Why Insurance Agents Worry About Their Clients

More and more individuals are becoming victims of identity theft.  Your money is insured through the bank or credit card company.   If you are a victim of identity theft and catch it soon enough your bank or credit card company will cancel the card or account, confirm any recent transactions and start and investigation process.  If you are not aware of accounts that may have been created in your name or using your private data it can be very costly and time consuming to recover your identity. 

Recently, many insurance carriers are aware of this problem and automatically include identity theft recovery coverage as part of the coverage provided on your homeowners or renters policy.  In some cases this coverage can also be added by endorsement for a small additional charge if not automatically included.

So what exactly is identity theft?  Identity theft occurs when a person uses another persons identification documents or other identifiers in order to impersonate that person for what ever reason.  Approximately, 10 million individuals in the US were victims of identity theft last year alone.   If not caught soon enough, you may need to hire and attorney, lose time from work, pay for duplicate copies of forms, all of which can add up.  Most of the policies we offer will pay up to $25,000 to cover these costs.

Please check out the infographic below for more information about identity theft and how to prevent it.

To find out if you have identity theft recovery coverage on your policy, even if you are not our current client, contact us at one of our three locations or visit us on the web and get a free insurance review.

Have you ever been victim to a frivolous lawsuit?

Did you know that included in many insurance policies is liability coverage.  There are many different types of policies and liability coverage.  Your homeowner or renters policy usually provides personal liability.  This type of liability is very broad and covers "you" anywhere.  Most people think that the liability coverage provided on this type of policy only protects you if someone gets hurt on the property.  Actually, it is much broader than that.   This is the type of liability coverage I am going to focus on today.  Here is some more specific information, in hopefully easy to understand language:

Personal Liability:  Found on  your homeowners or renters policy.  You must read your specific policy language for specifics of what is covered or not covered.  Who is covered is also defined in your policy language.  However, in most cases "YOU" are a named insured and any resident relatives.  Also, in most cases the policy language states that they will pay all sums up to the amount shown on the declaration page which anyone we protect becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of a personal injury or property damage resulting from an occurrence during the policy period.  

A good example is if you are in the supermarket and you accidentally hit someone or perhaps their vehicle with your shopping cart.  If you are sued, your insurance company will hire and attorney, investigate, and if necessary go to court and pay any claims up to the limit on your policy.

If your son or daughter, who lives with you, is playing in the yard and accidentally knocks a ball through a window - a neighbors house or car, again you will be protected.

Here is the most important thing I want you to know about this coverage and the least known:

Personal liability coverage is the LEAST expensive coverage on  your policy. Often times $100,000 worth of coverage is automatically included in your premium. Did you know that usually for $20-$30 approximately more a year you can make that $1,000,000.  

Please contact us if you would like a free review of your current home or renters policy, even if you are with another agent or if you would like to increase your coverage.

You can also contact us on the web and get a free homeowner quote or visit us at one of our three locations.

SPECIAL REPORT: How to Protect & Improve Your Credit Score

Did you know that having a good credit record could save you $6,000 in interest when buying a $20,000 car over four years? Multiply that by the size of the loan and a longer period and you'll get some idea of the dramatic difference in repayments on a mortgage -- with a poor credit record you could pay as much as $40,000 more on a $300,000, 30-year loan.

Lenders use what's known as a FICO score to decide how much interest you should pay, or if they should even lend to you at all. The higher your score, the lower the likely interest rate. So it obviously makes sense to do all you can to protect and improve that score.

But how do you do that?

Well, your credit rating is under attack on two fronts: First, from the way you run your finances; and second, from crooks who steal credit cards or even assume someone else's identity and run up huge debts.

Managing Your FICO Score

Let's talk about your finances first. Your FICO score is calculated by a secret formula by a private company, based on information from the credit reporting agencies. The agencies -- Equifax, Experian, and Transunion -- maintain records of all your credit cards and loan payments, including how much you owe and whether you made your payments in time.

You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies once a year via the site AnnualCreditReport.com. Avoid other sites offering a free service because this will usually have strings attached. You can't get your FICO score for free though (except as an opening incentive to get you to sign up for a recurring-fee, score-monitoring service), but you can buy it for about 20 bucks from myFICO.com.

A good score is 760 or above and a really bad score is 620 and the difference between the two can account for up to a couple of percentage points in the interest rate you pay. Here are some of the things you can do to keep your score as high as possible.

