Kathi DePolis - Christmas Memories

Is there a more beautiful memory than one of a child remembering Christmas?  I think not.

From the time I was a small child, every year my sister and I would receive a Christmas ornament for St. Nicholas day which is celebrated on December 6^th.  (read about St Nicholas around the world).  Since my father’s ancestors came from Bohemia, we celebrated it as  Svatý Mikuláš

The ornaments were usually a small character.   The purpose of these ornaments was so that when we moved out on our own and had our own family, we would have enough ornaments to dress the tree.  Yet it was such a waste to keep these ornaments for years and never enjoy them.  Little ones do not understand the concept of keeping a treasure for the future; they wish to enjoy their treasure now.  Therefore, once we had collected quite a few characters, my mother, being the very creative person that she was and continues to be, would create a Christmas scene as part of our holiday decorations.  This scene became a fantasy land for a small child.

Because my sister and I loved this so much, even once we were too old to celebrate St. Nicholas day, the ornament collecting continued to grow and so did the expansion of our little fantasy village.  My mother would embellish with bottle brush trees filled with glitter and tiny ornaments, faux snow, little animals, angel hair, colorful lights and more glitter.

Every year we looked forward to being able to set up this village which extended along the ledge in our basement/family room from one end of the room to the other.   While dad would bring boxes and boxes of Christmas décor down from the attic, mom would be busy making peppermint punch for us to enjoy as we set up all of our exquisite Christmas decorations.

Now you may be curious as to what peppermint punch is.  My mother would warm milk in a saucepan, crush candy canes and melt them into the milk, add a bit of vanilla and serve in a cup with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some more crushed candy canes sprinkled on top.  This was the only time of year mom would ever make this tasty treat. What a delicious memory it is and one that I have continued with my children throughout the years.

As we sipped on our punch, we adorned the house with beautiful décor to make Santa and visitors proud.  Our little village came to life as we went along.  Once complete, I would sit for hours in the dark with just the lights of the village and imagine that I was exploring this little wintery town.

I hope you have such fond memories of a tradition within your family.  Perhaps you will enjoy incorporating the peppermint punch recipe into your family tradition.

These are my children from a few years back, Stephen, Adria and Olya.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from my house to yours.

Higher Insurance Costs....Here's The Reason

Recently we have received quite a few calls regarding rate increases on property coverage for home and business insurance.  Most people don’t understand the reason behind these increases.  Here is an explanation  of what has contributed to your increases.

Tornado losses alone between 1996 and 2009 produced the following results for losses over 1 million
CO  had over $176 million, LA over $189 million, MO over $693 million, KS over $778 million, AR over $829 million, TX over $1,049 million and OK over $1,729.
Hurricanes and tropical storms from 1991 to 2010 made up 44% of total catastrophe losses followed by tornado losses at 30%, winter storms at 7.4%, terrorism at 6.8%, earthquakes and other geologic events at 5.1%, wind/hail/flood at 4.1% and fire at 2.2%.

The U.S. Catastrophe Record 2001 - 2010

The following chart shows the number of catastrophes causing insured property losses of at least $25 million.

Year	Number of Catastrophes	Claims (Millions)	Insured Losses (Billions)	In 2011 Dollars (Billions)
2001	20	1.6	$26.5	$33.7
2002	25	1.8	$5.9	$7.4
2003	21	2.6	$12.9	$15.8
2004	22	3.4	$27.5	$32.7
2005	24	4.0	$62.3	$71.8
2006	33	2.3	$9.2	$10.1
2007	23	1.2	$6.7	$7.3
2008	37	3.9	$27.0	$28.2
2009	28	2.2	$10.5	$11.0
2010	33	2.4	$14.1	$14.5

Sources: Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) | Insurance Information Institute

According to www.ncdc.noaa.gov, the U.S. has sustained 133 weather/climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 Billion.  The total standardized losses for the 133 events exceeded $875 billion.

These losses have a direct effect on insurance companies.  When an insurance carrier’s claim reserve is depleted, the result is higher insurance costs in an effort to build that reserve once again and to balance out future losses.

Even if you have never had a claim, these natural disasters affect all of us by raising insurance rates.

We have all seen the results of drought producing bad crops, freezing temps damaging citrus crops, therefore changing the supply and resulting in high prices in the grocery store.  How does this relate to insurance?  Much the same, if the reserves aren’t available to pay claims, the need to do something to make sure that funds are available should another catastrophic loss occur becomes necessary., which means increasing prices.

After a heavy rain and hail storm, how many of us have seen the roofers combing the neighborhoods looking to tell people they have hail damage?  The roofer knocks on the door, tells you he was just at your neighbor’s house and will be making repairs for hail damage and he noticed you had damage on your roof.  He tells you he can take care of the repairs and file it directly with your insurance company and you don’t have to do a thing except to authorize him to do the work.  These claims have cost the insurance industry millions of dollars and a high percentage of the repairs were never needed in the first place.

