Renters Insurance Can Be a Relatively Cheap Form of Protection for Your Possessions

Getting your first apartment can be a liberating experience. It brings new levels of personal choice, privacy, and freedom to your life. It can also be a learning experience, and to make sure that learning experience isn't the unpleasant kind, one of the things you should learn about is renters insurance.

As you move through life, you may find yourself buying various kinds of insurance, from auto to health, homeowners to life insurance. Of all these forms of insurance, renters insurance may well be the cheapest, so it can be a good place to learn about how to buy insurance. At the same time, it can provide you with valuable protection as you start to accumulate possessions.

What is Renters Insurance?
Renters insurance is a policy which covers the contents of an apartment or other rental property. Your landlord should have a policy which covers the value of the structure itself, but what about your possessions? To make sure you are covered against loss, theft, or damage to the contents of your apartment, you may want to consider rental insurance.

Rental insurance can either cover the estimated value of your possessions, or what it would cost to replace them. So, for example, your five-year old television set may only be worth a hundred dollars or so if you tried to sell it. However, replacing it would set you back a few hundred dollars. Since replacement cost is typically more than current value, replacement cost insurance is likely to be a little more expensive.

Renters insurance does not only protect possessions. It can also help cover certain living expenses if you are displaced from your apartment by a fire or other disaster. Short-term accommodations can be expensive, but renters insurance can help provide for these emergencies.

Why is Renters Insurance Important?
There are several reasons why renters insurance is important:

If you are just starting out trying to accumulate some savings and possessions, you can ill afford to be set back to square one by a one-time event.
As a renter, you typically have little control over the safety and security of your building. Renters insurance can provide you with protection even if your landlord doesn't.
Similarly, you have no control over the other tenants in your building. They may not be who you would choose to share living space with, but at least you can guard the value of your possessions with renters insurance.

How Do You Buy Renters Insurance?
Here are some steps to take when buying renters insurance:
Make an inventory of the contents of your apartment. Note serial numbers where applicable, and estimate the approximate value of each item. Document any particularly valuable or unique items with photographs. This inventory should not only be helpful in getting insurance quotes, but it could come in handy if you ever have to fill out a burglary or damage report.

Renters insurance isn't just worthwhile if something bad happens. You may find the day-to-day peace of mind is well worth the cost.

When you’re sharing the road Size matters

Semis, 18-wheelers, extra-long buses, RVs and towed trailers — big rigs of all kinds are everywhere. If you’re not aware of their limitations, sharing the road with these large vehicles can be dangerous. They typically don’t have the same stop-and-go capabilities as passenger cars, and considering their height and weight, they can inflict serious damage to smaller vehicles and their passengers — not to mention pedestrians. Here are some driving tips that may help you be smarter about sharing the road with a big rig:

“No-Zones” are a no-no — Never stay in any of the four blind spots or No-Zones along each of the four sides of a truck. Never drive directly behind or on the right side of a truck where the driver can’t see you. If you’re driving on the left side of a truck, keep in mind that if you can’t see the driver’s side view mirror, then you’re in a blind spot. If you can’t see the mirror, the driver can’t see you! If you can see the mirror, try to make eye contact with the driver. Once you’ve overtaken a truck, never get in front of it unless you can see the entire front of the truck in your rear view mirror.1

Cut-offs and exit ramps — Don’t jump in front of a big rig and then brake to make a turn or exit. They typically take as much as three times the distance to stop as the average passenger car — don’t risk your life by cutting a truck off and then slowing down in front of it.2

Avoid a “squeeze play” — In order to negotiate a right turn, particularly in urban areas, truck drivers sometimes swing wide to the left. They can’t see directly behind or beside their vehicle so don’t create a “squeeze” by cutting between the truck and the curb. Pay attention to truck signals and give them plenty of room to maneuver.3

Be smart

As you share the roads and highways with trucks, buses and large hauling vehicles, be smart about what you do: Be attentive and stay focused. And remember, the more you know about insurance the better you can plan. Make sure you have the auto coverage you want should the unexpected and unintended occur. Get smarter about insurance — let’s have a conversation.



