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Today, the IMHQ is taking a look around the country to see what independent insurance agents have been blogging about in the first month of 2010.
Rodent Insurance – If you think falling icicles and slick roads are the only threats to your car this winter, think again. Westchester Insurance in Texas reminds us of the grave threat small mammals pose to our automobiles when cold is in the air in this highlighted insurance blog post.
It's all fun and games until they chew through your brakelines.
“… to a rodent your car provides an excellent temporary home. And while they are there, they tend to make quite the mess, especially when they get into the engine compartment. Rodents have a tendency for chewing certain types of plastic, wiring and rubber, which is commonly found under most hoods. The damage they cause can be quite expensive. Luckily, if you have comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, it will be covered under your auto insurance policy. This is just something to keep in mind while the weather is cold.”
Healthy Lifestyle Not a Reason to Cancel Life Insurance – From the west coast, Calabasas, California’s own Lifenet Insurance offers a compelling case study showing why it’s never a good idea to cancel a life insurance policy, even for a small window of time.
“Craig T. wanted to apply for a new life insurance policy to replace his current policy that has 7 years of level premiums left. The face amount would be the same, but he wanted to extend the term for another 15 years. When we wrote Craig’s new application, we strongly advised him not to cancel his current policy. Craig insisted he hadn’t had any health or lifestyle changes. We asked him to keep the old policy until we had the new one in force. Well, good thing Craig listened to us, because his lab results weren’t as good as last time and he wasn’t able to get his new policy at a price that made sense. 
Now, if Craig had gotten ahead of himself and cancelled his current policy before underwriting was complete, he would have no coverage now and no chance of getting coverage at a reasonable rate today. Fortunately, Craig still has his policy, and we will work with him to replace it as soon as he clears up the health issues.”
Security Systems Protect Your Home and Reduce Premiums – Even if you don’t feel at risk for a home invasion, simple security choices can reduce insurance costs while increasing peace of mind. Encharter Insurance, with offices in Massachusetts and Connecticut, is happy to help you apply insurance savings by offering this nugget:
“You can receive between a 5% and 10% home (or renters or condo) insurance credit depending on the type of protection device you have. Even if you cannot afford a central station security system, having deadbolt locks, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors will reduce your home insurance premium.”
Facebook Fun Facts – Still up in the air about dabbling in Facebook? A savvy agent in the north, Michigan’s Rick Young Insurance, shares some compelling statistics that demonstrate just how much the social network is used. So, what are you waiting for?
“More than 350 million active users, 50% of active users log on to Facebook each day. More than 35 million users update their status each day. More than 55 million updates posted each day. More than 2.5 million photos uploaded to the site each month. More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook. Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans.”
Despite the stodgy reputation, insurance agents are full of creativity and proving it every day. Blogs and other forms of social media are a critical part of any insurance web strategy since effective use humanizes your agency and provides clients a genuine connection beyond the policy you write.
If you have an interesting blog post or topic you’d like to share, let the IMHQ know.
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