Small Business Saturday

Recently I came across an infographic on how small businesses can connect with their customers and communities. AT&T asked over 500 businesses. Look over the infographic and let us know if you agree with the infographic in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our company

The Pilgrims were thankful. We are too. Thank you for your business.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you and yours enjoy a wonderful day with family, friends, food and fun.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hurricane safety tips

As storm Sandy approaches the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S., we wanted to make sure you are aware of important steps to stay safe and avoid damage.

Safety for individuals
· Create or review a disaster plan. Plan an evacuation route in advance and determine where you will go if told to evacuate.
· Prepare a survival kit. Stock up on drinking water, non-perishable food, a first-aid kit and medicine for everyone including your pet. Include extra clothing, blankets, batteries, flashlights, a portable radio and cash.
· Secure outdoor objects such as garbage cans and lawn furniture.
· Review how to shut off utilities in an emergency.
· During a heavy storm, power off and unplug electronics and appliances.
· Locate important papers and documents, including your insurance policy and have them ready to take with you should you need to evacuate.
· Leave promptly if ordered to evacuate.
o Heavy rains have the potential to cause significant damage. Remember to:
o Close and lock all windows and doors.
o Remove window air conditioners.
o Remove valuable items from your basement.
o If it's not possible or practical to move some items, elevate them off the floor on pallets or concrete blocks.
o Clear exterior drains.
o Look for exterior drains at the bottom of basement stairs, in window wells, and anywhere sidewalks or driveways slope toward the foundation.
o Clear gutters of leaves and debris.
o This is also a good time to repair any damaged gutters.
o Make sure water can drain away from your foundation.
o Check that your downspouts have elbows and splash blocks to direct water away from the house.
o Check your sump pump.
o Pour water into the sump and verify that the pump is working properly. If it has a battery backup, test the battery backup by switching off the main power to the house at the circuit breaker.

Take extra precautions with portable generators.
· Generators should be properly grounded and should never be operated indoors, in garages, basements or near windows or doors. Since generators produce carbon monoxide (CO), make sure you have working CO detector in your home.
· Never plug a generator into a wall outlet, which can "backfeed" into your home's electrical system and endanger utility workers or anyone who comes near downed wires.
· Store generator fuel in an approved can away from the house, open flames and fuel-burning appliances such as natural gas appliances.

Safety for businesses
The following precautions can help protect people and property and guard against disruption of operations:
Review your business continuity plan and communicate emergency evacuation and business interruption instructions to employees. If you don't have a written plan, a template is available from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (http://disastersafety.org/hurricane/). An emergency plan includes a detailed procedure for evacuation, a checklist for shutting down processes and protecting buildings, contents and equipment, and yard storage. Procedures should include salvage instructions to follow post-event.
Back up critical data and computer records off-site so that operations can continue after a disaster. Consider keeping a backup generator and plenty of batteries on hand so your business can continue to operate after a power loss.
As a storm approaches, quick actions should to be taken to install temporary protection features including:
Shutter or board up windows to protect them from flying debris
Clean out floor drains and catch basins to ensure maximum drainage
Anchor structures, trailers and yard storage so they are more likely to stay put in high winds
Fill emergency generator and fire pump fuel tanks
Shut down production processes safely
Shut off all flammable and combustible liquid and gas lines at their source
Shut off electrical power at the main building disconnect before the storm strikes
Once the storm has subsided and it is safe to return, a salvage team should be assembled and repair work prioritized, assuring proper supplies are available and safety procedures followed.
Claim Reporting
You may report claims in the folowing:
· Directly on line to your insurer: http://www.mmisi.com/claim.php
· Dial our central phone number: 800-800-8990
· Fax us at: 508-289-4111
· Email us at: murmac@mmisi.com
· Stop at our Bourne Office: 550 MacArthur Blvd Bourne, MA
· Stop at our Falmouth Office: 406 Jones Rd, Falmouth, MA


When leaving a message please:
· Identify your name,
· Location,
· Best phone number to reach you
· Email and,
· A brief explanation of damages
· We’ll contact as soon as possible

The Fisher Family's Story

Anther blog post by our intern Ben Whitney:
 
Every so often, an article comes up on Insurance Journal pertinent to topics I've written about before. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a big-time article about Progressive Insurance and their response to a claim regarding the death of a policy-holder and an at-fault under-insured motorist.

