I bet when you woke up this morning you rolled out of bed and sat silently pondering the intricacies of flood insurance. Okay, maybe you have never thought of flood insurance in your life. No one cares about flood insurance until you suffer a loss cause by a flood. Did you know coverage for flood insurance is excluded on virtually every insurance policy known to man except….wait for it….Auto Insurance?. I bet you would never have guessed that one.

Back to my point. There is a wonderful website developed by FEMA called Floodsmart.gov. There is a treasure trove of information about flood insurance. I wanted to call to you attention a brief flyer they created called the Ten Flood Insurance Facts. It is easy to read and gives you a basic understanding of flood insurance.

That’s it for today. If there is ever anything you would like to see posted or had questions on feel free to email me at steve@hannon-ryan.com. Have a nice weekend and don’t forget to go shopping for Mother’s Day next week.

Thank You,
Steve Murphy

The above is meant as general information and as general policy descriptions to help you understand the different types of coverages available to you. Always consult your policy for actual coverages and exclusions.

Give up? Or more to the point don’t care? I’ll just pretend you’re interested….Life Insurance! Yes, if you think about it we all buy car insurance, homeowner’s insurance and for some even an umbrella policy. We can go 30 years without an accident (not a simple task in Massachusetts) or possibly never have a homeowner’s claim. But we are all going to die someday. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The good news is that life insurance rates are very affordable right now. For example I just quoted a $500,000 30-year term life insurance policy for a 35 year old male in good health, non-smoker and the monthly premium is less than $38 a month. I spend more than that a month at Dunkin Donuts (and that’s probably killing me).

It may be one of the more challenging insurance policies to buy just because we all procrastinate, but it is one of  the most important. Your family will never regret your decision to buy a life insurance policy. You will never get scare tactics from me, just the reality we all face.

Feel free to call me at 508-746-0030 or send me an email at steve@hannon-ryan.com for a quote or if you have any questions.

Thank You,
Steve Murphy

The above is meant as general information and as general policy descriptions to help you understand the different types of coverages available to you. Always consult your policy for actual coverages and exclusions.

A common question we are asked is “Will my homeowner’s insurance premium go up if I file a claim?”. The simple quick answer is no. You could potentially lose your loss-free credit if you have one on your policy. That would cause your premium to go up the following policy term. Homeowner’s insurance rates are not determined by loss history. Your homeowner’s insurance rates are based on a multitude of factors including the location of your home, the size, the age, your insurance score (insurance company lingo for a credit score) to mention a few.  

Insurance companies are more concerned with frequency rather than a single loss. If you file 3 small claims in a year more than likely you will be looking for a new company when your policy expires. So, if you have a loss with significant damage, the right thing to do is file the claim. After all, you’re paying a premium every year, why not use your insurance for what it’s designed to do?

The above is meant as general information and as general policy descriptions to help you understand the different types of coverages available to you. Always consult your policy for actual coverages and exclusions.

That is the average number of driver’s a day in Massachusetts driving without insurance. Yes, auto insurance coverage is mandatory in Massachusetts, but not everyone follows the rules. What would happen if you got into a car accident with someone with no auto insurance? Yes, you can take legal action against that person, but chances are that will be a long process and more than likely not amount to much help.

Fortunately you have a coverage on your auto insurance policy called Uninsured Motorist coverage. This coverage is for you and your passengers who are injured in an auto accident with an uninsured vehicle. This  coverage pays for medical bills, lost income and property damage expenses. This is YOUR protection. And the price is very affordable.

Do me a favor. Pull out your auto policy today and look at two coverages; Bodily Injury Caused by an Uninsured Motorist & Bodily Injury Caused by an Undersinsured Motorist. These coverages are designed to protect your financial well being if you are involved in an accident with someone with either no insurance or low limits. Do you have less than $100/$300k? If yes, then call your agent today and ask how much it would cost to increase those limits. 

Rememer, just because you follow the rules doesn’t mean that the person in the car next to you does.

The above is meant as general information and as general policy descriptions to help you understand the different types of coverages available to you. Always consult your policy for actual coverages and exclusions.

I came across this article on Realtor.com. It is a prospecting challenge for yourself. You don’t have to be a Realtor to see the value in the idea. Simple, yet effective and very low budget. I won’t restate the article. Just follow this link….

http://lockbox.realtor.com/realtor-marketing/prospecting-on-a-budget/.

Can you do it?

Enjoy the day!

Steve

 Have you ever dropped your cell phone in the toilet or spilled a drink on it only to have it never work again? I haven’t (yet), but I know plenty of people who have (my wife…shhh). I realize this has nothing to do with insurance, but the idea is pretty cool.

There is a company called Liquipel that will completely waterproof your phone. The process they use is a specialized coating in the form of a vapor. You mail your phone to them and they put it into a chamber and fill it with the vapor, which bonds at the molecular level to protect the phone. Since vapor is so small, when the process is finished you can’t see or detect the coating, which makes it perfect for phones. The coating gets into everything, inside and out. This means not only is your phone waterproof on the outside, but also on the inside where all the vital components of your phone reside.

You can get your phone completely waterproof for $59. For an extra $10, Liquipel will complete the treatment for your phone within two hours of receiving it. If you can’t live without your phone for a few days, expedited delivery is also available for an additional cost. 

We don’t get any fees or commission for recommending this service. I just thought it might be helpful. Give it a try and if you do, let me know how it works for you.

Happy Thursday!

Steve Murphy

Laurie C. of Pembroke won the Ipad 2 Sweepstakes! Thank you to everyone who participated, especially our customers for the flattering recommendations. They are very much appreciated.

This was fun. We’ll have to come up with something else in the near future.

Have a great weekend and Go Pats!!!

We are approaching the end of our sweepstakes drawing to win a free IPAD 2. As of right now your chances of winning are 1 in 276 (current number of people that “like” our page).  All you have to do to enter the sweepstakes is click “Like” on our Facebook page – Facebook/HannonRyan. 

Want to increase your chance of winning even more? Just click the “Send an Invite” link after you ”like” our page and you will get an additional entry for each person that signs up form your invite. Real simple.

There is no obligation to buy anything (we won’t be knocking on your door trying to sell you an insurance policy). See our Facebook page for more details.

Have a great weekend and good luck!

Steve Murphy

Just a quick reminder to let you know all of our offices are open today, January 16th 2012. Ever wonder how we come up with our holiday schedule (I’m sure it’s kept you up at night)? We use the same holiday schedule as our largest insurance company, Commerce Insurance. So feel free to stop on by.

Have a great week!

The Massachusetts’ ban on text messaging has been in full effect now for a while, but I thought I would post a quick summary of the law for your reading pleasure.

The law prohibits all drivers from texting while behind the wheel and bans use of all cell phones by drivers who are 16 and 17 years old. The young drivers are barred from using a variety of devices (TVs, video, PCs) under the heading “mobile electronic devices.”

The fines for adults are $100 (first offense), then $250 and $500.

Fines for drivers under 18 are $100 plus 60-day license suspension and youth traffic school (first offense), then $250 with six-month suspension and then $500 with a one-year suspension.

If you do get a ticket the good news is that it will not affect your insurance premiums as they are not considered moving violations. However, enforcement is “primary,” meaning police can stop and cite texting motorists for that reason alone. So be safe and DON’T text!