This defective practice should make you angry because these costs are passed on to you, the consumer. You see it every time your insurance renews.  My advice is contact your insurance company direct and obtain 3 or 4 estimates from reputable roofing companies.  Ask your insurance company if an adjuster could come out to examine the damage before committing to an unknown contractor knocking on your door.

All of the above is reflected when you open your insurance bill.  Odds are your insuring company is not limited to writing coverage only in Illinois.  Many of these carriers are U.S. wide insurers and therefore they are affected by disasters occurring in all 50 states.  Consequently, you the consumer will see the results of such disasters.

Spring Property Maintenance Tips

Spring thunderstorm season is already here, but it’s not too late to prepare.  Each year, properties are damaged by thousands of thunderstorms, with the most sever occurring storms during the spring and fall.  These storms can produce damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. 

You may have noticed increases in insurance costs on your home coverage recently.  Over the past few years, increased storm activities have accounted for these increased costs.  Insurance carriers pay out millions in property losses every year resulting in higher costs for insureds.

Falling trees and limbs cause millions of dollars in damage alone each year by damaging homes and cars and downing power lines.  Windstorms are the leading cause of such damage and injury.

Homeowners represent the first line of defense but often times, neglect taking their surroundings into consideration when trying to protect or prepare their property from storms.  It is important to regularly examine trees and check for damage or other troubling signs.  Good pruning can prevent many problems, but over pruning can weaken a tree.

Some potential problems are easy to spot.  These include:

•                 Cracks in the trunk or major limbs
•                 Hollow and decayed trees
•                 Branches hanging over the house near the roof
•                 Trees that look one-sided or lean significantly
•                 Limbs in contact with power lines
•                 Mushrooms growing from the bark, indicating decayed or weakened stem
•                 V-shaped forks rather than U-shaped ones.  V-shaped are more likely to split
•                 Crossing branches that rub or interfere with one another

Good pruning can help to prevent many problems. Remove diseased, damaged or dead plant parts helps to limit the spread of harmful insects and disease as well as reduce the possibility of future storm damage.  Always check local tree regulations prior to pruning.

If it is time for a new roof, replace your old roof coverage with new asphalt shingles making sure they have a Class 4 rating under Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) 2218 standard.  A class 4 rating tells you a sample of the product did not crack when hit twice in the same area by a two-inch steel ball. 

What does this mean?  This means added protection when Hailstorms hit.

When a hailstorm strikes, if you are indoors, stay there.  Because large pieces of hail can shatter windows, close your drapes, blinds or window shades to prevent the wind from blowing broken glass inside.  Stay away from skylights and doors.

If you are outside, move immediately to a place of shelter.

Be sure to check the exterior of your home for loose siding, gutters and roof shingles.  Be sure to repair to avoid additional damage in the future.  It is always recommended to have a contractor review and make the necessary repairs to be sure they are properly corrected.

For additional repair and safety information, review the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety at www.disastersafety.org.

Collector Car Season

As the weather warms and the trees blossom I am reminded that collector car shows are just around the corner.  I always look forward to these shows so I can see the classics restored. 

The amount of work these folks put into the cars of yesteryear returning them to original or enhancing them shows a love and appreciation for a day gone by.   You just can't help but to stop and stare when you see one of these beauties.

With that in mind, many folks may not know that there are special policies available for classic autos.
Collector vehicles are different than a typical car in just about every way possible.  Generally speaking, collector vehicles are driven less and are better cared for by the passionate people who own them.  This makes them best suited to a special collector vehicle policy.  However, collectible vehicles often end up on a standard auto policy which means they have less protection than they need and their owners end up paying more for the coverage.

Collector car policies allow for an agreed value on the vehicle and other coverages reflective of the true needs of these special vehicles.  You put time, love and extensive parts into the vehicle for it's restoration, why not insure it for the money you have in it?

In the process of restoring your vehicle?  Coverage can also be geared to you with the restoring process.

•Instant new purchase coverage


•Auto Show Medical Reimbursement
•Spare Parts coverage

These are just some of the coverages a collector car policy can offer you.
Additional endorsements can be added to cover tools, parts, traveling to name a few.

Consider looking into a specialty policy for that special car you have poured so much of yourself into.

If your current agent doesn't offer such a policy, contact us and we'll talk you through the process.  At Mars Insurance we've got you covered for your Illinois and Wisconsin Auto Insurance.

OH DEER! BEWARE!!!

