This past Saturday evening over 1000 people came to Manheim, PA to celebrate the 2nd annual ”Taste of Manheim”. The event gave visitors an opportunity to “taste” food from local restaurants, participate in several family activities and setup lawn chairs in the middle of the downtown square to watch a movie on a 30 foot screen.

As one of the participants in the downtown event, Baron Insurance Group sponsored a “Green Screen” booth staffed by a team from PhotOle Photography. At the booth visitors could choose one of several photo backgrounds, add fun accessories and strike a pose for a free photo (see example photo above).  

To see all the Green Screen photos taken at the event Click here.

Thank you to everyone for making this a fun and memorable event!

Manheim Square Prior to the event starting

Poster provided by Brian Ober

Green screen team from PhotoOle

Nevin Spade & Chris Vogt working hard

Sporting some of the green screen props

Dancing entertainment

Lots of family fun

Picking up finished photos at the booth

Professional face painting

The youngest visitor of the night

A 30 foot movie screen!

Movie watchers filled the streets

Are college students covered on their parents’ Homeowner insurance policy?

The short answer is it depends. Based on the PA Insurance Service Office’s (ISO) homeowner insurance policy, an “insured” on a homeowner insurance policy includes a student enrolled in school who meet all the following:

1. Enrolled as a “full time” student defined by the school

2. Who was a resident of your household before moving out to attend school

3. Under the age of 24 and your relative

Thus, if a student is not enrolled full time or is over the age of 23 attending school, they would not have homeowner insurance coverage from their parents’ policy. The good news for families in this situation is that endorsement HO 05 27 “Student Living Away From the Residence Premises” may be used to extend coverage from the parents’ homeowner insurance for a student who is 24 or older.

What coverage do college students have?

If a student is an “insured” on the parents’ homeowner insurance policy they would have liability coverage for injury or damage caused to another person and coverage for their “stuff” – laptops, books, TVs, Ipods, ect. However, the standard ISO homeowner policy has a limitation of 10% for personal property located off the insured’s “residence premises”. This means if your homeowner insurance policy has $100,000 of personal property coverage, the student(s) at college would only have $10,000 of coverage for their “stuff”.

This may sound like more than enough coverage but $10,000 can go quickly depending whether you have multiple college students or just one student with some really nice “stuff”. Again there is an ISO endorsement to provide extra coverage if needed. It is HO 04 50 “Personal Property at Other Residences” endorsement and it allows you to purchase additional coverage above the 10 percent limitation found on most policies.

Caution that many insurance companies have their homeowner policy forms and their provision may be different than the standard ISO form. Always consult your insurance company to verify their specific requirements for definitions of “insured” and coverages.

Do college students need renters insurance?

Renters Insurance is always a good idea especially when a student lives off campus. As we mentioned in our prior blog post “The Truth About Renting and Insurance” it costs as little as $50 per year and it helps eliminates all the questions related to whether a college student is covered on a parents’ homeowner insurance policy.

Insurance coverage is an important but overlooked issue facing families and college students. Talk with your insurance agent and make sure your family has the appropriately coverage before your child has the car packed for college too.

Picture via LancasterOnline (Dan Marschka/Staff)

According to LancasterOnline, this most recent Lancaster, PA storm had winds up to 70 mph and may have caused nearly $2 million in damage. Much of the damage was caused by fallen trees and many people are filing home insurance claims to pay for the damage and clean up. However, a standard home insurance policy does have coverage limitations for damage caused by trees and for trees themselves. Make sure to understand these coverages and limitations before submitting a home insurance claim to avoid any surprises.

My neighbor’s tree fell on my house, whose insurance pays?

Generally, who owns the fallen tree is not the determining factor of whose insurance will respond. The person who submits the claim is actually the person who owns the home that was damaged by the fallen tree. So if your home or other covered property is damaged by anyone else’s tree, your home insurance policy will respond. Likewise, if your tree falls on anyone else’s home or other covered property, their home insurance will respond.

The only time a home insurance policy should be involved with damage to someone else’s property is if the tree owner was liable. This includes a homeowner neglecting a rotten or leaning tree that should have been removed or trimmed prior to the damage occurring.

