O’ Christmas Tree Don’t Burn Down On Me!

Posted on June 22, 2019August 29, 2021 by Shield Insurance Agency

‘Tis the season, the busy Christmas season. All of us are busy decorating our homes, buying gifts, and preparing to spend time with family and friends.

For some of us, myself included, decorating our homes for the Christmas season is a longstanding tradition. Based on data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), an estimated 240 home fires involving Christmas trees and another 150 home fires involving holiday lights and other decorative lighting occur each year. Together, these fires result in 21 deaths and $25.2 million in direct property damage.

Here are some tips to protect your Christmas Tree:

Keep the tree watered
Choose a freshly cut tree. You can tell if the tree has been cut for a long time by bouncing the trunk on the ground. If needles fall off the tree, it’s been sitting too long and will be a fire hazard.
Do not place your tree near a heat register or heat source like a fireplace.
Do not block doorways or exits.
Turn the lights off when you leave or go to bed.
Test the lights to be sure they are all working to prevent and electrical short.
Do not overload your electrical outlets.
Do not connect more than 3 strands of lights together, unless the package says that it is safe.
If you have an artificial tree, choose one that is fire resistant. This may not always mean the tree can not catch fire, but if it does, it will be more easily extinguished.

Taking just a few extra steps and precautions will help protect your home and family this time of year. We hope that you all have a safe and blessed Christmas Season!

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Halloween Safety

Posted on June 22, 2019August 29, 2021 by Shield Insurance Agency

If a survey asked what the most celebrated holiday in the fall season is, the answer would most likely be Halloween. Every year on this day, kids dress up in the most unimaginable characters walking around town with their parents getting candy from decorated houses, attending Halloween parties, or meeting up and going through haunted houses or haunted corn mazes.

If your house is one of the “popular” houses to go to, you’ll want to make sure your house and yard are safe and hospitable for Halloween. Before trick or treaters come to your doorstep take the necessary precautions to decrease your chances of having an unfortunate accident happen.

The following list are some pointers in making sure your house is a harmless place for kids and parents!

Clean up for Halloween Safety.

As much as we would like kids to just walk on the sidewalk and not all over our yard, that is not going to happen on Halloween! Make sure to clean up your entire yard free of debris such as tools and toys. Even take precautions against natural elements such as tree roots, plants, and gaps in your sidewalk, put yard light on, and block off hazardous areas.

Watch out for pets.

Most owners know if their pets are friendly or if they do NOT invite strangers close to their homes. If you are going to offer goodies to trick or treaters, make sure you have your pet in a secure place in your home. You would not want your dog or cat to get loose and bite a little kid or parent-even if they are just thinking they’re protecting you.

Be respectful.

Parents and kids should treat the houses they go to, as they would want their home to be treated. It’s easy to get caught up in the “Halloween” mood and want to celebrate this holiday with tricks and pranks. Just remember, vandalism is a crime. Plus, you wouldn’t want other people to be harmed by your mischief.

At Shield Insurance Agency, we hope you have a safe but enjoyable Halloween, with no tricks and lots of treats!

Let Halloween Safety be your number one priority!

Visit our Shield Agency Blog for some more great Halloween Articles!

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Halloween Driving Tips For Safety

Posted on June 22, 2019August 29, 2021 by Shield Insurance Agency

Halloween Driving Tips

At a glance: Help protect trick-or-treaters by following these Halloween driving tips, or on the night your community hosts Halloween activities.

Be especially careful between 4 and 8 p.m., when most severe vehicle/young pedestrian collisions happen.

Drive slowly, and don’t pass stopped vehicles. The driver might be dropping off children.
Park your mobile phone. Avoid distractions by waiting until you’ve stopped to call, text, or surf.
Watch for children darting into the street. Kids can cross the street anywhere, and most young pedestrian deaths happen at spots other than intersections.
Yield to young pedestrians. Children might not stop, either because they don’t see your vehicle approaching or don’t know how to safely cross the street.
Communicate with other drivers. Always use your turn signals. And if you have to pull over to drop off or pick up your kids, turn on your hazard lights.

And, to keep your own trick-or-treaters safe on Halloween:

Teach them how to safely cross streets. They should look both ways and cross only at corners and crosswalks.

Consider indoor community Halloween programs for younger kids. Some communities also offer to help you inspect your kids’ treats to make sure they’re safe to eat.

Brighten them up. Give them flashlights and glow sticks, and/or use reflective tape on their costumes, so drivers can see them.