The annual cost of deer-vehicle collisions in the United States is almost $4 billion. A 2010 study by State Farm Insurance and Fortune magazine predicted there would be 1.1 million such crashes before 2010 ended.

Though the mating season from October to December brings the most crashed, Bambi and his pals are crossing the roads throughout the year.

Pennsylvania had the highest number of crashes last year at 102,165, followed by Michigan with 101,174. Among the 35 states where at least 7,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur per year, New Jersey and Nebraska posted the largest increase, 54 percent. In all the states, crashes increased by more than a third from the previous year.

Some drivers avoid roads through forests and areas of heavy brush where deer can appear suddenly. Others drive at a reduced speed to give them more time to stop and the deer more time to cross.

 

At night, using high-beam headlights allows the driver more time to spot a deer.

Be aware of deer crossing signs and believe them. Deer generally use the same routes each day to find water, food and their resting places. They are most active from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Deer travel in groups so when you see one deer, there could be several others coming behind it.

Brake, don’t swerve. Swerving to avoid a deer can cause a more serious crash, such as into an oncoming car in another lane, or swerving off the roadway and into a tree or a utility pole. The goal is to maintain control of the vehicle

Information provided by our friends at Standard Mutual

For more information visit http://www.marsinsurance.com/

Illinois Contractors who Utilize Subcontractors

Did you know that if you have Workers’ Compensation in Illinois and you use subcontractors in your business you may be liable for uninsured subcontractors? Without VALID Workers’ Compensation certificates of insurance for your subcontractors you may be charged an additional premium and could be liable for injury and or death of your subcontractors and/or their employees.

 

Your subcontractors provide you with a certificate of insurance as evidence of Workers’ Compensation coverage. The certificate of insurance lists the Workers’ Compensation carrier, policy number and policy term. The subcontractor working for you is shown as the “Insured”, and your company as “Certificate Holder”. However, a certificate of insurance does not guarantee that coverage is valid and in force when the subcontractor is working for you.

 

Why do you need to know if a Certificate of Insurance is valid?

 

• You need to know this because if one of your subcontractor’s policies cancels you may be charged additional premium during the period the subcontractor was uninsured.

 

• As the primary contractor you may not always be notified of a subcontractor’s policy cancellation, which would then make you liable for providing Workers’ Compensation insurance for these uninsured subcontractors and premiums will be assessed to you.

 

• Just because you are a certificate holder does not guarantee that workers compensation coverage is valid for the subcontractor or that you will be notified of cancellation.

 

The Illinois Workers Compensation Commission provides an Employer Insurance Coverage Search on their website. The Employer Insurance Coverage Search web page provides information for 1) employers that have bought a workers compensation insurance policy (based on the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) database); and 2) employers (parent companies and their subsidiaries) that have obtained IWCC approval to self-insure.

 

The database does not include Illinois employers that are in self-insurance pools, which are regulated by the Illinois Division of Insurance.

 

         

 Go to: http://www.iwcc.il.gov/coverage.htm

• Click search for an employer’s insurance coverage
• Enter requested information for employer’s coverage in question
• When asked for Coverage/Injury/Illness Date, input date of your coverage inquiry

 

 

 

If you find coverage was cancelled or not in effect, please follow up with your subcontractor immediately as you may be liable for the uninsured exposure.

 

Remember, you as the primary contractor are liable for providing workers compensation insurance for uninsured subcontractors.

 

Go Slow While Shoveling Snow

Our friends at Standard Mutual Insurance have given us some good information on snow shoveling that we thought would be beneficial to share with all of you.

Snowstorms can be deadly in many ways, shoveling the white stuff is one of them. Hundreds of people die each year from heart attacks suffered while shoveling snow.

The American Heart Association says those most at risk are middle-aged or older and sedentary. Cold requires the body to work harder to keep warm. Combine that with the exertion of shoveling and it strains the heart. Wet, heavy snow is the most dangerous.

The association gives this advice:

• Wear layered clothing. Take the outer layer off if you get hot. Less clothing will also help you move better.
• Push it, don’t lift it. Use a shovel with a curved plade. Push snow to the side of a walkway, even if it leaves a narrower path to walk on. For a driveway, push only enough snow to the side for one car to get out. If you must lift, use a smaller shovel on walkways that doesn’t allow you to pick up as much snow. It may take a little longer to clear a path but it will be easier on you in the long run.
• Use a leaf blower instead. When several inches of snow are predicted, power up your leaf blower and blow off the walkway and drive way two or three times before the snow gets deep.
• Take breaks. Don’t feel that you have to do the whole shoveling job at once. If you feel tired, stop and rest or go inside for a time to recover. Don’t push yourself.
• Shovel before dinner. Eating a heavy meal before you shovel your driveway puts additional strain on the heart.