How to Keep You and Your Pets Cool in Extreme Heat

So, the forecast today is in the triple-digits. Yes, we still live in Boston.

Keep these tips in mind as you make your way through today.

1. Don’t shy from turning on your air conditioners.

2. Drink NON-alcoholic beverages. Alcohol dehydrates you. Stay hydrated.

3. Wear appropriate clothing. That means no turtlenecks.

4. Schedule outdoor activities so they are in the morning or late afternoon, avoiding the heat of the day.

5. Monitor those at risk of heat-related illness (adults over 65 & children).

6. Do NOT leave children or pets in cars.

7. Limit sun exposure.

8. If possible, stay inside.

[SOURCE: CDC Extreme Heat Guide]

5 Tips on Avoiding Wind-Related Losses to Your Home or Car

Best-Preventative Measures in Avoiding Wind-Related Losses:

• Collect the necessities before the storm hits: water, food, flashlights, batteries, radio in case of power loss. Stay away from windows. You know the basics.
• Bring outdoor objects inside so they don’t fly away. Close the patio umbrella so it is less likely to get damaged, and then, damage other things on your property.
• Stay inside; it’s not a good time to be sunning yourself or having a BBQ.
• Make sure any trees or tree branches in the proximity to your car or home are secured or removed all together. (Don’t do this during the storm!)
• Garage your vehicles if you have a garage. And secure or reinforce the door shut. (Some people fill their garage with too much junk so you can’t even fit a car in it. Don’t be one of them!)

Beat the Heat and How to Save Some Cash While Doing It

 

Mass. is going to start offering rebates for the purchase of newer, energy efficient air conditioners ($150 for energy-efficient and $50 rebate if you are replacing an older model). The program starts after July 28 (via CBS Boston and Mass.gov).

Unfortunately, the hot days are here now. If you haven’t heard already, then you probably don’t watch the news: Forecasters are predicting record-breaking temperatures for today and tomorrow (via CBS Boston).

Here are 5 tips on how to stay cool [South Shore Edition]– aside from doing the regular thing like drinking a TON OF WATER and staying in the shade:

1. Visit Peaceful Meadows on Rte 18 in Whitman for some amazing, homemade ice cream.

2. Go Ice Skating at Pilgram Skating Arena on Recreation Park Drive in Hingham. Ice rinks are definitely a great place to get cool!

3. Take a swim in a big pool at Webb’s Pro Fitness on Rte 53 in Norwell.

4. SHOP, SHOP, SHOP! Malls are air-conditioned so take a drive to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, MA.

5. Museums are air-conditioned too. Did you know that local libraries have free or heavily discounted passes to places like the Museum of Science, the Boston Aquarium, the ICA, the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, Roger Williams Park Zoo, etc. (See Norwell Public Library’s Museum Pass Page).

Placing Southern Tornadoes in a Northern Context

The Tornado in Joplin, Missouri last Sunday is officially the deadliest single tornado on record according to the National Weather Service. 156 people are still missing and the death toll is 132 and rising (WHDH).

It’s no surprise then that home sales in the South also dropped 17.2% due to the tornado disaster (Huffington Post).

Some clients ask if they are covered for damage caused by tornadoes since these occur way less often in New England than they do in the South. But the answer is yes, you are covered under your homeowner’s policy (HO3). Damage caused by tornado falls under the insurance on your policy for damage caused by wind/storm/hurricane.

Click here to find out how you can help those suffering from this disaster

 

 

 
UPDATE 6/3/2011: 

This article was written on the 27th, a few days before the tornado disaster in MA. I wanted to share some information on what to do in case of a loss:

Call us (your agent) at 781-871-5414 to report the loss. Take photos of the damage and do what you can to stop your home from being further damaged. Save all your receipts throughout the professional repair process so that way you may be reimbursed if the damage is severe enough to necessitate filing a claim.

