It is that time of year when we like to remind you of the importance of wildfire prevention. Preventing a wildfire requires a collective effort and best practices need to be utilized to lower our risk.

Did you know the majority of wildfires are caused by humans? According to Wildland Fire Management Information, humans cause 85% of wildland fires. That is an alarming number. If we could educate everyone in the United States on how to prevent fires, we could see a major improvement.

Most common scenarios where human fires start:

• Campfires left unattended
• Burning debris
• Equipment use or malfunction
• Arson
• Not properly discarding cigarettes

Other scenarios where wildfires start:

• Natural causes such as lightning

How You Can Lower the Chance of Starting a Wildfire

1.) Pay Attention to Your State’s Burn Bans.

If the weather is hot and dry, burn bans may automatically be put in place. Always respect these rules and never burn during these times. This includes campfires and burning debris in your backyard. They are in place for a reason.

2.) If It Is Safe to Burn, Be Sure You Know the Correct Protocols for Burning

If you plan to go camping this summer or burn debris in your backyard, it is important to review the correct protocols to avoid starting a fire. Even using your family car, lawn equipment or farm equipment can increase your risk. Review fire safety here. 

Fires should never be started near flammable materials. This includes grass, leaves, logs and brush. Learn how to build a proper campfire here.

Did you know wind can play a role in starting a fire? Even if there is not a burn ban in place, you should never burn debris or start a campfire if it is windy.

By leaving a fire unattended or simply not putting out the fire correctly, you can be liable for starting a fire. A simple reminder, “If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.” Whether you are camping in the backcountry or at a campground, a shovel and a bucket can be a few key items you can use that will ensure your fire is out when it is time to leave.

3.) Don’t drive your vehicle or use equipment over dry grass.

A simple spark from your vehicle’s exhaust can cause a fire. By performing regular maintenance on your car or equipment, this lowers your risk of shooting off sparks.

If weather conditions are fine and you plan to explore off-road, it never hurts to have a few safety items on hand in the event a fire starts. Items include a shovel, bucket or fire extinguisher.

We hope you have a great summer! If you have questions about your insurance policy, contact our agency. We are here to help address your concerns or answer questions.

Maximize Your Auto Insurance Savings With These Discounts

When it comes to auto insurance it seems like all we hear about is discounts. But what discounts are there and who is eligible for them? Let’s take a closer look.

• Bundle Discounts: Bundling multiple polices like auto and home or auto and renters with the same insurance carrier can save you some money. The logic is that more policies you have, the longer you will stay insured with the carrier.
• Multi-vehicle Discount: If you insure more than one car on the same policy, you’re eligible for a discount. Any car is eligible for the discount if it is on the same policy.
• Teen Driver Discount: Teen drivers are expensive to insure, there is no way around it. Fortunately, some carriers are more forgiving and give you a discount if they’re on your policy.
• Good Student: The logic is that smart student makes a smart driver. If your student driver maintains a 3.0 or better GPA, you may be eligible for a discount. This is great for parents needing to motivate their children.
• Safe driver (accident free): Many major insurance carriers will award safe driving discounts to drivers who have been accident free for several years. The criteria vary between insurance carriers.
• Military: Active and veteran military members are often eligible for discounted auto insurance. Ask your insurance agent to see if you qualify.
• Early quote/signing: If you are looking to change insurance carriers or upgrade your auto insurance, getting a quote (and signing up) before your current policy has expired may get you a discount. You may need to get a quote within a certain number of days prior to your policy expiration, so check with your agent.
• Paid-in-full: You’ll see the discount reflected in the price when you are presented with your options for paying your auto insurance policy. Paying off the policy in full will cost you a little less than paying every month.
• Paperless: Don’t want to get a paper statement? Great, you get a discount. Most major insurance carriers offer discounts for customers who choose to do automatic billing and receive emails rather than paper statements.
• Auto-Pay: When you opt for automatic payments for your insurance whether by credit card, checking draft or debit, you can earn a discount.
• Loyalty: Staying with the same insurance carrier year over year could earn you a discount for every loyalty milestone you hit. Typically, these rewards not only include a discount on the cost of your policy, but they can also include accident forgiveness.
• Tracking Devices: Many companies now offer tracking devices for your vehicle. If you’re okay with your insurance company monitoring your driving behavior, you can earn a discount.

More important than insurance savings is having the right protection. That’s why it is important to reach out to a licensed agent in our office to review your coverage. Getting the cheapest policy isn’t always the best decision if you have assets to protect. Insurance quotes take just a few minutes but the right advice and consultation about the right coverage can save you a lifetime of hardship.

Being in an accident can be a very frightening event. Being prepared to know how to handle the situation when it occurs will help you deal with the shock of it, and obtaining proper documentation helps support a claim. While accidents will happen to almost every driver, whether their car is parked and unattended, or while they’re driving, knowing these important steps will help you deal with the unfortunate situation.

Safely park your vehicle: If you happen to be driving when the accident occurs, safely pull the vehicle over to the side of the road. If possible, carefully write down the license plate and description of the other vehicle(s) involved in the accident. If you are reporting a hit and run, this information will aid police in locating the driver. In the event of a hit and run it most likely happens when your vehicle is unattended. If you return to your vehicle to find damage, look for clues to help you prove your case, i.e. Security cameras.