BROUGHT to you by PROGRESSIVE

“Fall” Into The Season and Fix Up The House

Posted on June 22, 2019August 14, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

Shield Insurance Blog | Fix Up The House | Home Insurance

Here are a few things that we should be thinking about, with the snow right around the corner, to help you fix up the house.

Gutters: If they are filled with leaves and debris, the backed-up water will begin seeping into your home if it has nowhere to go. It’s recommended that we always clean them out every fall and spring.

Tree Limbs: Make sure that all tree limbs are trimmed higher and away from the home or power lines, when they get covered with snow they will become very heavy and will break and could cause damages.

Windows: Clean, store, and replace the screens with storm windows, this will make a huge difference when it comes to your heating bill for the season.

Ceiling Fans: Hot air rises, so if your ceiling fans are able to have their rotation reversed, be sure to do so to help bring that warmer air back down toward you. It could help you save money on heating costs by not wasting the hot air at the ceiling.

Smoke & CO2 detectors: Be sure to change out your batteries, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Heater Filter: Change out your heater filter, this should be done every 90 days without pets and every 60 days with pets.

Outdoor furniture: Clean it and store it away so it doesn’t get wrecked from the winter elements.

Faucets & Hoses: Drain all garden hoses and disconnect the outside spigots. Shut off all exterior faucets. Store everything in a dry place.

Also, remember any liquids that you may have that are in your shed or garage may freeze, be sure to find a home for them in a cool dry place that isn’t in the frigid temperatures.

I know that these are only a few of the tasks that we have to do before winter, to fix up the house, but I hope this helps get you started on the right foot.

I hope you have

Have a wonderful Autumn season.

Dawn

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Thinking of Buying a Pool or a Trampoline?

Posted on June 22, 2019August 29, 2021 by Shield Insurance Agency

Fun in the sun with a pool or trampoline may cost you more than you thought!

Sun. Ahhh yes, the thought of having some warm sunshine on a glistening pool after a long winter would be lovely but unfortunately, here we are in Michigan, a few weeks past Easter and there are snowflakes falling outside my window.

What is a Michigander’s favorite saying?… If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and then it will change. True. That is what provoked my thoughts for this entry.

You see…I was at Walmart the other day and I noticed that there were some people buying trampolines and above-ground swimming pools. Was there a sale? Was it the desire to have warm weather and have entertainment for the kids and family? Could be, but did you ever stop and think about the risks involved? (Insurance agent mentality at its best).

“The kids want a trampoline and this one is on sale for 60% off, let’s buy it!” “It gets so hot in the summer that the kids would love a quick set up above ground pool.”

Well, my friend, have you thought about whether or not your current home insurance company would surcharge you for having that trampoline or pool in your backyard, or maybe they won’t even want to insure your home any longer if you end up getting one! I bet you didn’t. You just want to find a way for the kids to remain physically active, off the computer/cell phones, and out of the house for some decent “me time” or “clean time”.

Actually, you might be one of the people whose insurance company will NOT want to insure if you have one of these items. Some insurance companies will not allow a trampoline or a trampoline without a net guard all around it. Worse yet, a swimming pool with a diving board or a slide can be taboo for some insurance companies. Think of the risk involved? Someone can fall off the trampoline and break a bone or drown in a pool. Heaven forbid a toddler finds their way to the pool and falls in somehow.

If an insurance company allows the items, it can be with certain stipulations, and watch out for the surcharge or “penalty” for having one. Don’t you dare have a pool without a fence around it or enclosing your backyard! Worse scenario, a trampoline next to the above-ground pool. Sounds like it could be fun. You could treat it as part of the course in a Ninja Warrior extreme sporting course, right? WRONG! That’s a big fat negative.

Listen, I am just trying to save you some time, money, and feelings of disappointment from the kids by saying, “Call your insurance company and ask them if you are allowed to have a trampoline or an above ground pool in your backyard BEFORE YOU GO OUT AN SPEND THE MONEY ON IT.” Your insurance may say no. or yes, you can have it but the cost would be……fill in the blank.

If you already bought a pool, set it up, the kids are playing in it, and then you learn that you have to tear it down or pay more to have it…..this will just disappoint everyone. All insurance companies do not have the same rules and conditions. Call and find out what’s allowable before you spend the money for the purchase and the energy setting it up. Once you get the “OK” or you agree to pay if there are extra charges….let me know, invite me over so I can take a dip, soak up the sun, or jump ’till my heart’s content because my insurance won’t allow me to have one.

How ya like them apples? COME ON SPRING…….HURRY UP AND GET HERE!