Home Safety: Your Driveway, Your Responsibility

reprint from Farmers Insurance

Your own personal little highway:
Your driveway 

You may think of your driveway as a simple strip of concrete that takes you from your private property to public roadways. Or perhaps its brick pavers are an attractive part of your curb appeal. In either case, your driveway is your responsibility — make sure it’s properly maintained so it doesn’t become a hazard. 

Trip and fall
Driveways don’t stay smooth forever — uneven pavers or driveway cracks and potholes are a common problem. They compromise the appearance of the driveway, can be hard on your car and most importantly, can present a tripping hazard. If someone trips and falls on your property you may be legally responsible for their injuries. And some homeowners insurance policies may not offer enough protection against major personal liability claims. 

What would you do if a mishap occurred on your property and caused damage or injuries beyond the terms of your homeowners insurance? Worse yet, what would you do if you found yourself named as the defendant in a multi-million dollar lawsuit because of damages or injuries that occurred on your property? We don’t expect the unthinkable to happen but sometimes it does. Although there’s no way to completely avoid the possibility of being sued, there is a way to help reduce the potential impact of a devastating lawsuit: personal liability coverage. 

Do you have an umbrella?
Farmers Personal Liability Umbrella insurance supplements the liability coverage you already have through your homeowners or auto insurance and provides an extra layer of protection through increased or excess coverage limits. The umbrella policy kicks in when you reach the limit on your underlying liability coverage. Most importantly, the cost of your legal defense is provided for a covered loss. 

Plan for the unexpected 
Most of us work very hard to accumulate assets — it’s important to try to protect them. You never know when the unexpected may occur — make sure you’re prepared and don’t forget your umbrella. Call me for more information. 

You may want to consider purchasing a Personal Umbrella policy if: 

• You want greater liability coverage than you already have through your homeowners or auto insurance. 
• Your total assets exceed your underlying liability limits. 
• You want to make sure your current assets and future earnings are protected. 
• You earn or have the potential to earn significant income. 
• You have or have the potential to have assets over $1 million, including property and vehicles. 
• You are financially responsible for a young or inexperienced driver. 
• You frequently carpool young children. 
• You own or operate an aircraft or boat. 
• You own a swimming pool, trampoline or dog. 
• You own waterfront property, a farm or a ranch. 
• You employ one or more people in your home.

end of article

Always make sure your auto, fire (home, condo, & renters), earthquake, flood, umbrella, and life insurances all properly work together to protect your home, your business, your future.

Life Insurance: Difficult Decisions

reprint for Farmers

The difficult discussion?
The important discussion 

According to LIMRA’s 2010 Life Insurance Ownership Study, a study that’s conducted every six years, many U.S. households are underinsured: 

Only 44 percent of U.S. households have individual life insurance.
Half of U.S. households (58 million) say they need more life insurance.
Among households with children under age 18, arguably those with the greatest need for life insurance, 11 million have no life insurance coverage.

Many families find life insurance a difficult subject to discuss, so they avoid it. Perhaps discussing the possibility of a spouse’s unexpected death is uncomfortable, but talking about life insurance is critical to the whole family. Here are some tips that may help you start the discussion and keep it on track: 

* Talk before you’re in a financial crisis — Pick a time when you are both relaxed and keep it positive. Try to discuss it as you would any other family issue or aspect of your financial planning.

*  Make a plan or revise your existing plan — Incorporate life insurance into your overall financial strategy — in fact, you may want to consider making it a primary component.

*  Set a monthly budget — Determine what you can afford and call me. I can work with you so you can determine a realistic strategy that you can stick to.

Although the subject may be difficult or awkward, talking about life insurance may be one of the most important discussions to have. And call me to learn more about the life insurance options that may help protect your family’s future.

Life insurance issued by Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, Mercer Island, WA 98040

end of article

Always make sure your auto, fire (home, condo, & renters), earthquake, flood, umbrella, and life insurances all properly work together to protect your home, your business, your future.

Farmers Insurance & Little League Unite in the Name of Good Sportsmanship

reprint MLB.com

Old, wise message finds new baseball audience

'He's Just a Little Boy' poem being posted at Little League fields

By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com | 08/04/12 1:44 PM ET

It's an urgent message of civility that echoes through the ages, a plea for compassion that comes from an author beyond the grave. And against all odds, it resonates better than ever today. 

Joel McKinnon didn't immediately realize what he had stumbled upon when he found a poem called "He Is Just a Little Boy" posted at a Little League field. McKinnon simply took a picture of the poem and posted it to his Facebook page, and suddenly an entire movement blossomed around it. 

Now, McKinnon and his employer -- Farmers Insurance -- find themselves printing the inspirational poem onto signs and shipping them to fields around the country. Around 1,500 fields have requested copies of the poem, which urges spectators to take the feelings of players into account. 

"I was doing nothing more than what's already been done: Sharing the message," said McKinnon. "I've always been a fan of positive reinforcement. You don't push people down. You lift them up. You're not always going to win, and when you don't, there's a right way and a wrong way to handle it."

Kids, believe it or not, usually grasp that lesson on their own through experience and through the tutelage of their coaches. Parents sometimes get carried away, though, a phenomenon that's as true today as it was when Chaplain Bob Fox penned his poem sometime before World War II.

McKinnon said he believed the poem had been written sometime in the '20s or 30's, but its anti-heckling refrain bears ample currency today. The poem dramatizes the all-or-nothing stakes of competition and urges fans to watch the game politely lest they ruin the game for the kids.