Whether you’re a hardcore biking enthusiast or more of a casual cruiser, riding your bike is a great way to enjoy the outdoors – and a healthier way to get around, too. After each ride, it’s important to remember to lock your bike up so thieves can’t steal it. Bike safety and advocacy group Bicycle Law estimates somewhere between 800,000 and 2 million bicycles are stolen each year. Just under half of stolen bikes are recovered, but only 5 percent are ultimately returned to their owners. Read more: Your Guide to Buying a Safe Bike Helmet A good bicycle can cost anywhere from a few hundred do ..read more

Imagine this: You’re leaving your house, ready to tackle the working day, only to discover a large, inexplicable hole where your car is supposed to be.  That’s the thing about sinkholes. They’re just baffling. At first glance, sinkholes are nature’s slapstick: sudden, unpredictable, dramatic and absurd. But there’s a serious side, too – lives have been lost in sinkholes, and the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that sinkholes cause about $300 million in damage per year.  So what causes them? And is there anything homeowners can do to protect themselves? Let’s find out.   Causes of a Sinkhole ..read more

It’s been said that the kitchen is the heart of a home. That’s because for many families, it’s where you spend most of your time – whether it’s preparing meals, doing homework or chatting over a cup of coffee. Kitchens are not just for cooking anymore. With the increasing busyness of family life and the popularity of open concept floor plans, the kitchen has slowly become the new living room. But if your kitchen is starting to feel outdated, it may not be your favorite place to spend time. According to Home Advisor, the average cost of a kitchen remodel is more than $20,000. But luckily, ther ..read more

The days are longer and the temperature is warm. If you have young children, chances are they spend a lot of time cooped up inside or staring at screens. And maybe you haven’t been so active yourself.  Looking for a fun way to enjoy the outdoors? Here are some game ideas to help you soak up the sunshine from the safety of your driveway:  Basketball: If you have a hoop in your driveway, there is no shortage of basketball games. Whether it’s a classic game of one-on-one, or a twist like HORSE or knockout, a home court can provide hours of driveway fun. Sidewalk chalk: Sidewalk chalk is a child ..read more

The mudroom is one place in your home where you can excuse a bit of a mess. After all, the word “mud” is in the name, right?  It’s true that there’s nothing glamorous about corralling your family’s shoes, coats and backpacks. But just because the mudroom serves as a transition between your home and the messiness of the outdoors doesn’t mean it has to be cluttered.  Designed for living: Learn more about homeowners insurance from ERIE With the right perspective, you can turn this hard-working room into a space that’s not just functional – but stylish, too.  So how do you bring some order to a r ..read more

If you’re like most Americans, you probably rely on the internet to do everything from buying birthday presents and booking vacations to managing your bank account and paying bills.  But for every transaction you make, you’re trusting a company with some type of personal information. And even if you’re not making purchases online yourself, most corporate systems are still connected to the internet. All this means that your personal data is likely being stored in dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of online databases.  Learn More: How to Add Identity Theft Recovery Coverage to Your Policy Data s ..read more

Daydreaming while driving is more dangerous than you’d think – and our new review of police data shows just when drivers might be “lost in thought” enough to cause a fatal crash. According to a new review of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data, Saturdays in September are the biggest days for fatal car crashes involving daydreaming while driving, and Tuesdays in February are lowest. The new review builds upon Erie Insurance’s previous analysis, which found that being “generally distracted” or “lost in thought” – otherwise known as daydreaming – is the number-one distraction noted in ..read more

As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This is especially true when it comes to your collection of family photos.  We take photos to capture the most significant milestones in our lives. Whether it’s your wedding day, the birth of a child or their high school graduation, pictures can take us back to a moment in time – even as memories fade.  But as much as we value and cherish our photo collections, let’s be honest: most of us do little to protect them. You may have boxes of physical photos tucked away in a closet. Or thousands of digital files stored on a hard drive ..read more