.
4. Don’t use unsecured networks. Instead of transmitting data from a public place, wait until you’re home and on your secure network.
5. Install updates. When security fixes are available for your device and its app, install them.

Your fitness tracker is an invaluable tool in keeping you healthy. Take several precautions as you prevent identify theft and stay safe. You can also talk to your insurance agent about identity theft protection coverage that gives you added peace of mind.

Summer time fun for you might include hauling a trailer. It secures your ATV, boat, a second car, camper, horses or camping gear. Before you hit the road, make sure your trailer is properly insured.

Why do you Need Trailer Insurance?

Many states accept your auto insurance coverage when you haul a trailer behind your insured vehicle. Your homeowners or renters insurance policy may cover the items you haul. However, this coverage is typically only for liability. Plus, you face several risks when you haul your trailer on the road.

• If you’re not used to hauling a trailer, your risk of causing an accident increases.

• You may turn too sharply and damage someone’s property.

• You could hit a slippery stretch of highway that causes your trailer to slide into another vehicle and damage it or push it off the road.

• While unloading or loading your trailer, you could damage it or the item you’re hauling.

These and other accidents are possible. Trailer insurance adds valuable protection that gives you peace of mind as you travel.

What Type of Coverage is Available?

The type and amount of trailer insurance you need depends on your trailer’s type and size and on the value of the items you will haul. Typical trailer insurance provides several valuable coverages.

1. Liability – Cover the costs associated with bodily injuries or property damages your trailer causes to other people or their property and belongings.
2. Comprehensive – Repair your trailer if it is damaged from theft, vandalism, fire or weather.
3. Collision – Repair your trailer if it is damaged during a traffic collision.
4. Contents Coverage – Pay to replace damaged items that are stored on or hauled in your trailer.

How do you Purchase Trailer Insurance?

Talk to your auto insurance agent about trailer insurance. He or she will review your auto insurance policy’s current types of coverage and limits to ensure it’s adequate for your trailer. Your agent will also review your homeowners or renters insurance policy and ensure it covers the items you are hauling.

If your current policies are not adequate to cover your trailer and its contents, increase your coverage types or limits or purchase a separate policy. You may need to shop around for trailer insurance if your current agent does not carry it.

With trailer insurance, you can travel this summer with confidence. If your trailer causes property damage or bodily injury or if the items you haul are damaged, you can pay for the liability or repairs. Talk to your agent before your next trip to make sure you’re properly covered.

You have to buy auto insurance, but you don’t have to overpay for it. Consider 13 tips that can cut your auto insurance costs without compromising your coverage.

1. Maintain a clean driving record. Claims, moving violations and at-fault accidents all potentially increase your insurance costs. Enjoy competitive rates and stay eligible for discounts when you practice good driving.
2. Increase your deductible. Your premiums decrease as your deductible increases. As long as you can afford the deductible, this move can be a good way to save money.
3. Drop collision and comprehensive coverage. Check out your car’s value on NADA Guides to see a rough estimate of what your insurance company would pay you if your car would be totaled. If the value is less than $1,000 consider dropping your collision and comprehensive coverage from your insurance policy.
4. Drive less. Some insurance companies give discounts for low mileage. Contact your agent to find out what your annual mileage limits are for lower premiums.
5. Ask about car safety discounts. Certain safety features, including antilock brakes, air bags and alarms, could score you big savings.
6. Get an insurance quote before you buy a new car. Some cars are cheaper to insure.
7. Be loyal. Your insurance company may be willing to reward your loyalty, especially if you’ve been with them for more than five years.
8. Check your credit. In some states, Insurance companies reason that you will make fewer claims if you have good credit. That’s why it pays to check your credit regularly and keep your score high.
9. Join a club. Professional groups, large employees and civic organizations might offer discounted insurance that costs less than your current policy.
10. Monitor your teens. Since teens are expensive drivers to insure, participate in a monitoring program. Cameras that record aggressive driving incidents and GPS that tracks speeding can cut your insurance costs and keep your teen safe.
11. Purchase usage-based insurance (UBI). This option requires you to plug a temetatics device below your steering wheel. It tracks when, how often and how you drive, and good driving habits could decrease your insurance costs.
12. Bundle coverages. Buy your homeowners or renters insurance policy from the same company that issues your auto insurance, and you’ll receive a multi-policy discount.
13. Shop around. Other insurance companies might offer better rates, so shop around. Be sure to use the same coverage limits as your current policy to ensure you receive accurate quotes.

