f you’re worried about your newly licensed teenager getting behind the wheel of a car, you’re not alone. Many parents feel uneasy when their children reach driving age. Inexperience coupled with potential distractions can put teens at a higher risk than drivers who already have a few years under their belt. But there are ways to help your child drive safely once they get behind the wheel. Here are some teen driving tips that can help: 1. Accompany Your Teen Driver for a Period of Time The risk of a crash is highest in a teen’s first year of driving.1 To help reduce this risk, give your ..read more

Make yourself visible no matter the time of day. 1. Be seen, but ride like you can’t be – Adding lights to your bike makes it more visible, day or night. Strobing lights are better than reflectors. You can even add lights to your clothing, with high-visibility clothing working wonders at dawn, dusk and when the sun is bright. Despite the effort of being seen, ride as if you’re wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. Drivers naturally look for vehicles that occupy a full lane rather than thin vehicles occupying about a third of the lane, as that’s what they experience most of the time. To ..read more

With the heightened awareness of identity theft and cyberattacks, it makes sense to protect our families at home. But how do we do that? We talked with the experts from our IT security team to give you 10 ways to protect your family from identity theft, both online and offline. Use multifactor authentication Label the inside of children’s belongings, not the outside Monitor children’s technology usage Wait to share your vacation photos on social media Configure your smart home technology Keep your Wi-Fi password safe Take care of your devices Keep purses and wallets out of sight Store and dis ..read more

The winds are picking up and those clouds aren’t looking friendly. This may be the time you start thinking about what your home insurance covers. Be honest: is it the first time you’ve thought about it since buying your house? You’re not alone. To help in these unnerving moments, let’s go over some of the common concerns homeowners have about what storm damage their home insurance may cover and what it may not. Your homeowners insurance policy covers certain types of water damage.  Water damage can be devastating after a severe storm. So, it’s important to know what types of water damage ..read more

Home insurance and home warranty…they sound similar and even seem like they mean the same thing, but there are actually some pretty big differences. Read on to learn more about some of the bigger differences between home insurance and home warranty plans and how they could be beneficial to you and your property. Let’s start with the basics. Home insurance provides coverage for: Your structure(s), such as your home, garage, deck, sheds, etc. Your personal belongings, such as furniture, clothing and jewelry (subject to individual policy limitations) Your liability, which covers damages to othe ..read more

Take advantage of the mild spring weather by starting your annual spring cleaning early. With this checklist, we’ve made it easy to get your home ready for those April showers and summer storms. [1] Wipe down outdoor furniture You can help your outdoor furniture last longer by cleaning it after the long winter. First, spray with a garden hose on the strongest setting to loosen the dust and dirt. Then, mix a quarter cup of dishwashing soap in a decent-sized bucket of water and wipe down the furniture with a sponge or rag. Finally, rinse again with the water from your garden hose. You should cl ..read more

While fire may be a more common concern among homeowners, your home could in fact be as much as ten times more likely to be damaged by water than by fire.1 Significant sources of water damage to your property can come from flooding, including flooding from heavy rains, flash floods, dam and levee failures, tidal storm surges, mudflows and snow melt. In addition, new construction of buildings, roads or bridges can alter the flow of water, increasing the potential for flooding. Living in a high-risk flood zone can increase the likelihood of experiencing a flood, but being outside a high-risk zo ..read more

Have you noticed an increase in your home and/or auto rates recently? If so, you’re not alone. But, we get it. Just because it’s happening to a lot of people doesn’t necessarily make you feel better. Let’s dive into the “why” behind these increases, so you can stay in-the-know. Let’s begin with home insurance. Accumulated claim history throughout the market plays a role in the increase of home insurance premiums along with severe weather events, labor shortages and the increased cost of building materials. Weather events were anything but quiet in 2023. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad ..read more

Cleaning can be a hassle and time-consuming, but the end result — a clean house — is definitely worth it. Check out the top 11 tips to cut down on the time it takes to scrub your house, top to bottom: 1. Create a housecleaning plan. To cut down on the time it takes to clean, start with a plan which you can use every time you scrub the house. Work one room at a time, starting and finishing at the same spot for each room. When you do the same thing every time you clean, it becomes a routine and decreases the time it takes. [1] 2. Declutter and organize. Before you even start cleaning, give your ..read more

You never know when you might get in an auto accident — or who the other driver will be. That’s where UM and UIM coverage comes in. You never know when you or one of your employees might get in an auto accident when driving a company vehicle. According to the Insurance Research Council, one in seven drivers doesn’t carry auto insurance. If your company vehicle is hit by one of those drivers, it could mean substantial costs to your business. That’s where uninsured motorists (UM) and underinsured motorists (UIM) coverage come in. They often are built into your auto policy, although the coverage ..read more