1http://www.ct.gov/dmv/LIB/dmv/20/29/nozone.pdf

2http://www.edmunds.com/driving-tips/how-to-share-the-road-with-truckers.html

3http://www.sharetheroadsafely.org/cardrivers/carsafety_tips.as

Tirme to check your Tire Pressure

With the recent change in outside temperature, tire air pressure can be affected. Keeping the correct air pressure in your tires is essential to help your tires wear longer, save fuel, enhance handling, and prevent accidents. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that gas mileage can be lowered by 0.4% for every 1 PSI (pound per square inch) drop in the pressure of all four tires. The Rubber Manufacturers Association states that 85 percent of drivers surveyed do not check their tire pressure properly, and many don't even know where to find the recommended proper tire inflation for their vehicle. Most places, such as discount tire, offer a free air ressure check.

10 Things to Know About Liquor Liability

1. Liquor liability insurance is defined as coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by an intoxicated person who was served liquor by the policyholder, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

2. The breadth of liquor liability coverage varies by state because each state has its own interpretations and evidence requirements of who is legally liable in the event of an injury to a third party.

3. The I.I.I. reports that “dram shop liability,” or social host liability, holds a social or commercial host liable for injuries inflicted on a third party by an intoxicated guest of the host’s event or establishment.

4. 44 states and the District of Columbia have enacted dram shop liability laws or statutes that extend to social or commercial (retailers) hosts, according to a report from the Center on
Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

5. In some states, every bar in which an intoxicated person drank can be pulled into a lawsuit if the person causes bodily injury to a third party. The establishment must prove that the patron was not or did not appear intoxicated while there.

6. Other states require proof that the establishment sold alcohol to the intoxicated individual, injuries were sustained and the injury was the direct result of the individual’s intoxication.

7. CAMY’s report states that 54.3 percent of binge drinkers who reported driving after their most recent binge drinking episode drank in an on-premises, retail alcohol establishment such as a bar, club or restaurant.

8. If liquor liability is covered by a homeowners insurance policy, it may be limited to $100,000 to $300,000 in coverage, says the I.I.I.

9. In February of this year, ISO revised the liquor liability exclusion contained in its general liability forms to address “bring your own” alcohol establishments. The new exclusions now have an exception for insureds that are not considered to be “in the business of serving, selling or furnishing alcohol under the scope of the liquor liability exclusion simply by allowing someone to bring and consume their own alcohols on its own premises.”

10. Many carriers offer discounts on liquor liability coverage to establishments that provide alcohol awareness education and training to employees.

Insurance Expert David Lorms Hits Amazon Best-Seller List With “Change Agents”

David Lorms recently hit seven Amazon.com best-seller lists with the new book, “Change Agents.”

Houston, Tex. – September 24, 2013 – Insurance expert David Lorms recently joined noted business development expert, Brian Tracy, and a select group of the world’s leading business professionals to co-write the book titled, Change Agents: The World's Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets for Successfully Changing the Status Quo to Help Their Clients Lead Better Lives and Run Better Businesses. The book was released on September 19, 2013 by CelebrityPress™ - a leading business book publisher.



CelebrityPress™ describes the book: “Descriptively known as Agents of Change, the Celebrity Experts® in Change Agents seek to make new inroads into the fields of expertise they represent. They have attained success by changing both themselves and the world around them to some degree. Never afraid of change, however difficult, they know that they will never enjoy the sweet taste of success only doing what everyone else does.” David Lorms contributed a chapter titled “Picture This!”



On the day of release, Change Agents reached best-seller status in seven Amazon.com categories - reaching as high as #2 in the “Direct Marketing” and “Marketing for Small Business” categories. The book also reached best-seller status in the following categories: “Sales and Selling,” “Marketing,” “Entrepreneurship,” “Marketing and Sales,” and “Small Business and Entrepreneurship.”



David Lorms is a Farmers Insurance Agent in Houston, TX. His prior work included experience in sales and insurance claims giving him a solid background for becoming an Insurance Agent. He has won numerous awards including the Blue Vase and Toppers Club. David is heavily involved in his community as a member of his Home Owners Association, an Usher at his Church, and donating time and money to several local Elementary, Middle and High Schools. One program he is proud of is his creation of awarding students for perfect attendance with bikes, medals or other items deemed appropriate by the school. David is also involved in the March of Dimes, AIDS Walk, and Cell Phones for Soldiers, a program that collects old cell phones to exchange for minutes for soldiers to use to call their family.