You may also donate to assist those who have lost their homes in Massachusetts by donating online, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or by texting ‘REDCROSS’ to 90999 (donates $10). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preaching Prom Safety

It’s that time of year again, folks. PROM SEASON for most of the schools in the area. NBA Insurance wants to take this time to provide some driving-safety tips for you to share with your sons and daughters who may be attending prom in the coming weeks.

• Make sure your teen has a safe ride home from the party whether it is another student (a designated driver) or a trusted adult. If your son or daughter needs a ride home really late at night, make yourself available for him or her.
• Some schools have started to put on alcohol-free events held immediately after prom using money raised from donations, grants and contributions from local businesses. Activities are left up to the senior class’ student government. It’s really just a good way for kids to dodge the crazy-party scene.
• Don’t get your sons and daughters a hotel room. It’s really a way of enabling them to drink and make potentially disastrous decisions.
• Don’t buy alcohol for your kids. It sounds like an obvious tip but it is something parents often overlook as being OK as long as they are present. 46 percent of teens nationwide say that by age 17, they’ve been to a party with alcohol and/or drugs where parents were present.
• Give a reasonable curfew to your teen if they plan to go to an after-party.
• Speak candidly and openly with your son or daughter about the risks associated with alcohol consumption (ie. binge drinking, the consequences of being caught drinking under-age, drunk-driving risks).
• Know your son or daughters’ friends in case you need to reach him or her and are unable to.

For more visit this link and this one too.  🙂

Pet Injury Protection: Fight for Fido

Are you getting the most out of your AAA membership?

Who could refuse Pet Injury Protection??

How could you NOT want to better protect your puppies and kittens?!! Click here to see the other coverages provided by your AAA membership in the Commerce Insurance auto policy.

Some Tips for Traveling Safely With Your Pet:

• Keep your dog leashed or harnessed while in the car.
• Keep your dog in a crate inside of the car, safe from windows.
• Give your pet something to chew on is helpful in keeping him occupied/deterring him to be jumpy.
• Never leave your pet unattended without food, water or air. Always keep the windows open ajar if you leave them in the car.
• Protect your car too by using seat covers in case your pet sheds a lot or gets sick during the car ride.
• Keep a Pet First Aid Kit in your car in case of emergency.

Check out this bright and helpful website for information on traveling with your pets!

Call us (1-781-871-5414) or email for a free quote: Liz@NBAInsurance.com! And don’t forget to tell your friends, Like Us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter!

[Source: CommerceInsurance.com]

Before You Rev Up Your Bike, Boost Your Limits!

Sixty-eight and sunny is reason enough to dust off your motorcycle and rev your engines.

But before you hit the road, raise your bike’s liability limits.

Many insureds opt to lower limits during the winter season because they stop riding their bike. Car-drivers and motorcycle-riders can both benefit from higher limits! And you don’t have to break the bank.

Why do we have liability limits? To cover for cases of bodily injury and property damage. Remember, minimum limits rarely insure total losses on newer cars.

And the physical damage coverage! I’ve said before how important it is to keep comprehensive and collision coverage on your vehicles. Cutting comprehensive coverage is the same thing as saying you are totally comfortable paying for a new windshield. Don’t put your bank account through unnecessary pain.

If you would like a quote on raising your limits or if you just have a question, call our office at 781-871-5414.

Homeowner’s Insurance Covers Your Water Damage… So Why Get Flood?

This weather is disgusting. (That just needed to be said). Last night, meteorologists got a little panicky about the rain. We really don’t need rain now, given that the snow’s prolonged melting is making our roads rocky and flooded anyway. Specifically though, weather-men-and-women worry about river-overflow and its effect on residential areas.

Rivers of concern are the Assabet @ Maynard, the Shawsheen @ Wilmington, and the Blackstone @ Northbridge & Woonsocket.

–Melissa Mack, WBZ-4 News

A lot of skeptical homeowners assume that they’re covered for water damage. They stand proudly against the windswept rain holding their recently laminated Homeowner’s Declaration Page. While your homeowner’s policy is awesome because it covers you for your dwelling, personal property and gives you some lovely personal liability, it’s not an invincibility cloak.

