For most of us, driving is a second nature activity, like walking or eating.  We can do it without even realizing that we are doing it and as such, that can lead to a confidence that we do it well, whether we actually do or not.  In this blog I want to go over the top 5 driving mistakes that we all make from time to time, and hopefully it will serve as a reminder to avoid these practices.

One thing the people rarely consider when they get into an automobile is that the process of driving a vehicle is for most of us, the most dangerous activity that we will do in any given day.  Now we go years and years without a mishap or accident so it is easy to forget this.  But, looming out there every time you get behind the wheel, is the risk that if you do make a mistake, the results could be catastrophic or even fatal for you.  So taking time every now and then to honestly evaluate your own driving habits with yourself is a practice that could save your life or the life of someone else.

Let’s start with one of the biggest and most common mistakes: Tailgating.  We see this all the time on the highway; people in a hurry, trying to push others on to drive faster may use tailgaiting as a way of emphasizing their point to the driver in front of them.  Some people drive too close to the car in front of them simply as a matter of course.  I’ve seen people who simply drive right up to the next car in front of them, not because they are in a big hurry, but because this is their default setting for how fast to drive in any situation.  Put an open road in front of them and they aren’t sure what to do.  For those of you who commute on the highway, when you are forced to spend an extra half hour in traffic on the way home or to work, most of the time it is because someone ahead of you was following too close.

Stopping instead of yielding.  There are several places where this creates a problem.  The most common is the acceleration ramp in the highway.  Inexperienced drivers often have trouble with this and simply come to a stop instead of finding a way to blend into the flow of the traffic on the highway.  Stopping is very dangerous, not only for the stopped car, but for the cars behind that are not expecting a car in front of them to stop.  This is also a big problem at traffic circles where a driver’s attention is on the cars to the left in the circle as opposed to the car in front of them which they don’t expect to stop.

Trusting Mirrors.  This is one I find myself guilty of from time to time.  I know,  I know, it does take a bit more effort to look over your shoulder when changing lanes, especially when you have checked all of your mirrors and you don’t see anyone coming.  But I think most of us have had that scary experience of starting to make a lane change, only to hear the honking of the car beside us that was in our blind spot.  This is a habit that takes effort but could save your life.

Failing to Yield on Green.  The green light means go of course, but some intersections seem to be worse than others for having people force their way through a red light.  Experience will help here but you should always be cautious when moving through an intersection.  Intersection accidents often result in terrible injuries and you can avoid this by being more aware of everything going on outside of the green light itself.

Multi-Tasking and driving.  This is one of my pet peeves.   I personally quit using my phone in my car about 2 years ago.  In my business I see the results of multi-tasking while driving and frankly I’m just scared that I will forget where I am if I use my phone for any of the many great things it can do while I’m driving.  Keeping your focus on the driving that you are engaged in could save your life or someone else’s, so really it is worth the effort.

At Clinard Insurance Group, we want all drivers on the road to finish their errands and come home safely to their loved ones.  I hope these tips will help keep you aware of the importance of staying engaged in your task of driving while you are operating a motor vehicle.  

Volunteer work is a very integral part of the social fabric of America.  Almost everyone has volunteered somewhere at some point in their life and many people have regular work as volunteers each week.  But could your volunteer work get you into trouble?  There are certainly several areas of liability that can arise from volunteering from acts as a director or officer of a non-profit all the way down to minor clerical errors that could lead to large personal liability risks for the volunteer.  This article discusses a relatively new coverage form that can be added to some homeowners insurance policies to protect an individual from the liabilities associated with a wrongful act committed as a volunteer.

Let’s start with some definitions.  What is a wrongful act as defined by the volunteer wrongful acts coverage endorsement?  The policy endorsement defines this term as an actual or alleged error, misleading statement, act or omission, neglect or breach of duty committed by any insured during the policy period in the insured’s capacity as a volunteer.  Now that’s a mouthful so let’s break it down a bit.  First of all, the act must have occurred as the result of your volunteer work.  It can be either an alleged or an actual error. It can be an omission or simply a breach of your duty as a volunteer.

Perhaps an example would better illustrate this kind of loss.  Let’s say you are a treasurer for a local nonprofit and you make an honest error in calculations that indicates that the nonprofit has more money to spend on a project than they actually have in the bank.  The project is approved based on your numbers and contracts are signed and the project gets underway.  Soon it is found that you made an error and that this error is going to generate huge expenses for your nonprofit due to the contracts that were signed for the project.  You could find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit with your nonprofit for these damages.  If you had added volunteer wrongful acts coverage to your homeowners insurance policy, then you would have protection for this liability. 

If you think you may need this kind of protection and want to add it to your homeowners insurance policy, then you next want to evaluate the limits of coverage that can be provided.  Not every insurance company will allow this endorsement to be added to the policy and most will have limitations on how much protection you can buy.  Also, when you purchase this coverage, be sure to ask if your umbrella insurance policy will pick up coverage where this endorsement leaves off.  In most cases I have found that it will not do so.

Volunteering is a wonderful act of generosity and we should all encourage this kind of behavior as much as possible.  Unfortunately the law can still put you in a vulnerable position when you volunteer so you need to make sure that you have the protection you need to make sure that you are just giving your time and not your personal assets.  If we can help you with your homeowners insurance policy, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.

