August 13, 2010
Many California Homeowners may be overlooking a simple and affordable tool to protecting their home in the event of an earthquake. Installing a seismic shutoff valve not only protects your home, but your family and neighbors as well. In the event of a large earthquake, the gas line in the home could break or become disconnected, causing a fire in your home which could lead to a devastating total loss. Read full article
A legitimate taxpayer tries to file his tax return for 2009 and is told that someone has already filed a return in his name.
A couple hasn’t received their refund check and finds out that it has been mailed to another address.
A woman opens her annual Statement of Earnings from the Social Security Administration and discovers incorrect income reported under her Social Security number.
These are just a few examples of tax identity theft that’s prevalent in today’s world. Read full article
July 1, 2010
Remember the days when people were only worried about the dangers of talking on cells phones while driving? As legislators try to catch up with advances in mobile technologies, accidents are piling up. Today Driving While Texting (DWT) has become the newest danger on the roads. According to a recent Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Study, the risk an accident or near accident while texting is at least 23 times higher than ‘non-distracted’ driving. Read full article
Many California Homeowners may be overlooking a simple and affordable tool to protecting their home in the event of an earthquake. Installing a seismic shutoff valve not only protects your home, but your family and neighbors as well. In the event of a large earthquake, the gas line in the home could break or become disconnected, causing a fire in your home which could lead to a devastating total loss. Read full article
A legitimate taxpayer tries to file his tax return for 2009 and is told that someone has already filed a return in his name.
A couple hasn’t received their refund check and finds out that it has been mailed to another address.
A woman opens her annual Statement of Earnings from the Social Security Administration and discovers incorrect income reported under her Social Security number.
These are just a few examples of tax identity theft that’s prevalent in today’s world. Research suggests there were over 23,000 incidents of identity-related fraudulent tax returns for the 2008 tax period and 24,000 incidents of identity-related fraudulent employment.* Read full article
Each year, hundreds of families escape from blazing brush fires only moments before their properties are engulfed in flames. While watching the devastating news reports, the public cannot help but wonder why these families waited so long to evacuate their homes. The answer is most likely linked to poor planning. Read full article
April 1, 2009
You may have heard of Chubb Group of Insurance Companies’ wildfire protection service, and perhaps you have seen Chubb’s impressive wildfire engines on their way to battle a fire. But perhaps you have not seen these private firefighters at work. An article posted in the Santa Barbara Independent (www.independent.com) details how Chubb’s Wildfire Defense Services (WDS) coordinates with local fire departments to protect insured’s properties during the recent Jesusita, Santa Barbara Fire. Read full article
According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. will offer a plan that pays for damaged or destroyed homes to be rebuilt using environmentally friendly methods and materials.” This new policy, along with the pledge by Fireman’s Fund parent company, Allianz, to reduce its “carbon footprint” 20% by 2012, shows Fireman’s Fund’s commitment to the environment. Moreover, Fireman’s Fund not only offers a green home endorsement that pays for damaged or destroyed homes, but also offers a discount to homeowners with homes that meet current Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) standards. Read full article
An important distinction exists between the insured value of your home and the actual cost to replace it after a loss. In our everyday lives, it is easy to believe a large scale disaster will never affect us, and we continue to do our best to shop for the most cost efficient or most convenient form of risk management. However, three disastrous fires occurring within the last three years illustrate how homeowners’ perception of their insurance changed after a devastating loss. Read full article
Two years ago, Fort Point Insurance unveiled a new loss-prevention initiative that provides all clients employing domestic staff with access to background investigations, at no cost. A variety of vendor screening services will be used to conduct the investigations free of charge to all clients with domestic employees and/or those who are interviewing employees. Fort Point along with several insurance company partners, initiated the venture with several background screening firms as part of its ongoing directive to help protect the safety and assets of its policyholders. Read full article