Will my home insurance replace my damaged landscaping and trees?

Trees, shrubs and other plants (including lawns) are covered on a standard home insurance policy but only for losses due to fire, lightning, explosion, riot, non owned vehicles, vandalism and theft. On the surface, this sounds pretty good, but did you notice that wind or ice are not included. So if your 100 year oak tree fell over due to wind storm, the insurance company will not pay to replace it.

Will insurance pay to remove my tree?

The cost to remove a tree is only covered if the tree damaged a covered structure on the insurance policy, if it blocks a driveway or if it prohibits access to the home. However, most home insurance policies have $500 or $1000 limitation to remove trees if a loss is caused by wind, hail, weight of ice, snow or sleet.

If a tree falls into your yard and does not cause any damage or restrict access, there is generally no coverage to remove the tree. Tree removal coverage varies based on the insurance company and it is best to ask your agent what your specific coverage limits are for tree removal before submitting a claim.

If you have any other tree related home insurance questions, let us know by leaving a comment below.

It’s summer time and that means your summer vacation is finally here! However, a vacation also means your home will be empty for a period of time and it can become a target for a burglary. That is why, as you plan for the final details for your trip, you need to take time to plan for what’s going to be left behind, your home. According to the Insurance Information Institute, nine out of 10 home break-ins could be prevented. Use these 14 tips to help protect your home while you are on vacation.

1. Don’t publicize you are on vacation. The old recommendation was never to leave a message on your home answering machine saying you’re on vacation, but now it’s also important to not post your vacation plans on your Facebook, Twitter or other social media accounts. Most social media posts become a permanent record and it is like announcing your vacation in the newspaper for all to read.

2. Stop delivery of your mail and newspapers or have them picked up regularly by a trusted neighbor. Remember you can put your mail on hold online at https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/landingView.do

3. Have a trusted person check on your home. This person will, ideally, stop by as often as possible to check for any deliveries that haven’t been stopped, water plants, open curtains periodically and even move your car from the garage out into the driveway once in a while. This person also needs to have your cell phone and contact infomation in case they have any questions or concerns while you are gone.

4. Install timers on your indoor and outdoor lights. Keeping lights on inside and outside of your home with timers will make it look like someone’s home, or will be soon. Make sure to put at least one light on a programmable timer so some lights can be turned off and on randomly. Programmable timers can be found at most hardware stores for about $20. Also installing motion-detectors on your outdoor lights can help deter potential burglars.

5. Make sure the garage door cannot be opened. You will probably need to disconnect the garage door opener or install a padlock to do this.

6. Arrange for someone to cut the lawn. Nothing gives away an unoccupied home faster than grass that is over a foot long. If you will be gone long enough for the grass to grow too high, make sure a friend, neighbor or hired service will cut it for you. Also make sure that shrubs around windows and doors are cut back, removing all good hiding spots.

 7. Advise the police department and security system company you will be gone. Many police departments will check on your home while you’re away.

 8. Lock all your doors and windows. This may sound obvious, but it’s estimated that 28 percent of burglaries occur without using force to gain entry. In other words, they probably entered through an unlocked window or door. Check all of your windows and doors, including the one leading into your home from the garage, and windows in the basement.

 9. Secure sliding glass doors. Sliding doors can be forced open by intruders. Placing a metal or wooden rod in the track will prevent this.

 10. Remove valuables away from windows and obvious locations. Don’t create a reason for someone to break-in. Make sure all jewelry, money, personal identity and electronics are out of view from all windows. Also hide valuables in non-traditional places like outside of the bedroom.

 11. Unplug everything you can. Other than the refrigerator, freezer and lights on timers, everything — including the coffee pot, computer, TV, toaster, etc. — should be unplugged when you’re on vacation. This is because the circuits are still active and susceptible to lightning and power surges.

 12. Turn off water valves. If you will be gone for a week or more, you may want to turn off the water to your toilets, sinks, washing machine, ice maker and dishwasher.  

13. Tell your neighbor where the water main shut-off is located. A sudden pipe burst can be a major event and extra time searching for the main shut-off could cause significantly more damage.