After such a successful release, David Lorms will be recognized by The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™, an organization that honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists.



To order a copy of the book, please go to http://www.amazon.com/Change-Agents-Brian-Tracy/dp/0615823882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380650985&sr=8-1&keywords=brian+tracy+change+agents

The royalties from this project will be given to Entrepreneur’s International Foundation, a not for profit organization dedicated to creating unique launch campaigns to raise money and awareness for charitable causes.



Learn more about David Lorms at http://www.farmersagent.com/dlorms

Short Sleepers Most Likely to Be Drowsy Drivers

Federal data suggests that 15 to 33 percent of fatal automobile crashes are caused by drowsy drivers, but very little research has addressed what factors play a role in operating a vehicle in this impaired state. New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is revealing that short sleepers, those who sleep less than six hours per night on average, are the most likely to experience drowsy driving, even when they feel completely rested. The study is published in the October issue of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.


“Falling asleep at the wheel is a major cause of road accidents. It might even be more of a problem than drunk driving, since it is responsible for more serious crashes per year,” said corresponding study author Michael Grandner, PhD, instructor in Psychiatry and member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology. “We already know that people who are sleep deprived in the laboratory have impaired driving performance, but we haven’t been able to better define what sleep profiles and patterns put drivers in the general population at the highest risk.”

Previous research on drowsy driving has utilized results from laboratory experiments, but the new study, utilizing data from the CDC’s 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), evaluated individuals in the general population. BRFSS is an annual, state-based, random digit-dialed telephone interview survey of adults aged 18 years and older from all over the U.S., conducted by the CDC. It is the world’s largest telephone survey, designed to monitor health-related behaviors in the general population.


Using the BRFSS data, Grandner and colleagues found that people who self-reported sleeping 6 hours or less (short sleepers) on average were about twice as likely as 7-hour sleepers to report driving drowsy in the past 30 days, and those sleeping 5 hours or less (very short sleepers) were nearly 4 times as likely.

They also examined the data on the subset of short and very short sleepers who reported that they always receive sufficient sleep, finding that these people are still 3 times as likely to report drowsy driving in the past 30 days. This means that short sleepers, even if they feel fully rested, are more likely to drive drowsy.

Other study authors from Penn include senior author Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, James Findley, PhD, CBSM, and Querino Maia.


Source: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Tips on Identifying a Flood-Damaged Vehicle

Hurricanes and tropical storms affect more than just homeowners. Following Superstorm Sandy, which hit October 28, 2012, insurance companies processed more than 250,000 claims for damaged vehicles. Damage can range from scratches and minor dents to vehicles being crushed or flooded.

Rising water can cause major damage to the vehicle,” said Bob Passmore, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s senior director of personal lines. “Water damage to a vehicle is typically covered under an auto policy’s comprehensive insurance coverage.”

Consumers and adjusters should be wary of vehicles that are exposed to flood waters. Unfortunately, there are many instances of flood damaged vehicles being resold to uninformed buyers. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), dishonest car dealers can purchase flooded cars, clean them up and sell them with hidden damage. They then can transport the damaged cars to states that were unaffected by the storm, and then sell them without disclosing the vehicles true history.

What to look for in a washed up vehicle
The NICB outlines specific things to be on the look out for:

• Inspect the vehicle for water stains, mildew, sand, or silt under the carpets, floor mats, headliner cloth and behind the dashboard.

• Check for recently shampooed carpet.

• Inspect the interior upholstery and door panels for fading.

• Check for rust on screws in the console or areas where water normally doesn’t reach.

• Check for mud or grit in the spare tire compartment, alternator crevices, behind wiring harnesses, around the small recesses of starter motors, power steering pumps and relays.

• Check inside the seatbelt retractors by pulling the seatbelt all the way out and inspect for moisture, mildew or grime.

• Check door speakers as they will often be damaged due to flooding.

• Ask about the vehicle’s history. Ask whether it was in any accidents or floods.

• Inspect the title and ownership papers for any potential or questionable salvage fraud.

• Conduct a title search of the vehicle.

• Look under the hood for signs of oxidation. Pull back rubber boots around electrical and mechanical connections for these indicators: Ferrous materials will show signs of rust Copper will show a green patina.

• Aluminum and alloys will have a white powder and pitting.



Source: PCI