2011 was a difficult year for insurance companies all across the board.  Much of their stress came from the more than $50 billion in property related claims due to storms and bad weather events all across the country.  But workers compensation claims are only very slightly affected by weather, yet the year end numbers for the workers compensation industry indicate that things are not all rosy with this type of insurance either.  And bad experience for the insurance industry will almost always result in higher rates for business owners in the near future.  In this article I will highlight some of the bad news statistics that point to higher workers compensation insurance rates for business owners in the coming year, and then I will give you some insider tips on how you can avoid being stuck with these higher rates.

First let’s take a look at some of the numbers.  In 2011, the nationwide lost-time claims frequency posted a 3 percent increase.  This may not sound like much, but consider that this is the first time since 1997 that this measure increased from the previous year.  Is this a one-time blip or a bell weather signal for changes ahead in workers compensation lost time claims?  I think it may be the latter.

Added to this problem of increased claims frequency is the unsettling result that net written premium for the insurance companies declined by 1.3% in 2011.  Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that if claims are going up and premiums are going down, then something has to give.  That something will be the rates that you pay for your work comp insurance policy.  Insurance companies like to measure the money that they take in (premiums you pay) against the money that they pay out for claims.  They call this measure a loss ratio.  If this loss ratio rises above 100%, then the insurance companies are losing money.  In 2011 the loss ratio for workers compensation insurance in the U.S. increased to an astonishing 118.1%.  This is the highest level since the year 2000 when it was 121%. 

So what is the problem?  Well there are a few and none of them seem to show any signs of letting up in the near future, which is why I am predicting higher workers compensation rates across the board.  First of all is the rising costs of medicine which now accounts for 60% of the workers compensation total claim payout.  Medical inflation is running at 6% currently, far above that for most other items that you buy.  Poor economic conditions are also a factor as there is a greater tendency for fraud in bad economic environments.  In addition, the work force is getting older and more obese each year and these factors are also putting a strain on the claims costs both medical and time out of work.

So what must you do to keep your business from being swept up in the work comp rate increases that are bound to happen in 2012?  Well I think the first thing you should do is take a good look at your work comp policy and your work comp carrier.  There is a growing market segment of work comp only companies out there today.  These companies realize that to make money in this business and to keep rates low for their customers, they need to be much more proactive in the prevention of claims as well as the recovery process.  These companies will have loss control programs that can help you prevent claims from happening in the first place.  They also tend to have nurses and claims case workers on staff to double check all medical bills for errors and fraud and to help your injured worker heal and get back to work as quickly as possible.

We have several of these specialty work comp companies in our stable of fine insurance companies with whom we do business.  If you have questions about your work comp insurance, or if you would like a quote to see just how much you can save on your workers compensation insurance, please give us a call, toll free, at 877-687-7557.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Nearly a half million businesses and residences suffer from water damage as a result of frozen pipes each year.  Do you know if your businessowners insurance policy or your homeowners insurance policy will cover the damage caused by this type of loss?  Did you know that nearly all of these losses are completely preventable?  Having a large preventable loss can spell trouble between you and your insurance company and that alone is enough reason to avoid this type of loss.  But the pure hassle that you will go through if you experience a burst pipe situation should be enough to motivate you to take precautions now, before the really cold temperatures hit.

Let’s take a look at some of the steps that you can take to keep your pipes a bit safer.  Start by protecting the pipes themselves.  If your pipes are in a vulnerable spot like the attic or the crawlspace, you should be sure to insulate them properly.   Both the hot and the cold lines should be insulated.  Next take a look at their environment.  Seal any leaks to the attic or space that might allow enough cold air into that space to freeze the pipes.  Last of all, disconnect your garden hoses and drain sprinkler systems to lessen the chance of freezing at those points in the system.

When a hard freeze is coming, there are some additional steps that you can take for the short term to protect your pipes.  You could let warm water trickle from the faucets overnight, particularly on an exterior wall, or on a long stretch of unprotected pipe.  Next, open cabinet doors to allow heat to reach non-insulated pipes under sinks.  Last of all, don’t turn your thermostat down at night when in a hard freeze.  You will need as much heat as possible to protect your pipes.  Paying a little more now on the heating bill to avoid the mess of burst pipes is a fair tradeoff.

If your pipes do freeze, it doesn’t mean that they have burst.  You may still be able to save them.  Here are a few things that you can do.  First of all, turn on the water at the faucets and leave it on.  As the frozen area starts to melt, water will move and help melt the rest of it.  Next try to locate the frozen area of your pipe.  If you are able to do this, then try to safely apply heat to the frozen area.  You can wrap them in towels soaked in hot water, or use a hair dryer or an electric heating pad.  Do not use a blow torch, kerosene or any other open flame to heat the pipe.  These techniques could leave you with a home destroyed by fire!  If none of these techniques work, then call a licensed, professional plumber.

In NC, the standard homeowners form will almost always cover loss to your home and your contents from water damage as a result of a burst pipe.  But this protection should be your last resort.  This type of claim leaves a nasty mark on your claims record and will almost certainly cost you in terms of higher homeowners insurance rates in the future.  In this case, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound or more of cure.