Thanks for a great year! We hope you have a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Happy Halloween!

As usual, we insurance folks want to make sure that everyone out there is as safe as possible, and Halloween is no exception.

It can be a little nerve wracking to know that our children are out walking around in the dark in costumes, even when they are in our neighborhoods.

Some of the basics for kids:

1) Carry a flashlight to make sure cars can see you
2) Avoid trick or treating alone, make sure adults are with the group
3) Stay on sidewalks as much as possible and, oif course, always look both ways before crossing the street

Below are a few websites with Halloween safety tips for you and your family.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Center for Disease Control

Halloween Safety Guide

Mayo Clinic

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Has your insurance company unilaterally raised your homeowner's insurance deductible?

Did they even bother to tell you?

We don't think this is a particularly "neighborly" thing to do! (See what I did there?)

Well, we've heard from several people recently that this has happened to them, and we've been able to help.

We represent several companies that write homeowner's insurance, and you can still choose the deductible option that you are most comfortable with, whether it is $500 or $5,000. If you want to have a policy with that $2,500 deductible, we can do that too!

And what's the best part? As an Independent Agent, if the company we have you written with does something crazy (like raising your deductible without telling you), we can find a different company for you!

Contact us today for a quote!

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In my reading, I found that the Red Cross has a highly recommended hurricane app.

From the website:

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It appears as though Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the East Coast pretty hard.

We may even have some extreme winter weather to go along with it.

As a result, the governor has declared  a state of emergency in Virginia.

We want to make sure that everyone stays safe out there, and we also wanted to share these two helpful checklists from Philadelphia Insurance:

The first is a Windstorm Safety Checklist

The second is a Rainstorm Emergency Checklist

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Be sure to come out to the 2012 Shenandoah Valley Agritourism Festival on October 21.

Agriculture and Agribusiness are very significant parts of the economy in Virginia, and this is your chance to come out and learn a little more about what local farmers are doing in the Commonwealth.

You can find the schedule of events here.

This will be a great opportunity to check out local foods and support our agriculture industry.

Hope to see you there!

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Wreck Check was created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to help insureds get the proper information at the scene of an accident.

Now, I know this is not as exciting as a music app, or a fun game, but if you download this app and enter the information now, you'll be in far better shape if you are involved in any kind of car accident in the future.

The picture that is displayed is the screen where you begin to report the accident. The app has a button that allows you to call 911, you can input info on the time and place of the accident, tell who was involved and what vehicles and even take photos.

Once all that is done, you can email the information to your insurance agent (you do know their email address, right?)*

* Our customers can email claims @thefulleragency.com.

The NAIC realized that many people either don't know what information to get, or tend to share too much. From their website:

• Nearly 40 percent of respondents felt they should share their driver’s licenses; one in six would allow the other driver to photograph their licenses as a convenient way to exchange information. The risk, however, is that many retailers accept driver’s license information as a common way to verify identity over the phone.
• Twenty-five percent of consumers would share their home addresses. Unfortunately, sharing this information gives identity thieves the physical location of one’s mail or garbage, which often is where they look for personal or financial information about their victims. It also means they know where their victim lives, putting his or her personal safety in jeopardy.
• Almost 30 percent of drivers think they are required to share their personal phone numbers. In fact, sharing personal phone numbers is not necessary.
• Close to 20 percent of people believe the only reason to call the police after an accident is if someone is injured. However, filing a police report can help facilitate the insurance claims process.

This app walks you through the process and gives you tips on what to do at the scene.

You NEED this app. Please download it today and enter your information. It's very well done, easy to use and best of all:

IT'S FREE!

More info at InsureUOnline.org and links to download.

Get it for your iPhone

Get it for your Android

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It took me a few days to finally get in touch with him, but I want to introduce you to Derek Gilbertson!

Derek referred his father to our agency for an auto quote, and though we ultimately didn't wind up writing him, Derek was still drawn as the winner.

In addition to the $5 Wal-Mart gift card simply for the referral, Derek won a $25 Visa Gift Card!

There is still time to send in referrals for the month of September for your opportunity to win the $25 gift card for this month.

All we ask is that you refer us someone with a reasonable claims history and who currently has insurance on their cars/home/business.

It's just that easy!

For all the details, check out our Referral Rewards Program page.

We truly appreciate your trust and confidence in sending your friends and family to us for their insurance needs. Give us a call!

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"I have life insurance through work"

There are very few insurance agenys who haven't heard this one from folks who are part of a group life policy through their employer.

However, there are a few good reasons that you should consider getting a life insurance policy that you actually own, and treatin ghte work insurance as extra.

Dave Ramsey  once told of a call he received on his show from a woman whose husband had a $1 Million policy through his work. He got laid off after having been diagnosed with cancer and was no longer insurable.

The message: Don't have all of your life insurance through work.

Why?

1) If you lose your job, you lose the insurance. At that point you may be somehow uninsurable, or you certainly will have gotten older, at which point the price for the insurance would have increased significantly from what you would have paid.

These days few people hold a job with the same company for their entire working life. There is a good chance that you'll move on somewhere else that may have a different life insurance plan, or none at all.

If you decide to open your own business, you'll be on the hook for your own life insurance at that point.

2) You have to be very familiar with the policy. Most group policies are for smaller amounts, like $5,000 or $10,000. This may not cover the funeral, much less any debts or other expenses that occur.

3) Depending on your role, the policy may actually pay to the company you work for, rather than your family. Key-person life insurance oftens serves to indemnify the business in the event of the loss of a critical employee.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having life insurance through your employer, work insurance is certainly better than nothing.

However, you should also supplement it with an individual policy that can move jobs with you and that you have complete control over.

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