HAVE YOU MADE PLANS FOR YOUR DIGITAL AFTER LIFE?

by | Jan 30, 2013 | Blog

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is voting on a bill that would allow the executor of an estate to have full legal access to and control over Social Media profiles, texting, and email accounts of a deceased family member.  Allowing the executor legal access to make changes to their profiles.  Such as having their Facebook page memorialized, shut down, or edit any social media profile and email accounts.  In our Keene, NH Insurance office, part of what we do every day is Financial Planning and Life Insurance, and we hear questions like this all the time.  We feel it is good to start having these conversations, and to start to pay attention to what we are leaving behind in our on-line life.  To date social media sites and email providers are all making their own rules that are laid out in their terms of service agreements. This New Hampshire bill has come with mixed responses, with opponents stating that it may be too far reaching, hard to enforce, or may conflict with federal legislation which is currently under consideration.  While supporters believe that times are changing with most people’s lives being documented and executed on-line their needs to be a solution to this growing problem.  Leaving the profiles inactive leaves them vulnerable to being hacked and it does nothing to memorialize the deceased, possibly causing confusion to people who may not have known they had passed. Some people argue that that there are other functions that can tackle this problem.  Everyone may have different wishes and how do we make sure these very personal choices are honored?   One solution would be to include your wishes for your on-life in your will leaving control and instructions for your loved ones regarding your digital life after death.  There are a few websites that have recognized this need and are offering a product to help make sure your wishes are fulfilled.  Legacy Locker is a popular one, but it comes with a price and not everyone is willing to pay for such a service.  Keeping an active list of all your social media profiles, email accounts, and passwords is probably the most helpful thing you can do to make sure that family will be able to easily access your accounts to fulfill your wishes. Digital life after death can be a touchy subject but we feel it is something we should be considering.  If you have not made a plan for your loved ones for your digital afterlife now might be a good time to start.  If you have any questions about other types of end of life planning such as Life Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance, or Financial Planning you can contact Downey Insurance Group at our Keene, NH Insurance office at 888-895-3638.

How to Organize Your Closet

by | Jan 25, 2013 | Blog

Keeping a clean, organized closet can be tough, especially when you own so many items, but luckily there are easy ways to help you organize your closet. Check out these helpful tips.

First, remove all of your items from your closet to get a good look at what you own. If your closet is too cluttered, it is usually an indication that you are storing too many items in it. Get rid of the items that you don’t need, such as clothes that you never wear, movies you haven’t seen in years, and other unimportant items that you never use. With everything removed from your closet, take this chance to wipe down all the shelves and vacuum or sweep the floor.

With an empty closet, it is easier to see how much closet space you really have, so decide how many things you can actually put back. If you can’t see how your belongings will fit in an organized manner, consider getting rid of more items.

If most of your items are loose in your closet, purchase storage totes to keep your items in. Not only does this give you a chance to organize a little bit better, but it helps give structure so that items can stay on high shelves, and it gives a closet a clean feel to it.

Fill your storage totes with the items that you want to keep, organizing items into categories that you will remember when you want to find items later. Stack these totes on shelves first before putting them on the floor. Use hangers to hang up all of your clothes; if there isn’t enough room, you need to get rid of more clothes or store some in the totes. With clothes on a hanger and your belongings in storage totes, your closet can have a clean feel to it without the fear of everything crashing down every time you open the door.

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Massachusetts SDIP Points Explained