“But it covers me for water damage!” the insured person proclaims.

It’s great you are covered for water damage (burst pipes, roof leakage, and damage to your personal property when your washing machine explodes causing your basement to flood). Go ahead, leave your iPads and your 3D TVs unprotected. After all, you’re insured. (Please don’t actually do that).

If your home/basement or personal property gets flooded because of a river/body of water overflow (or if it gets flooded by water you didn’t invite in your house due to excessive precipitation), you are not covered by your homeowner’s policy. You need Flood Insurance. Click that link for a free quote!

If you’re looking for a quote, look no further. Email Liz@NBAInsurance.com or call 1-781-871-5414 for details.

Please Note: Not all policies provide adequate coverage for finished basements. Additional coverage can be added by endorsement. Just ask us about it.

Think You’re Cutting Cost? Think Again.

Don't let your car look like the one above. Cute? Yes. But terribly sad.

In light of this economic downturn, morning shows like The Today Show and Good Morning America (among others) have been giving tips to consumers on best-spending-practices.

Quite honestly, most of their tips are pretty good… but not all.

Although I’m not an avid fan of these types of shows, I watch them every so often. Notably, in the past year, out of the dozen or less editions I’ve caught on TV, there were two or three that aimed to teach consumers how to cut cost on their insurance policies.

This needs to be addressed, alas- this blog post.

A young woman, whose name evades me, shared that to save money on car insurance, you should cut out collision and comprehensive coverages.

Of course, at the ungodly hour of 8am, or whenever this was disclosed on national television, I had an urge to throw my coffee mug at the TV. But I didn’t. I love my TV.

But seriously? Collision and comprehensive? Do you even care about your car? This would be like letting your child ride a bike without a helmet. Or driving without a seatbelt. Or tangoing on a dangerously high cliff. Your risking the physical security of your car.

Think of how much you drive. I, personally, drive -on average- about an hour and a half every day. Even if you drive a car that’s over 10 years old, they can retain their value quite well– some easily being worth a few thousand dollars despite having over 100,000 miles on them.

So if you cut the few hundred you might spend every year in physical damage coverage, you are risking the few thousand worth in your car. You might as well wave a wad of cash around in a dark alleyway.

Picture it – an insured’s nightmare – a tree limb falls and crushes your windshield. A drunk driver rear-ends you. You have just cut your comprehensive & collision coverages. Your car gets totalled – at fault or totally innocent, you must pay out-of-pocket for its repair or replacement.

If you don’t have physical damage coverage on your car now, feel free to give our office a call and we’ll give you a free quote adding coverage back on your policy– 781.871.5414 or 877.NBA.1980.

Roof Collapsings: Did You Know? And Fun Snow Comics.

On Channel 7, I just saw about 5 stories on roof collapsings all having occurred around Boston and up through the North Shore and New Hampshire. Jeremy Reiner shared a map indicating that depending on the region of MA you live in, roofs have to be able to sustain a specific amount of weight per square foot– specifically because of all the snow we get.

Boston, North Shore and South Shore roofs must sustain weight between 30 and 40 pounds per square foot. As you goto the Cape, the numbers decrease to about 20-25 pounds. Central MA was around 25-30 and Western MA requires roofs to sustain 40 lbs or more.

Many of the roofs that collapsed were those of commercial buildings because of the flat top. This reminded me, of course, of the ice dam madness that occurs most frequently (and more likely) on low pitch roofs. Click here to see that post.

As far as I could tell, no one is reported injured, but in most instances, there were people inside. How totally freaky that must have been.

This also means that there has got to be at least 30-40 pounds of snow per square foot on our roofs! And this is not coming to an end just yet– apparently, there’s another snownnoyance* on Saturday.

*snownoyyance = snow annoyance

Here are a few funny snow-comics. Click the thumbnails to see the full comic.

If you’re looking for a quote,

look no further.

Email Liz@NBAInsurance.com

or call 1-781-871-5414 for more details.