• First, and most obviously, always make your payments on or before the due date. If this is likely to be a problem, contact the lender to discuss arrangements.
• Try to keep your credit or store card spending at 30% or less of your limit. Note that even if you pay off your card every month, the agencies report on how much you owed before the payment.
• So, bearing the above in mind, spread your payments between several cards to keep that percentage down, and don't ask the card companies to reduce your credit limits!
• For the same reason, consolidating all your debt on to one card may push you over that magical 30% on the chosen card, which could go against your score.
• Hold on to and use your "old" cards -- the ones you've had the longest (and kept in good health) seem to rate highest in calculating your score.
• Monitor you credit reports using the free service mentioned above. Stagger the three reports across the year -- one every four months -- and check for errors in things like credit limits and late payments.
• If you find errors, contact the card company or ledner and ask them to correct them. They may even agree to remove one late payment notice if you've otherwise been a good customer.
• Generally, don't have too many cards, although successfully applying for credit when you've had past financial troubles can sometimes help lift your score.

Protecting Your Credit Record from Crooks

Monitoring those credit agency reports will flag up anything unusual with your cards -- for example, cards or loans taken out in your name that you know nothing about. But you need to be much more vigilant than that because, by the time you identify this kind of activity, your credit record and score may already have been wrecked and it takes an age to set them straight.

Instead, you should also monitor all your financial accounts as often as possible to spot discrepancies. If you can access accounts online, you could set up a routine that ensures you check at least one of your accounts every day. If you only get printed statements once a month, check every item carefully.

If you discover any spending that's not yours, notify the card company (there should be a 1-800 number on the back -- keep a separate note of this) or other lender. You should also notify the credit reporting agencies (Equifax 1-800-525-6285; Experian 1-888-397-3742; Transunion 1-800-680-7289)  -- and the police, of course.

If either threat to your credit record really worries you, you might consider having your records and accounts professionally monitored. Services usually cost around $15 a month. Search online for "credit record monitoring."

A good credit score will save you money and a good credit record may even be a factor in employment. It pays to look after them.

Please feel free to visit us online or contact us at one of our three locations

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What May or May Not be Covered on a Standard Homeowner Policy

Did you know that the following may not be covered on a standard homeowner policy?

All insurance policies are limited as to the coverage that they provide, if they did not we would all be paying much higher premiums.  Among the things that are not covered, we have identified some coverage options you may want to add to your standard homeowner policy.  

• Sump Pump Failure, sewer and drain backup
  
• Any at home business including daycare
  
• Any collections, jewelry, guns, furs, silverware, antiques, money, & cold all have very limited coverage
  
• Earthquake coverage
  
• Sinkhole collapse
  
• Watercraft Coverage including their trailers
  
• Trailers and campers
  
• Ordinance or law - if at the time of a loss a building code requires you to rebuild to comply with the ordinance - this coverage provides the extra expense to do this.
  
• Trees, Shrubs, Plants & Lawns

To find out more information or to find out if your policy covers any or all of the above please feel free to visit us on the web or contact us at one of our three locations.  

We also offer FREE insurance reviews even if you are not our customer. Contact us and we will go over your current policy and point out any coverage gaps.

Halloween Safety

Are you going to take your children trick or treating this year?  If yes, we suggest a community sponsored event like a mall, school, party etc.  Door to door in today's day in age is really not safe anymore- especially without an adult or parent present.

I found this great acronym on the CDC website and thought I would share to help keep our trick or treaters safe this year:

Going trick-or-treating?

	Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
	Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
	Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
	Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
	Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you. Always WALK and don't run from house to house.
	Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent possible skin and eye irritation.
	Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
	Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.
	Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
	Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
	Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.
	Enter homes only if you're with a trusted adult. Only visit well-lit houses. Don't stop at dark houses. Never accept rides from strangers.
	Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

Parents please be sure to examine your children's candy before they consume ANY.  Dispose of any unwrapped candy, apples, etc anything that is not in its original packaging or wrapper.  Examine the wrapped candy for tampering.  Discard any candy with torn or missing wrappers.  Homemade treats also should be discarded unless you know the person who made them.  Homemade treats can make a person sick, even if it is not intentional.  Some hospitals also open their doors to allow candy to be closely examined through and X-ray machine to check for pins, razors, etc.  Lastly, it is important to smell the candy too, a strange odor can also be an indicator, promptly discard any foul smelling items in your bag.  Here is a great article with more specific information: Candy Examination.

For more information visit us online at www.tiains.com.

Government Shutdown

If your like me you're trying to figure out what's open and what's closed with this government shut down.  I contacted the USDA and they were closed yesterday. The voice mail said they were out of the office no return date set and they will not be checking email or voice mail while on furlough.  However, I am still getting mail every day. Both are Federal departments of the United States Government.

So here is a condensed list of what's what:

USPS, otherwise known as MAIL, still continues to be delivered.  The reason for this is because the USPS does not receive money from taxes it is funded by its own income producing sources, like postage for example.

National Parks and National Museums, are all closed.  This has a trickle effect on the economy.  If you are located in the eastern part of the state, for example, it is peak season for tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful fall foliage.  However if you wanted to stay in a state park you may have cancelled your trip and other local businesses are losing out because your are not there to eat at their diner or shop at their gift shop.