In June of 2010, Kaitlynn Fisher, the sister of NY-based comedian Matt Fisher, was killed when her car was hit by an under-insured motorist with Nationwide. As of two weeks ago, the claim had yet to be settled. As his frustration with Progressive boiled over, Matt took to Twitter and Tumblr to share his sister's story. Her story drew national attention in a viral manner, as Matt's Tumblr post was shared nearly 12,000 times in a matter of days. 

Kaitlynn was killed as she passed through an intersection on a green light and was struck by an under-insured motorist that had run a red light. The motorist was insured for $20,000 in personal liability coverage. When a driver is found to be at fault, the insurer is responsible for paying the victim up to the limits of the coverage. Nationwide settled with the Fisher family almost immediately, granting them the $20,000 owed under their insured's policy. In Matt Fisher's eyes, this remittance was seen as an admission of fault, something Progressive may not have interpreted the same way. 

Kaitlynn Fisher was insured for $100,000 in under-insured motorist protection. With Nationwide paying out $20,000, this leaves Progressive on the hook for $80,000. Law states that Progressive is only required to pay out Kaitlynn's policy if the driver is proven to be at fault. Progressive refused to pay $80,000 to the Fisher family, and the law forbid them from taking Progressive to court, thus the Fisher family was forced to prove the other driver's negligence in court. This is where things start to get a little shady, in Matt's eyes. 

Matt argues in another Tumblr post that Progressive legally defended the seemingly at-fault driver to disprove his negligence, thus relieving them of the liability to pay the remainder in Kaitlynn's under-insured motorist protection. Progressive counter argues that they did no such thing, but Matt's eyewitness account has me believing otherwise. He writes, "At the trial, the guy who killed my sister was defended by Progressive’s legal team. If you are insured by Progressive, and they owe you money, they will defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy."

To the relief of the Fisher family, the motorist was found to be at fault (though they felt this was the case all along). Hereby Progressive is legally required to honor Kaitlynn's auto policy and pay the remaining difference between her under-insured motorist coverage and Nationwide's payment. I can assure you that Matt Fisher isnt going to hold his breath until they do.  

Circling back to my blog post about the risks businesses face today, Progressive took a huge publicity hit over $80,000, a serious risk to its reputation. Progressive could have easily mitigated this risk through a number of tactics. Rather than dragging out the legal process for more than two years, Progressive could have settled outside of court with the Fisher family. Matt states that Progressive never offered more than one third of the difference between Kaitlynn's under-insured protection and Nationwide's remittance to her family. Progressive continued to actively defend the driver, who took Kaitlynn's life, in court, not good publicity for a company looking to protect its clients. Progressive believed there was credible evidence that Kaitlynn was at fault for the accident, and thus employed their legal team to prove so. Rather than put the Fisher family through the hardship that is both losing their young daughter and enduring the grueling legal process to collect on her policy, they could have taken Nationwide's lead and paid their portion. For the year ended Decembver 31, 2011, Progressive posted a Net Income of $1.015 billion. That $80,000 payment is immaterial to that amount. I believe that Matt Fisher's frustrations are more than warranted, and the public outcry arising from his story will be a lesson learned for Progressive. 

Weekend Recipe: Chili on the Stove

Do Sunday afternoons in the fall make you think of pulled pork sandwiches, crockpot chili, chicken noodle soup, fires in the fireplace, and football?

I mentioned last week, one of my favorite parts of fall are the fall inspired recipes.
Today I'm going to share with you one of my favorites, Chili. It's yummy, health, easy to make, and easy to alter to your taste.

Get the ingredients {or pull them from your cabinet}, make a pot of chili and sit down to watch the Patriots play some football on Sunday afternoon. Cheers.

