We previously discussed a basic term life policy, but there are riders that can add important coverages to your policy. 

What is a Rider?

Riders are additional benefits that can be added to your life policy for an additional premium. Not every life insurance company offers every rider, but here are three of the most common riders and their benefits.

1. Accelerated Death Benefit

An insured person can use a portion of the death benefit (usually between 25% and 50%) if he or she is diagnosed with a terminal illness that will significantly shorten the insured’s lifespan. The total death benefit would then be decreased by the amount that is accelerated upon the insured’s death. That means, if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you would be able to withdraw part of your death benefit early to help you get your affairs in order, pay off loans or medical bills, or just enjoy a vacation with your family.

2. Waiver of Premium Rider

The Waiver of Premium rider waives future premiums if the insured becomes permanently disabled or loses his or her income as a result of injury or illness. Most insurance companies, impose a 6 month waiting period from the time of disability until the first premium is waived and the rider usually expires at age 65. So, you keep your policy with no further payments unless you are able to work again or the rider expires at a specified age.

3. Child Rider

This rider provides a death benefit in case a child dies before a specified age. When the child reaches the specified age, the rider can be converted to his or her own permanent life insurance policy without the need for medical exams. Note that the premium for this rider is usually the same whether you have one of ten children.

Life insurance can offer a gift of financial security to you and your family, and by adding appropriate riders to your policy, you can tailor it to meet your specific needs. Ask your life insurance professional to help you build a life policy suited to you.

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

Without proper documentation even a great insurance policy won’t get you an easy or, potentially, full claim settlement.  That is why it is important for homeowners and renters to maintain an updated home inventory.

Taking a Home Inventory

The easiest method to take a home inventory is by taking digital photographs or shooting a narrated video. If you don’t have any type of camera, just buy a $10 memory card and ask to borrow a friend’s digital camera. Make sure to open all cupboards and closets with the drawers open. Don’t forget storage areas, the garage and any detached structures like a shed.

For more expensive items like televisions and electronics, make sure to take close-ups of the model and serial number and keep sales receipts. Also take close-ups of any custom structural elements like built-ins, stone fireplaces or exposed woodwork. Remember that certain big ticket items have insurance limitations and they may need a separate policy.

The most important part of a home inventory is to store it online or a safe place outside the home. It completely defeats the purpose of a home inventory if the media that it is stored on gets burned in the fire too. KnowYourStuff.org is a great resource that offers a free online software that makes creating and keeping a home inventory easy. They also have a short video showing how to record a home inventory.

Having a major house fire or robbery is stressful enough. Take 30 minutes to create a home inventory and make sure you have adequate proof prior to a major claim.

If you are a business with employees or a business that works with third parties (customers), you should become familiar with this acronym.   

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Do you hire or fire employees?  Has anyone heard the latest “news” around the water cooler?  Do you perform employee reviews?  Do you provide raises or promotions?  Do you or your employees interact with customers or vendors?  Have you ever told a joke at work?

All of these things can lead to an Employment Practices claim.  What is an Employment Practices claim?  Any claim of actual or alleged abuse, harassment, failure to promote or provide a raise, inappropriate hiring or firing, the list goes on.

Lawsuits involving race, retaliation, and harassment make up the top three Employment Practices claims.  There are also lawsuits alleging wrongful termination, failure to promote, being offended by a joke…  You’re getting the picture.

Of course, many of these claims could prove to be groundless.  However, defense costs alone could end up costing major dollars, possibly up to $50,000.  Without Employment Practices Liability Insurance you could be left paying out of your own pocket.  Wouldn’t you rather dip into an insurance company’s pocket?

Studies show that it is more likely for your business to suffer an Employment Practices loss than a General Liability or even a Fire loss.  Are you prepared?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, www.eeoc.gov, has excellent information regarding laws and regulations pertaining to employers.  The Home Page even gives examples of recent lawsuits and how they were settled.  It’s an eye-opener!

Employment Practices Liabilty Insurance can provide you with the protection you need.  Limits can be purchased to include defense costs and claims brought against you by a third party, such as a vendor or customer.  You can also buy a policy that provides defense costs in addition to the coverage amount.  It’s not too late to find out if your insurance agent can provide you with this coverage.  It’s a call worth making, and it’s insurance worth buying.

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!

1. The Savings Data Is National- One of the most important pricing factors for car insurance is location. For example, car insurance prices in Lancaster, PA are significantly cheaper than New York, NY. In addition, some car insurance companies tend to have more competitive prices in specific states and even counties. However, most insurance companies use National data to promote their average savings on television and it may not be an accurate picture of how competitive they are on a local level. Car insurance prices are very similar to real estate, it is all about location, location, location.

2. The Savings Data May Not Be Current – I understand that it takes time to compile National savings data for these commercials, however, one car insurance commercial I saw had fine print on the bottom of the screen saying the data was from 2007. Nearly every car insurance company has increased prices since 2007 and some insurance companies have taken double digit prices increases in 2010. Depending on when the last time a car insurance company increased rates, a car insurance commercial even with data from a year ago may be completely out dated.

3. The Savings Data Is Not The Whole Story – My biggest pet peeve with any marketing claim about saving money is that the savings amount is not only part of the story. The other half, and more important part, of the story is how often the savings occurs. A company with just 1 customer who saved $400 per year can make the same claim as another company who saved 10,000 customers an average of $400 per year. However, the only thing talked about in car insurance commercials is the savings amount. If you are shopping car insurance, wouldn’t you want to talk with the company who saves customers money and does it often?

Someone once told me that you can crunch data to make it say anything you want. Keep this mind the next time you see a car insurance commercial and how much you could save if you switch.

             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!