Air Travel, thankfully Air Traffic Controllers and airport security  are not on furlough... can you imagine?? Unbelievably though, federal plane INSPECTORS are on furlough as well as some aircraft repair stations. The International Embassy's are still open and passports and visas are still being processed.  Again because fees are generated from these directly.

If you collect social security, unemployment or medicare you are still receiving your benefits. Federal courts continue to operate for the time being, however non essential personnel could be furloughed if the issues at hand are not resolved quickly. Women Infants and Children (WIC), Food Stamps and school lunch program only has enough funding to make it through October it has been reported and they may cease at that time.

Another department that is experiencing the shutdown directly is the Food Safety Division.  If a recall or outbreak occurs the department said they could handle it but the people who investigate the outbreaks are on furlough! There won't be any inspectors visiting anytime in the near future either to be sure your facility is clean.  However, Meat inspectors still continue to be in meat packing plants every day, as required by law.

Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Prisons, NASA, National Weather Service are still pretty much operating as normal, some non essential employees have been furloughed.

Loans - If you are trying to purchase a home you can expect a delay and if the shutdown continues it will be worse.  The reason is that they banks require tax data.   Unfortunately the IRS will not be processing any taxes or conducting audits during the shutdown. The applications for FHA mortgages and government loans for small businesses have been shut down.

So that's the abbreviated version.  If you have questions I would suggest calling the IRS or the department in question, but in most cases you won't get any answer.  If you try going to many of the links I provided, same thing.  Sorry were closed.

Here is a link that does work to get some more detailed information on the departments and programs affected by the shutdown and those that remain open.  You also can go to:  http://www.usa.gov/

Visit us on the web at www.tiains.com.

Disaster Preparedness

I recently came across the reality show Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic Channel.  I have to admit I was hooked well for a hour or so.   Some people take this to the extreme - or so it seems anyway. However, It made me stop and think.  I thought about what I would have or do if I suddenly had no power for more than a few hours.  I would have no water, no can opener, no stove, no microwave. I have a family and just to be safe I started taking a few simple precautions.  Not building an underground shelter but setting a side a few simple supplies in case my family and I should need them.

Travelers Insurance has a wealth of helpful information on their website and anyone with an internet connection can access it.  There are several other sites available...some perhaps not so reputable.  I would stick to Insurance companies, and government sites like the CDC  and of course the Department of Homeland Security  and lastly FEMA .

If you don't want to read up, here are a few simple things you can do:

1) Get a couple of gallon jugs of spring water at your next trip to the store.  They are usually less than $1 each.  They suggest a gallon of water per person per day.  

2) Stock up on extra can goods (already cooked) like beans, soup, raviolis, fruit, etc.  The best way is to purchase them with the pull tab tops.

3) Non-electric can opener

4) Portable battery operated radio

5) Batteries

6) Blanket (ideally one for every person in the household)

7) Matches in a zip lock bag

8) First aid kit

9) Flashlight (rechargeable that do not need batteries is best)

10) Dust masks, these are really inexpensive and can be purchased at even the dollar store

11) Baby wipes, garbage bags and twist ties

12) Infant formula, diapers, baby food

13) Prescription medications, vitamins, and glasses

14) Some basic tools, wrench or pliers, screwdriver, hammer, utility knife

Of course there are lots of variations on this and you can find them by checking out the links I provided.

I gathered as much as I could and threw it in a backpack.  Hopefully I will never need to use this in my lifetime, but I am prepared at least for a couple days.

If you have questions or need more information go to www.tiains.com or stop into one of our three locations. We would be happy to print you out a checklist to help you be prepared.

Routine Maintenance

It's Monday and for some of us it means the beginning of the work week.  Which brings me back to my post Last week.  Computers at work...

Friday or Monday is a great day to do all your routine maintenance on your Windows based computer at work.  Before you leave the office today, take a few minutes and do the following:

1)Disk Cleanup:  Found in the accessories folder under system tools.  Helps clean-up any temporary files, recycle bins and other files that may be cluttering up your hard drive and even slowing it down.

2)Defrag:  Also Found in the accessories folder under system tools, helps to organize your files (in the background).  Every time you open and close a file, or delete something off of your hard drive it leaves "bits" and pieces behind.. yes pun intended!  This puts everything back where it should be.  When you run defrag the computer will ask you to analyze it first.  I wouldn't even bother doing that often times what it thinks is acceptable level is not acceptable to the user.  Just run defrag, do not analyze.

3)IE:  If you are using Internet Explorer (IE), it is a good idea to clean it out regularly also.  Here are a few suggestions to keep it running smoothly.  Go to tools, internet options and delete your browsing history - temporary internet files, cookies, form data, passwords and in private filtering data.  You may think it saves time to have the PC save this information, but it could pose a security risk.