Chili con Carne

The Players

1 lb Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey)
1 onion diced {more or less depending on taste or what you have on hand, if it's vidalia, probably a half}
1 pepper diced (Red, Green, Orange, Yellow - your preference) {I like to use green to offset the red chili/tomato color, and if you only have 1/2 or 3/4 of a pepper on hand, use it. No problem.}
1 can black beans (15.5 oz) {no need to rinse them}
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz) {I use Pomi in a box - I heard boxed tomatoes are healthier than canned?}
1 tsp salt {add to the ground beef; or more or less as needed}
1 cup beef bouillon {I make turkey stock from our Thanksgiving turkey and chicken stock from whole chickens we eat - I stockpile it in ziploc bags in the freezer for soups, rice, chili, etc - so it's ok if it's not beef bouillon}
2 tbsp chili powder {more if you like it spicy, I'm a mild salsa kind of person, to me it's just the right amount}
1 tsp cumin {gives it that delicious taco smell}
1 tsp curry {to taste, if you don't like curry, you can leave it out}
Chili peppers {just a few pieces of diced - depending on your tolerance for spicy foods, I usually omit this, personal preference}
Olive oil {2-4 tbsp - depending on how you cook}

The Play

Brown the beef with the salt {sometimes I add chili powder to the beef to really add flavor}.
In a dutch oven {or frying pan} heat olive oil and sauté the onion and pepper until soft {approx 5 min}
Add {to the dutch oven or pot} the diced tomatoes, canned black beans, browned beef - stir.
Add the boillon, chili powder, cumin, and curry - stir.
Add a little salt if you want.
Simmer on low heat for a few hours or cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes {careful if you have a gas stove as low on a gas stove is higher than low on an electric stove}
Serve w/grated cheese and bread.
To make the chili deliciousness last longer, cook up some rice and serve the chili on top of rice and top with grated cheese.

*This recipe can be adapted for the crock pot. Brown beef, sauté onion & pepper in a frying pan and add to a crock-pot with the other ingredients.

Serves approximately 4 adults. Easily doubled.

Happy Eating!

Are you ADDICTED to your phone?

If you're somewhat like me, you use your phone for a lot of things (besides making phone calls).

• Checking your email
• Updating a status on instagram, facebook, twitter, etc
• Texting a friend
• Updating your calendar (because your calendar is in your phone)
• Maintaining a "to do" list
• Taking pictures when you don't want to lug your DSLR camera around
• GPS for finding the new restaurant, visiting a friend, OR just figuring out how long it will take you to get somewhere (is there traffic?)
• New contacts
• Checking the weather in your town and for your weekend trip
• Track exercise - MapMyRide
• Track mileage for work purposes
• Etc

Do any of these resonate with you?

Did you know it's #nationalteendriversafetyweek?

It's not just the teens who need to remember to put their phones away. I don't text and drive, but I can tell you, my iPhone is a distraction when I'm driving. I have to remember to turn on Bluetooth and put my phone out of reach.

But, since it's National Teen Driver Safety Week, here's a little video on distracted driving by Mazda. They use a simulator similar to the one we used in June when we hosted Distractology 101 in June.

Remember, Arbella Insurance has Distractology, a course on Distracted Driving.

Please Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter.

Spontaneous Combustion and Your Dryer

Below is a post written by our intern, Ben Whitney, who is most likely in the throes of mid-terms and spreadsheets. Thanks Ben.

If I’ve learned anything in my short 20 years in the Earth, it is to always expect the unexpected. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know when your clothing dryer might spontaneous combust (or is it?).

However uncommon, dryer fires account for nearly $35 million in damages annually. With an average of 2,900 claims per year, that is average damages of $12,069 per reported fire. That is a heavy price to pay for not cleaning your dryer, not including the clothes inside.

Many factors contribute to the overheating and combustion of residential clothing dryers. Of the dryer fires that occur annually, 34% can be attributed to failure to clean or properly maintain your dryer. The build-up of lint and debris can block airways in the dryer, causing it to overheat and spontaneously ignite. Emptying the lint try before every cycle and checking the ducts and vents could save you thousands.