Auto insurance is essential, but it doesn’t have to break your budget. Use these 13 tips to save money. Talk to your agent today for more money saving tips.

June is the most popular month of the year for weddings, and you want your special day to be perfect. What happens, though, when things don’t go as planned? Purchase wedding liability insurance to cover your loss or hardship.

Who Does Wedding Liability Insurance Protect?

The average wedding costs $20,000. Traditionally, the bride’s parents paid for the wedding. Today, though, the couple usually foots at least a portion of the bill. Protect your investment with wedding liability insurance.

This coverage can protect you and the venue, including the rehearsal dinner location and reception hall. Whether you get married in a traditional church or synagogue, plan a destination wedding or choose a nontraditional venue like a museum, park, zoo or forest, you can be covered if accidents happen.

What Does Wedding Liability Insurance Cover?

Accidents and other unfortunate incidents can wreak havoc on your wedding day.

• A guest may trip and injure himself while walking down the aisle before the ceremony.
• Someone may get sick after eating the shrimp cocktail appetizers
• A bridesmaid might knock over an expensive item in the reception hall as she tries to catch the bouquet.
• One of your guests may drink too much and fall while dancing.

These and other accidents could result in expensive lawsuits or medical liabilities for you and your loved ones.

Purchase liability insurance to protect yourself. The policy gives you peace of mind that even if something happens, you have financial coverage. It’s not a fun expense like your dress, cake or rings, but it is important as you start your marriage on solid financial footing.

What are Some Features of Wedding Liability Insurance?

When choosing liability coverage, look for a policy that meets your needs. There are several features you may wish to consider.

1. It should cover you, your soon-to-be spouse and both sets of parents.
2. The locations of your rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception should be covered for one low price.
3. It can be purchased up to the day of your wedding.
4. The coverage may include liquor liability to protect you and the venue against alcohol-related accidents.
5. If you purchase coverage online, a certificate of insurance is emailed to the venue.
6. You may receive a discount if you also purchase wedding cancellation insurance.
7. The limit options should be flexible to meet your needs and budget.

Your agent can discuss all these details with you as you choose the features that you want.

How do you get Wedding Liability Insurance?

Your insurance agent can provide you with this valuable coverage. Talk to him or her today about how to get a wedding liability insurance policy that protects you on your special day.

What do important documents, expensive jewelry and antique collectibles have in common? They’re all valuables you store in your home. Instead of worrying if they’ll be safe while you go on vacation or when contractors works on your home, protect them.

Rent a Bank Safe Deposit Box

For items that you don’t access regularly, consider a bank safe deposit box. It’s ideal for collectibles, photographs and coins, and your valuables will be protected from theft, fire, flood and other disasters when they’re stored safely in the bank vault.

There are several drawbacks to this storage solution. One is accessibility. You’ll only be able to retrieve or inspect your valuables during bank hours. Also, your box will be sealed when you or the owner dies, so it’s not the ideal solution for protecting your advance directives or will. The contents are not insured by the bank or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) either. Your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy should cover your valuables, though, in the event that they are damaged.

Buy a Home Safe

Items you want to access regularly could be stored in a home safe. It sits in your closet, under the bed or anywhere in your home and protects your legal documents, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies, photos, passports and other items.

Select a small safe when you wish to protect jewelry, papers or coins. You’ll need a larger safe for large, bulky or odd-shaped items like artwork, guns and furs. Some models include adjustable shelves for increased versatility, and you can choose a safe that locks with a key, combination, electronic lock or mix of lock options.

Next, choose a safe that is certified to provide protection from a variety of threats.

• Theft and Vandalism

  Purchase a safe with solid steel construction, pry-resistant doors and a bolt-down kit.

• Fire

  Look for the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) symbol that shows your safe is fireproof, and be sure to latch and lock your safe to ensure it remains fireproof.

• Water

  Live in your home for 30 years, and you have a one in four chance of suffering water damage. Select a safe with an ETL verification that certifies one of two things. Waterproof safes allow only eight drops of water to the safe when it’s submerged in water. Water-resistant safes keep the interior dry when the safe stands in six inches of water for one hour or when it’s sprayed with 1,000 gallons of water within a 15-minute time period.

Protecting your valuables should be a priority. Whether you choose a bank safe deposit box or home safe, be sure everything you own is insured. Contact your insurance agent today to purchase or review your coverage.