Assess any Injuries: If someone is injured, take care of their immediate needs and quickly call 911. It is typical to be jittery after such an event so catch your breath too.

Call police: Once you’re safely parked, you should call the police to file a report, especially if another party is involved. It’s important to always have documentation of how the accident happened. Some people want to settle the claim without going through insurance, but this comes with risks. The other driver may not live up to their word and without contacting the police, it turns into a he said, she said scenario.

Exchange Information: Exchanging insurance ID cards is always recommended. Be sure to have their name and phone number too. It’s simple to take a picture with your phone. Be sure to include the car’s license plate number, year, make and model too.

Take pictures/Gather any witness information: If you have a witness who wants to share their side of the story, jot down their phone number and name. Your insurance company will want to talk with any witness to the accident. Taking pictures also gives your insurance company more details on the damage of your vehicle.

Call your insurance company: Sometimes even though vehicles collide, the damages may be limited, so you’ll want to take a close look and determine if you want to pursue a claim or get an estimate first before calling your insurance company. If someone was injured or if you have major damage, it’s always best to call your insurance company immediately. Your insurance company can assist you with your claim so if you have taken pictures and provided all the information above, your claim can be settled quicker.

While we hope you never have to experience a car accident, being prepared will help you tackle the unfortunate situation. If you have questions about your auto insurance or need claims assistance, call our agency.

Employers, did you know you could be helping your employees SAVE MONEY by setting up a Dependent Care Assistance Plan for them? Also referred to as a dependent care flexible spending account (FSA).

What is this you say? Well, let’s say that lil Jack and Jill need to be in daycare while your employee works hard at their job. We all know that daycare is a serious expense for working parents. What if there was a way to get a little bit of relief? There is! Having a DCAP would allow daycare expenses up to $5000 (for a two-parent family) to be paid for TAX FREE!

For example, a two-parent family earning $60,000 as a household could save 22% of $5000 that they have to spend on daycare expenses which equals a savings of $1,100! This is money that the family is going to have to spend anyway. Why would someone pass up the chance to save $1,100? Often it is because they just didn’t know this was a thing! Or perhaps, their employer hasn’t put together an Employee Benefits package yet.

As we are facing very tight and difficult financial times in our nation right now, helping employees save extra money is a big step towards being a fabulous employer to work for!  As you already know, attracting and retaining employees is difficult.  Having perks on the job is one of the best ways to accomplish this.  While we can’t help with better breakroom snacks, we can help you provide the very best benefit package that helps your employees all year long.

At ANI, we are able to help setup FSA, HRA, HSA and DCAP plans for your company. There is often a lot of confusion around these savings vehicles, but we LOVE to clear up the confusion and make things clear.  We have a variety of companies that we work with to achieve this. One of our Third-Party Administrators, Connect Your Care, created this great infographic about DCAPs eligible and ineligible expenses.

Employee Benefits is often a package of core benefits such as medical, dental and vision plans as well as group life, retirement, disability and saving vehicles such as the DCAP we are discussing today. There are other voluntary products that can be setup for employees, at no additional cost to you as an employer, such as accident, cancer, and hospital plans to name a few.

Call us to put together the right Employee Benefits package for your employees. 907-562-3020

Do you have employees? Then you need Employment Practices Liability Insurance. EPLI covers businesses against employees who claim that their legal rights as employees have been violated whether intentional or not.

The number of EPLI lawsuits is staggering.  You don’t have to be a large corporation to be at risk. Even with one employee, you are not immune to such lawsuits. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recorded 72,675 suits of workplace discrimination in 2019 alone.

No one wants a lawsuit brought against them, especially one that could harm their company’s reputation.  Lawsuits can also be financially devastating. According to a recent report, the average cost to defend and settle an employee discrimination lawsuit was $160,000!  That would be a crippling loss to many small to medium-sized businesses.

EPLI can be included in Business Owner Policies (BOPs) or can be purchased as a stand-alone policy. So, what is the big deal you say? Let me give you a few examples of how you can be sued.

• Sexual harassment
• Discrimination
• Wrongful termination
• Breach of employment contract
• Negligent evaluation
• Failure to employ or promote
• Wrongful discipline
• Deprivation of career opportunity
• Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
• Mismanagement of employee benefit plans

Did any of the above-mentioned examples make you cringe a tad?  Yea – how in the world do you protect yourself as an employer from claims of “failure to employ or promote” or “wrongful infliction of emotional distress” as those are BROAD accusations and can fit a variety of complaints!  It is easy to be protected though – purchase EPLI insurance!

The cost of EPLI coverage depends on what your business does, how many employees you have, and whether or not you have ever been sued by an employee in the past. An EPLI policy will pay for defense costs, judgements and settlements.  In fact, the policy will pay for your legal fees whether or not you win the case.

After you have purchased EPLI insurance, do your best to prevent employee lawsuits in the first place by creating an effective hiring and screening process, having a thorough employee handbook which makes office policies and procedures crystal clear, and take precautions to prevent sexual harassment or employee discrimination.  We know you want to be a great employer!

Our job is to educate you on your exposures. Consider yourself a teensy bit educated on EPLI! Give us a call to get a quote on EPLI, or to learn about other lines of insurance.