RISdirect Rogers Insurance Services

How to Avoid Holiday Fires

11/30/2021

The winter holidays are beloved for the warmth and light they bring to a cold, dark season. But this wondrous time of year isn’t free from danger. According to the American Red Cross, almost 47,000 fires occur during the winter holidays, taking over 500 lives, injuring thousands of people, and resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage.

Fortunately, many holiday fire risks can be minimized with a little care and planning. Here’s how to avoid some common causes of holiday fires.

1. Be Safe with Christmas Trees

Place trees (and fir wreaths and garlands) three feet away from heat sources like fireplaces and radiators, and never use lit candles to decorate a tree. (Use battery-operated ones to achieve that effect.) Check that artificial trees, as well as decorations, are made of flame-resistant or flame-retardant materials.

If decorating a live tree, choose one that is freshly cut, with intact needles, and water it daily to prevent it from becoming dry. Once it does begin to dry out and drop needles, it’s time to discard your tree. Although Christmas tree fires are not common, the explosiveness of dry trees makes them very dangerous if they do occur.

Use a tree stand that can’t tip over and be sure to unplug tree lights overnight and whenever you leave the house.

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PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS FROM DATA BREACHES

1/30/2020

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Senior executives are deeply worried about data breaches, and with good reason seeing how last year alone the average breach of U.S. companies cost $73,000. Not to mention, phishing scams are getting more sophisticated, prepare yourself with these tips.

Many CEOs live in fear that their companies will suffer a data breach. That's for good reason: In 2019 the average breach of U.S. companies cost $73,000. And the cost of the attendant reputational damage with vendors and customers can be far greater.

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HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY IF YOU GET SUED & WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU GET SUED

5/30/2018

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What you’ll discover in this report:

How easy and common it is to be the target of a lawsuit!
How to get massive protection for just pennies a day
What you should know about what’s not covered with Umbrella Insurance
Tips on how to SAVE MONEY
Insurance jargon demystified! What are you really getting? Find out here...

... and much, MUCH more!

If insurance is for a rainy day, umbrella insurance is for a storm! A day when someone hits you with a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars.

Think it can’t happen to you? Do you know how lawsuit-crazy this country is?

You can’t pick up a newspaper these days without reading about somebody suing somebody else for . . . what? You read the article and say, “That’s crazy. There’s no way somebody should be able to sue for that.”

Well, guess what? The courts are clogged with these “crazy” lawsuits, and sometimes the person bringing the lawsuit wins. Do you really need coverage for these crazy lawsuits? Maybe not.

But remember that a lot of lawsuits aren’t crazy at all. Some get settled. Actually, most get settled. Often, the person being sued winds up paying something to the person who brought the lawsuit. And that doesn’t even include the fees the defendant in the lawsuit has to pay to his or her attorney.

How Far Will Your Current Protection Really Go to Protect You?

Example: Say you’re at fault in an auto accident that causes serious injuries to the driver and/or passenger(s) in the car you hit. Your auto insurance has liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. (Which are pretty common limits, by the way, even for people with a lot of assets.)

How far do you think $100,000 will go, particularly if the person or persons involved suffer injuries that keep he/she/them from working for months, even years? The accident victim(s) could sue you for his/her/their medical bills, lost income, even pain and suffering. In this scenario, $100,000 is not nearly enough coverage.

Guess what happens if, say, you are hit with a judgment in the case of $250,000 for one person involved in the accident? Your auto liability insurance will cover the first $100,000 -- and you’re stuck for the rest. And that doesn’t even include the legal fees you have to pay to your attorney. In addition, in some cases, you might have to pay all or part of the legal fees the other party or parties incur. Ouch.

Umbrella insurance is for these very rainy days. While it may seem unnecessary, it really isn’t, particularly for people with homes and other significant assets to protect. Do you really want to hand over your house and/or gains in the stock market to someone you injure in an auto accident? It could happen. But it doesn’t have to.

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FLOOD MYTHS

5/24/2018

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1. Flood Insurance is only for high risk areas

Flood maps change. Just because you weren’t on a flood plain when you bought your home, does not mean you are not in one now. New construction and urban developments can increase the chance of flooding. As land is converted into roads and parking lots, it loses its ability to absorb rainfall and water can begin moving down streets and into basements (weather.gov).

Low risk doesn’t mean there is no risk. People outside of high-risk flood zones file more than 20% of all NFIP claims and receive one-third of federal disaster assistance for flooding (FEMA). Flooding can occur anywhere. In fact, it is the number one natural disaster in the United States.

2. My Homeowner’s Policy covers flood

When it comes to homeowners insurance, not all water damage is the same. Think about water damage from the top down versus from the bottom up.

Top down may be covered by homeowners:
If your roof if damaged in a storm causing water to come in that would most likely be covered under your homeowners insurance.

Bottom up may not be covered:
If a riverbank overflows onto your street, you most likely would not be covered

3. I only need Flood Insurance if my mortgage company requires it

Over 50% of the people impacted by Hurricane Harvey flooding likely didn’t have flood insurance, according to analytics firm CoreLogic (FoxBusiness).
Banks and mortgage companies rely on FEMA to define high and low risk areas. A recent study found that FEMA failed to capture 75% of flood damages within their maps between 1999 – 2009. That means that your mortgage company is relying on information that is not always correct and is constantly changing (Forbes).
Tell your customers: don’t leave it up to the bank to determine whether or not you need flood protection.

4. If my property has flooded in the past, I can’t get coverage now

People tend to associate floods with a total loss, but the average flood claim for U.S. homeowners is about $39,000, according to the flood insurance program (bankrate.com).
Tell your customers: you can purchase flood insurance at any time, as long as your community participates in the NFIP. However, there is usually a 30-day waiting period after the premium payment before the policy becomes effective.

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