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Blog

The Massachusetts SDIP or Safe Driver Insurance Program can be a little confusing and many people don’t realize just how much this rating factor affects their Massachusetts Auto Insurance Policy .  This program, overseen by the Merit Rating Board of Massachusetts, has been in effect since 2006 when it replaced the old “step based” program.  The current Massachusetts SDIP program has been specifically designed to reward safe drivers, and to encourage drivers with a high SDIP score to practice safe driving by requiring them to pay a higher insurance premium.    If you would like to contest applied SDIP points, you do have the right to Appeal a MA SDIP Surcharge.  Here is the breakdown of the types of incidents and violations that incur SDIP Points and what it all means: Major Traffic Violations: 5 SDIP Points Minor Traffic violation: 2 SDIP Points Major at-fault traffic accident: 4 SDIP Points Minor at-fault traffic accident: 3 SDIP Points Major traffic violations are considered the most serious offense with a 5 SDIP point penalty and can include: operating under the influence (OUI), leaving the scene of an accident where there is property damage or bodily injury, refusing to stop for a police officer, operating a vehicle after suspension or revocation of a driver’s license, manslaughter, or driving to endanger.   Minor traffic violations while considered “minor” and incurring 2 SDIP points, are ticketable offences and can include: speeding, following too closely, failure to use child restraint system, improper passing, failure to display current inspection sticker, failure to stop, operating a vehicle that is not properly registered, and many, many more. Major at-fault traffic accidents are serious business and are determined by the dollar amount paid out for an at fault accident.  If you are more that 50% at fault, and your insurance company pays out more than $2,000 for your claim, then you can expect to incur 4 SDIP points on your driving record. Minor at-fault traffic accidents are defined as any at-fault accident that results in an insurance claim that pays out less than $2,000 in damages and medical expenses.  A minor traffic accident will incur you 3 SDIP points.  With the cost of vehicle repairs you can see how it would be easy to go over the $2,000 mark, making most accidents (unless actually very very minor) Major Accidents. If you are involved in a scenario that incurs more than one violation, accident, or ticketable offence for the same instance, they will both be applied as an Incident to your record.  But, you will only incur points for the highest rated offence.  For example if you are involved in a major accident where you are also cited for speeding you would only receive additional  SDIP points for the major accident, but there would be 2 Incidents which will be counted toward your “Incident Count” more about this in a minute. So what does all of this mean, how long before you can get these points off your record, and what if you are a good driver? SDIP Points range from 0-45 with two additional categories of 99 and 98.  SDIP points generally stay on your record for 6 years. There are only two ways to remove SDIP points from your record before the 6 year mark: contesting an offence and what is called the “Clean in 3” rule. “Clean in 3” has 3 criteria, (1) You have 3 or fewer surchargeable offences on your record in the 5 years preceding your current insurance policy’s effective date. (2) Your most recent surchargeable event is over 3 old, and (3) you have at least 3 years of driving experience. Every year that you meet this “Clean in 3” criteria, you will drop 1 SDIP point from your record. The next big number is 5 for the Excellent Driver Discount or the Excellent Driver Discount with one Incident, both considered a 98.  This would apply if you (1) have at least 5 years of driving experience.  (2) You have one or less surchargeable offence in the last 6 years consisting of a non-criminal traffic law violation that is over 3 years old. The best and most coveted score is a 99, the Excellent Driver Discount Plus.  You can achieve this rating if and only if (1) You have 6 years of driving experience and (2) You have no surchargeable events in the last 6 years of policy history. There is one more rule that is worth mentioning.  If you receive a non-criminal minor traffic violation and you have a not received a surchargeable event within the last 5 years, no surcharge points will be assigned.  (WooHoo it’s a freebie, well kind of.) This blog post is the first in a Massachusetts SDIP series that will continue with other topics including: Appealing a Surcharge, How SDIP Points Affect My Insurance Premium, and Other Ways to Lower Your Massachusetts Insurance Premium.  Click the RRS Feed at the top of the page to subscribe to our blog to receive subsequent blog posts on this topic and other important Insurance related topics from your Insurance experts Downey Insurance Group.

Resolve to Be Happy in the New Year

by | Jan 11, 2013 | Blog

Almost half of all Americans make at least one resolution on New Year’s Eve. Many make several: some aspiring to meet all of their goals, while others would be satisfied to accomplish one task on their mental lists. Even if you’re the type that doesn’t usually partake in this New Year’s tradition, this is a great time of year to reflect on your ambitions and to make sure that your life is headed in the direction best suited to make your dreams a reality.

