Disaster Preparedness Videos Subtitled for the Hearing Impaired

Reprint from MarketWatch:

Farmers Insurance Produces Series of Subtitled Catastrophe Preparedness Videos for the Public

Videos are designed for hearing impaired. 

LOS ANGELES, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today, it is not if, but when, a major tornado, hurricane, fire, or ice storm can strike leaving you totally devastated if you aren't prepared. The question is, not if, but when a disaster strikes, will you and your family be ready to respond? 

Farmers Insurance, in an ongoing effort to provide the latest and most helpful information on preparing for disasters, offers a new series of subtitled videos that can be viewed and used as important components in disaster preparation.

"The videos can be found at http://www.farmers.com/cat_videos_eng.html notes Paul Quinn, Assistant Vice President, Claims. "The videos, all with subtitles for the hearing impaired, are filled with excellent tips on how to prepare for a disaster. The series begins with general information about disasters and what a family needs to do to prepare. Then, there are four specific disaster preparedness videos dealing with hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and ice storms. They are featured separately for maximum benefit. We urge everyone to go on the site and check these videos out."

The idea for subtitles came from Beth Fields, a Farmers agency producer in Fishers, Indiana. "She also teaches at the Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis and suggested we subtitle all of our catastrophe preparedness videos for the hearing impaired," Quinn said.

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

* The content of this blog is for informative purposes only. It does not reflect official standing of any agent, agency, or company mentioned on the blog. Nor is this blog necessarilly an endorsement. Please consult with your insurance, tax, or legal specialist before making any decisions. This blog is purely meant to spark the thought process.

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month: Is Your Kit Ready?

April is Earthquake preparedness month. Also seems like there's been a lot of earthquakes in the news these last few weeks. The Platinum Elite cares foremost about the safety of our neighbors.

Click here to learn more about Earthquake Insurance.

Click here for more info on disaster preparedness.

Buy emergency and disaster supplies and have 10% of your purchase benefit the March of Dimes.

Click on the re-print's title below to watch the Fox 5 San Diego news report.

Red Cross promotes low-cost earthquake kits

By Walter Morris Fox 5 San Diego Reporter

6:00 p.m. PDT, April 19, 2012

SAN DIEGO - April is Earthquake Preparedness Month and the American Red Cross is reminding everyone to stock up on emergency supplies incase the big one hits.

The cost of emergency kits can range from $45 to more than $600, but planning ahead is a good way to keep that number low.

"You probably already have half of the kit [supplies] that you need in your home," Cruz Ponce with the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter said. "You just need to put them together and put it somewhere where you know they are at."
Many Southern Californians know what they need for a good emergency preparedness kit like plenty of water, nonperishable food, batteries and extra cash, but you don’t have to go out and get everything at the same time.

"Each time you go out to the supermarket buy an extra can of tuna and put that away as part of your kit," Ponce said. "Then the next time you go out to the hardware store, buy some extra flashlights or batteries. By the end of three to six months your whole kit is ready."

You don’t need a fancy new bag either - an old backpack or purse will do the trick.
It is also a good idea to have a hand crank AM/FM radio copies of your important paperwork, and a month’s supply of your medication.

If stocking on your medication is too expensive, writing down all of your specific prescription information is the next best thing.

"Instead of going out and buying a $600 kit right off the bat, you can spend that money gradually throughout time," Ponce said.

* The content of this blog is for informative purposes only. It does not reflect official standing of any agent, agency, or company mentioned on the blog. Nor is this blog necessarilly an endorsement. Please consult with your insurance, tax, or legal specialist before making any decisions. This blog is purely meant to spark the thought process.

Auto Insurance: Insuring Older Cars & Your Comp Coverage

Excerpt from a blog originally from Why Platinum?

"My car's paid for.  Why insure it?"

or, "It costs more than the car's worth?"

You have to have the liability coverage, but what about the rest?

In some cases Collision Coverage is expensive relative to the benefit of insuring an older car.  But what about the Comp Coverage?  People often drop both, but they are not attached.  Comp, sometimes called "other than collision", is often an inexpensive part of the policy.

Consider keeping the "comprehensive" coverage even if you drop the "collision."

Comp (Comprehensive) Coverage covers physical damage to your car from hazards such as (but not limited to):

• Fire
• Theft, Vandalism, & Riot
• Lightning 
• Hail
• Flood
• Earthquake
• Explosions
• Damage from Contact with an Animals
• Falling Objects like Trees and Branches

These are all risks that even great drivers face since they don't always involving the skill of the driver.  They happen to the car, often when not even moving.

Animals? 

Earthquake Insurance: The Big Misconception

Excerpt from Why Platinum?

More than 85% of Californian homeowners and renters do not have earthquake insurance coverage. When the "Big One" hits, entire neighborhoods will be left damaged for long periods of time.

One reason people don't buy Earthquake Insurance is do to a "Great Misconception" that is reinforced by media and various financial writers who should know better.  When pointed out, corrections are usually put on the last page of the newspaper.

Have you ever heard this statement or thought this to yourself?

"The deductible is so high, why would I buy it?  I can't afford to pay that much!"

Not true.  The deductible does not have to be paid out-of- pocket before the policy begins paying.  It's just the amount of damage that must be exceeded before the policy begins paying.

Isn't 85% coverage better than the 0% most people have in place right now?

Let's start at the beginning.  A lot of the major insurers, including Farmers, use the CEA; the California Earthquake Authority since they were unsure about individually underwriting such a large potential loss on their own.  In example: $12.5 Billion in damages from the 1994 earthquake alone.  

"The California Earthquake Authority is a publicly managed, largely privately funded organization that provides catastrophic residential earthquake insurance and encourages Californians to reduce their risk of earthquake loss."

The CEA plan is a high deductible plan designed to get you back into your home safely.  It's not designed to cover extras like artwork and swimming pools.  By making it a high deductible plan, it's affordable enough to hopefully get more insureds under the plan.  

Example:  A homeowner buys a CEA policy with dwelling coverage of $350,000.  They choose the 10% deductible plan.