 

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Does your dryer vent look like this?

Of the contents of the dryer, lint, fiber, and dust are most likely to ignite, followed closely by the actual clothes in the dryer. I would hate to lose my favorite clothes in the dryer (my Holy Name Football sweatpants that my girlfriend has staked her claim to). Fifty-four percent of dryer fires are contained to the object of origin, but that leaves a large likelihood the fire could spread to surrounding contents of the room. That would also mean that all the popcorn, candy, and snacks in my house would be gone too.

 

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If you hire a duct cleaner, you make bring your duct from fuzzy to clean.

It takes simple steps to prevent a dryer fire from happening to you. Accumulated lint can severely inhibit the airflow in your dryer, so take the time to clean it occasionally. Most dryers have a vent leading outside, so there is the potential that debris or even animal nests could block up that vent, leading to backflow or hot air. Any blockage of air can cause your dryer to ignite, take the necessary measures to prevent it. 

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Weekend Recipe: Aunt Carol's Apple Pie

Did you go apple picking this year?
One of the fabulous aspects of fall {in my opinion} is the opportunity to change up the cooking.
Chili, soups, roasted veggies, apple pie, pot roast, fall recipes.
Mmm...

One year, it was my job to bring the apple pie to thanksgiving dinner. I had never {really} made a successful apple pie. Apple crisp. Check. Apple pie. Not. I did volunteer as I had an abundance of apples that year {I think we went to the orchard to pick apples at least 3 times}.

I searched my favorite iPhone app for apple pie recipes{allrecipes - they also have a website} and came across Aunt Carol's Apple Pie. As I read through the directions, I couldn't believe my luck. It looked easy, tasty AND best of all, it received 4.5 stars {out of 5} with many positive reviews.

I brought my newborn son and my homemeade Apple Pie to thanksgiving... Success. And it was done with a newborn... The most time-consuming = coring & peeling the apples.

In light of fall in New England, I'm going to share the best apple pie secret I know. Please comment if you have suggestions on making it even tastier!
{found here: Aunt Carol's Apple Pie}

Aunt Carol's Apple Pie

8 Servings, Prep Time: 25 Minutes, Cook Time: 1 Hour
Description

Everyone in the family has something that they're the best at making. I make the best cookies, my sister, Carol, makes the best pies in the whole world! . . . no competition in our family! This recipe includes an ingredient called free flowing brown sugar. This is a non-clumping or caking version of ordinary brown sugar. It has a lower moisture content then the traditional one, which makes it free flowing much like granulated sugar. It is available at most specialty supermarket. If it is not available in your part of the world, use regular brown sugar and make sure it is broken up, free of clumps. Macintosh or Granny Smith apples are the best choices for apple pie because they are the least mushy apples.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Directions

1. Peel and slice apples. Toss with sugars, cinnamon and flour. Set aside.
2. Roll crust to make slightly larger to fit 10-inch glass pie pan. Fit bottom crust in pie pan. Turn in apple mixture and dot with butter. Put crust on top and crimp edges of crust together.
3. Wet hands with water and dampen top of pie. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Puncture top of pie with fork so pie will vent.

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for about 45 minutes more, until crust is golden brown. It's a good practice to place a piece of aluminum foil slightly larger than the pie under the pie plate to catch overflows. Serve warm.

A few tips:

• Granny Smith does work best, but I have used McIntosh, Macoun and Gala.
• It's ok if you don't have 2 pounds - one time I used 1.25 pounds of apples (and used less sugar).
• If you are up for it, try making your own pie crust - I did and it was delicious (although, now I can't find the pie crust recipe I originally used)
• I improvised and made a few changes, but I'll let you decide what changes you want to make.

 As an added bonus - the nutrition information - although you should probably block it out.

Nutritional Information Servings Per Recipe: 8 Amount Per Serving Calories: 492 Cholesterol: 7.6mg Protein: 3.9g Dietary Fiber: 5.5g Sodium: 257.0mg Fat: 18.3g Carbohydrates: 81.0g

Happy Weekend!