In conclusion, burglary is one of the most preventable of crimes. By taking a few simple precautions you can dramatically reduce the risks of coming home to an unpleasant surprise.  Feel free to share this list with someone you know who is planning a vacation.  Be safe out there this summer!

This past week J.D. Power and Associates released a new report that rated the car insurance shopping experience for 21 insurance companies. The report gathered responses from over 14,500 shoppers who rated each insurance company based on policy offerings, local agents, call center representatives, insurance company website and price. Below is the summary of the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates report or click here to view the entire report.

The report summary above clearly shows that the car insurance buying experience is not the same for all companies and comparing car insurance quotes solely on price does not tell the whole story. So whether its protecting your family with a new car seat or car insurance, make sure other resources such as 3rd party reports are used to help make the right decision for your family.

What other factors do you consider when shopping for car insurance?

             It was an enjoyable drive to the location.  It became a small adventure finding my way there and getting to see some open rural sections of Lancaster Co. that were unfamiliar to me.  Once there, entering the doors for the event, there was a buzz about the atmosphere that was energetic.  First impressions are important and my first moments were very positive.  My energy level continued to rise from just about everyone that greeted me.  It continued upon entering the social room for coffee and a pastry (or fruit for the healthy types).    To experience the chatter of attendees already in the room and the accommodating individuals at my table continued to add to the morning.

                Technology is amazing!  Being at a remote site was no barrier to communicating with the main location.  There were texting opportunities to ask questions.  There was an opportunity to give to a worthy cause through your cell phone as well as purchasing items for sale.  All this interaction could be accomplished from your seat at the telecast.

               But it was the telecast from Atlanta that made the day.  Each individual speaker and interview gave me something new or, at minimum reinforced things, already being done in business and my personal life.  There was something very refreshing to hear the “giants” in their professions talk openly, even passionately, about respect, hard work, compassion for others and character.  It was almost a pep talk like my college basketball coach would give before a game!    Some presenters actually fired me up.

          There were some takeaways too!  The presenters that connected the most with me caused me to order their latest books from Amazon.  Author Jim Collins’ presentation created a desire to really look at how things are done at b.i.g. on a daily basis.  He urged us to look at our business model and ask “What are we to STOP doing?”  Moving ahead is not so much a matter of our circumstances but our choices in a dynamic business environment.  Thus, there are times we must look at some things we do and “Stop”.  How we provide service or communicate with customers may need revised.  Our business model may be outdated and, as a result, we may have to stop doing something altogether.  It might be necessary to look for alternative ways to accomplish goals or to empower and entrust others to keep going forward.  The need is to move forward, always!

                At each of our places of business or personal lives, perhaps a break-through may come if we would “Just Stop It”.

After 45 years, b.i.g is now doing business in so many new ways compared to 1996 or 1978 and especially 1965. In the past, everything was paper intensive. Our shelves were full of manuals that told us the rules of doing business. We rated auto policies by hand using a pencil, paper and calculator. Polaroid cameras were the rage for taking instamatic pictures of homes that were insured. There were rows of file cabinets full of folders that contained the customer information and policies in force. Communication was only by mail or telephone until the arrival of the fax machine and the computer.

Today, at b.i.g you will see a business that uses computers to do just about everything. Technology has pushed businesses into a new frontier and embracing it takes courage and a will to change. We have accepted that at b.i.g.  It began with adding other insurance carriers and the adoption of a new paperless system. It continues with our entry into social media. On our new website you will find our staff blogging insurance tips for families and business as well as links to our twitter and facebook accounts.

Speaking of staff, we now have one of the best groups of employees in the history of the agency. You will find them competent, energetic and willing to go the extra mile to meet your needs.

b.i.g is prepared to meet the future. Even though we commenced to do business in 1965 we are just beginning. So, thank you to our loyal customer base for making our journey and our 45th anniversary possible!

Not only do you have access to the same services that most other sites provide -learning more about the company, requesting quotes and policy changes, or getting in touch with us- you’ll also be able to access a wealth of useful information. Our goal is to keep you, our customer, informed and up-to-date about a wide variety of insurance topics.

Putting our customers first, keeping them informed. That’s what makes us different.

That’s b.i.g!