4)Updates:  Windows should be set to download and install updates automatically.  This will help your computer stay up to date on security patches, bug fixes etc.  Also if you have an Anti-virus or Anti-Malware program installed like Microsoft Essentials or Malwarebytes it is very important these are also set to download  & install automatically.  You can also open these programs and choose update to be sure.  You should also run a "quick" scan about an hour before you are scheduled to leave for the day.  This will slow you down but ensure you are virus and/or malware free!

5)BACKUP:  Most of our work is done on internet based software programs.  However, if you save files to your hard-drive or if you have a server in the office you should be doing regular backups.  Keep one back up in the office and one off-site.  USB storage devices are very inexpensive and can easily be transported. There are also several companies now offering online virtual storage for you. Like icloud for example.  Do your homework before choosing one of these options. To be sure the site is legitimate, safe and secure.

6)Dust:  Dust is responsible for many hardware failures.  It can clog important pieces of equipment inside your computer and prevent them from operating or cooling properly.  You should never use a liquid on your computer inside or out!  Invest in a can of 'air' and spray your keyboard and the rear of your computer by the fan.  Just be sure you are not blowing the dust back inside, hold it at an angle so it blows dust out and away.

All the things I mentioned above should be done once a week to keep everything running smoothly. You should also do these things at home, depending on how much you use your computer you might get away with bi-weekly.

Your Employees Are Being Attacked!

Your business could be in jeopardy.  Employee PC’s are the most common form of a security breach.  It is really easy to trick someone into clicking on a link or opening an email and in return you open the door for cyber criminals potentially giving them access to your business data and even can shut down your entire operation.

Here are the most common threats and what you and your employees can do to avoid them:

1)      Phishing:  In a phishing scam, usually an email or link is sent via a social network trying to get you to download malware unknowingly or to type in sensitive information.  Often times it appears to come from a legitimate source or addressed specifically to you.  However, If you look closely something is just not right.  Often times there is a spelling error or the address it is from is not the company or individual it appears to be from, but some other odd name with with the actual name in it to sound legitimate. Take steps to recognize and delete suspicious emails.

2)      Malware or Scareware:  In these types of attacks we unknowingly go to a website, perhaps it came up in a search engine and you clicked on it.  Suddenly, a message pops up saying you are infected or your PC has been compromised or you have registry errors and even that your PC has been confiscated by the government!  In order to solve the problem you just need to “click here” and magically all the problems will be solved…that is after you give out sensitive information like your credit card because it will only cost $9.95!  Unfortunately after you enter your information, nothing happens… there is no fix and actually you just downloaded a virus.  A little education can go a long way in teaching your employees how to spot these type of attacks.

3)      File Sharing:  Everyone likes free stuff!  It is really tempting to sign up for a peer to peer network and share files that you would other wise have to pay for like music for example.  Unfortunately this too is a very common way for viruses to infect your computer.  It opens an door to your computer and therefore your network!  It is a good idea to prohibit Peer to Peer networks in the office.  Often times they are also illegal.

4)      Social Networking:  Social networks are becoming more and more popular and even more popular with cyber criminals.  The posts you see “Click if you like if you want her dad to quit smoking” or “click like if you want this kitty reunited with her owner” are ways of tricking you to click like.  The more likes the post gets the more money they can make.  The page might be called something you can relate too, and they post things that you like, then once they get enough followers they sell the page to someone else. There are several examples of links spreading on social networks that are infecting unsuspecting computers.  Again, training employees to spot scams and keeping your profile and information private (friends only) are steps in the right direction.

5)      Mobile Malware:  Now that smart phones and tablets are becoming more and more popular, it is important to note that cyber criminals realize this too.  iPhones and iPads are pretty secure because iTunes & the app store really monitors and regulates what is available for download on those types of devices.  However, android and no name brand tablets are at risk.  There are what appears to be legitimate applications free for download and in fact it is malware in disguise.  Do a little research if you are not familiar with an app before you agree to download.

6)      Cross-Site Scripting (XSS):  Often time we think of security breaches coming from going to illicit or illegal websites and they do, but XSS comes from the smartest cyber criminals hijacking a legitimate website and changing the HTML code to their own malicious code.  This lets them at the very least steal your info and it could be very detrimental.  Protect yourself by keeping your security programs up to date, disable Java and any other unnecessary features.

7)      Drive by Download:  This refers to a system vulnerability, usually in your browser that allows viruses and malware to be downloaded automatically and installed on your computer – often times without you even knowing.  Ways to protect your self and your PC, make sure your browser is up to date and any applicable security patches installed.

The bottom line?  Training and education and regular system maintenance it the best way to protect your employees and your business you worked so hard to build.