Car Insurance Comparison

Below is a fun comparison:

1991: $800 Cost of Car Insurance in Massachusetts
2011: $840 Cost of Car Insurance in Massachusetts

The above numbers represent average.

How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1991 compared to 2011? I bet it increased by more than 5%.
The average cost of insurance has increased only 5% since 1991. That's a lot less than inflation - about one quarter of one percent per year for 21 years.

Year		Starting Premium	Interest Rate
1	802	800	1.0025
2	804
3	806
4	808
5	810
6	812
7	814
8	816
9	818
10	820
11	822
12	824
13	826
14	828
15	831
16	833
17	835
18	837
19	839
20	841
21	843

A gallon of gas in 2001 was approximately $1.25. If it maintained a similar increase to insurance, it would be $1.29/gallon {wouldn't that be nice?}
Today, in 2012 a gallon of gas is approximately $3.75.
That's a 3 times the cost in 2001. That's an increase of 10.5% PER YEAR.
Can you imagine if your car insurance went up 10.5%/year for 10 years?

Instead of your car insurance being $840, the average policy would be $2,400.
Outrageous.

Well, I'm not here to talk about outrageous gasoline prices.

Do you know WHY auto insurance is cheaper {comparatively speaking} than gas?

Cars are safer. People are more aware of the dangers of drinking & driving and distracted driving.
There are fewer accidents and thefts. There are more people who have insurance.
If someone drives a Massachusetts registered vehicle without insurance, the insurance rates of everyone else increase.

Remember, the next time you're paying your insurance bill, your insurance didn't increase nearly as much as the cost to fill your car with gas.

It's Still Hurricane Season

September is Life Insurance Awareness month, but we're going to pause for a moment.

Did you know the Atlantic Hurricane season is from June 1, 2012 to November 30, 2012 this year?
Six months of potential hurricanes?
Summer is over and the threat of hurricanes has subsided in New England.
People think about fall, leaves, apples, and impending Nor' Easters this time of year.

Check out our infographic below. What do you think?

Have you weathered a hurricane? Do you have any stories? The hurricane that caused the most damage in New England, that I recall, was Hurricane Bob. I remember driving around Falmouth at the age of 7 and seeing the damage first hand- houses blown over or washed away, boats washed up onto the road, trees down everywhere, no power for at least 3 days (and that was good, some people were out for 7+ days). Our family was lucky and only experienced two trees falling down in our yard (near our swing-set, oh the sadness for us kids if the swing-set was hit), people we knew had trees fall on their homes, businesses, cars, etc.

Murray & MacDonald Insurance had a high number of claims being reported every minute. We didn't have power for first FOUR days. Can you imagine no power for that long? We had one phone line working. Our strategy was: take a phone call call, get the critical information, take their phone number, tell them you'll call back. Pull their paper file. Call back from a cell phone. We had to keep the main line open for clients to call. (Remember, this was before call waiting). All claims were hand written. Critical claims were sent to the company immediately. That means if the fence in your backyard fell down, the claim process will take a little longer than someone who can't live in their house, don't have a house, have a huge whole in your roof/floor/wall.
Today, it's different. We function off the internet. What happens when we lose the internet? If Cape Cod faces a major storm, Murray & MacDonald is prepared. Do we have a generator, no? We have some better, it's called Agility Recovery Solutions. If our agency suffers damage, loses power, can't access the internet, we bring in the disaster solution.
Come back tomorrow to see what I'm talking about.

Life Insurance Awareness

We will start off with an interesting infographic I found (link listed below).

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Do you have at least 10x your annual income? Does it sound like a lot?

Let's start with funeral costs.

See the below infographic.

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 You could say we've gone morbid, but it is an important thing to plan for. You don't want to burden your loved one (who is already grieving) with the cost of funeral expenses.

Friday, we will discuss the life insurance suggestion.

WHY do experts and professionals recommend 10x the annual income?

If you want a life insurance evaluation or a second opinion on your current life insurance.
Here's a brief explanation on the importance of life insurance here.
 Please contact us here for more information.

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