While we enjoy living in one of the world’s most prosperous nations, many of us share the same worries and concerns. 38% of all resolutions made are somehow related to weight, and 31% involve our relationships. 34% of us set annual goals about finances, and a whopping 47% of resolutions started on January 1st are about self-improvement and education.

Still, only 8% of those who make resolutions actually succeed in fulfilling them. 49% have sporadic success. One out of four people never achieve their resolutions. Interestingly, people who achieve these resolutions are reportedly no happier than those who were either unsuccessful in their goals or who did not set any in the first place. However, this doesn’t mean that having goals or making resolutions is a pointless endeavor.

Rather, this information emphasizes the idea that it is important to shift focus from the aspects of life perceived as negative, focusing instead on the elements of life that make it worth living. It means that we should look at our resolutions as incentive to improve on what already exists, not as the task of attempting to “fix” an aspect of our lives that we consider to be less than ideal.

Go ahead and make that resolution in 2013. Just remember to be gentle with yourself as you strive to meet your goals, and to find a little happiness in each and every day.

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DON’T OVERLOOK WINTER CAR SEAT SAFETY

by | Jan 9, 2013 | Blog

Your child or infant car seat is installed properly, you check your tires, change your oil, but is your child really safe in the car?  If you child is wearing a winter coat or snow suit in their car seat the answer is NO!

As a Massachusetts Personal Auto Insurance agent we want to help you protect your family.  This is something that gets overlooked even by the most well intentioned parents.  Putting your child into a car seat with a winter jacket can greatly increase their risk of injury in the event of an automobile accident.  Loosening the straps of the car seat to make room for bulky winter wear decreases the effectiveness of the safety harness tremendously.  It can even cause your child to be ejected from your vehicle during a crash.  This was case last week in a Maine car accidient.  A mother and child were involved in a crash, and the child was ejected out of the car seat, and from the vehicle, into a snow bank.  The child miraculously survived the ordeal. 

Being ejected is not the only danger of a loose car seat harness.  Even during a minor car crash, bulky clothing will compress during impact, and the child will be subjected to additional force from the crash.  A tight fit using the “pinch test” to make sure there is not too much slack is recommended.  You should never be able to pinch any of the car seat strap fabric vertically.  Also, in 2011 the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their recommendations to keep children rear facing through their second year, and older children should be in a booster seat until they reach 4 feet 9 inches tall.

Dress your child in thin warm layers, and remove their coat before strapping them in to their seat.  You can keep them warm with a blanket, or by wearing their coat backwards in the car seat.  There are also many products on the market such as car seat bunting or poncho’s that go over the car seat.

The Car Seat Lady always has great tips and information on child car seat safety and as always the American academy of Pediatrics is a great resource for child safety information.  Stay safe from your insurance family Downey Insurance!

Driver Training for New Hampshire Auto Insurance Discounts

by | Dec 28, 2012 | Blog

What would you do if faced with a dangerous driving situation?  Would you know the best way to react?  New drivers and old can benefit from a refresher driving course from the original Skid School taught by Stephens Advanced Driver Training and you may be eligible for discounts on your New hampshire Auto Insurance.

Stephens has been teaching Skid School for over 30 years in New Hampshire and has helped thousands of drivers learn how to react to avoid accidents and other dangerous driving situations.  Charlie Downey of Downey Insurance Group has taken this course and he accredits many avoided accidents to the knowledge that he leaned in Skid School.

Additionally, if you are a New Hampshire Auto Insurance policy holder with Co-Op Insurance Company you can take this course at a discounted rate of $150 AND Co-Op will apply a 10% driver discount to your policy!

New Drivers and old will benefit from real life hands on driver training that teaches the following and more:

• Effective Emergency Braking Technique
• Best Hand and Seating Position for Control
• Precision Steering and Car Control
• Tire Care
• Mirrors and Blind Spots
• Emergency Lane Changes
• Dangers of Tailgating

This really is a win-win for everyone, learning how to stay safe on the road and saving money on your New Hampshire Auto Insurance.  There is no substitute for experience!  Sign up today using their easy on-line registration  www.skidschool.us/   Make sure you tell them you are a Co-Op Insurance Policy holder!