Downey Insurance Group Blog | Great Insurance People

After 3 months at our temporary location at 57 Elliot Street  Brattleboro, VT we are finally back in our 80 Flat Street Location that was flooded out by hurricane Irene.  What a crazy ride it has been, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.  Overall Downey Insurance Group is lucky, all we lost were material possessions.  Thanks to technology and the ability to work “in the cloud” we did not lose any of our policy data and we were able to help clients with their own claims during and after the disaster.  We could work from the top of Mt. Wantastiquet if we wanted to, but there is nothing like you own familiar surroundings to make you feel at home.  With the addition of new office furniture and carpet we think our office is looking pretty snazzy.  Thank you to Conte Office Interiors for helping us with our new office furniture!

Looking around Flat Street it is hard to envision what it looked like during the flood.  We found this video on You Tube, we don’t know this guy but I would like to thank him for this crazy footage of Flat Street during the flood.  Check out this video of our office building being ravaged by the flood waters…

To get the whole story read our first Flood Blog post.

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Downey Insurance Group is excited to be marching in the 10^th Annual Strolling of the Heifers parade in Brattleboro, VT again this year.  This will be our 4^th year sponsoring the event and participating in the parade.  We think it is such a great way to show our support for our local farm clients that are so important to us and to the community.  We insure most of our farm clients in the Monadnock region with Co-Op Insurance Company of Vermont which is co-sponsoring us to march in the parade.

This year the prade is being held on Saterday June 4th, 2011.  It will run down the Main Street of Brattleobro, VT then end at The Living Green Expo on Brattleobro common that will include farmers, food-producers and other sustainability vendors.  There will alos be food vendors and a small carnival for children.  The parade will include around 100 heifer calves adorned with flowers, then other livestock and local community organizations will follow.  You never know what the parade will bring with many floats and performances expected.  My alltime favorite would have to be the ”Plastic Bag Monster” of 2008.

If you were at the parade last year you will remember Charlie Downey’s son David with the oversized hula-hoop.  He was a crowed pleaser for sure,  everyone was amazed that he could keep that large hoop up for so long!!

This years Strolling of the Heifers theme is “It Takes a Community to Support our Farmers.”  Downey Insurance Group is so happy to be part of that community, by protecting our local farms with farm insurance products.   When the unthinkable happens we are there to help make it right.  Without insurance most frams would not be able to continue their operations after a large loss.

This year preceeding the Parade on Saterday Brattleboro is hosting the first Slow Living Summit June 1st – 3rd.  It’s focus will be on growing the sustainablity movent .  Many speakers and workshops are planned with industry leaders.  This summit will definaly get things moving in on

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A personal umbrella policy is an insurance policy that provides additional protection to insurance holders and their families on an excess basis over different basic personal insurance policies like auto insurance policy, home insurance policy and boater’s policy. Since the umbrella policy provides excess liability insurance over the insured person’s primary policies, it is also known as excess liability insurance.
  Personal umbrella insurance coverage is usually large and is applicable worldwide. It applies to losses that have not been covered by primary personal insurance  policies. In other words, the compensation comes only after the limits of the underlying basic policies have been fully exhausted. A standard umbrella policy usually provides coverage on a single limit occurrence basis.

Befitting its name, personal umbrella policy only pays compensation for claims, lawsuits and judgments that are related to one’s personal life and affairs. Business or professional claims are not considered under the personal umbrella policy. Of course, special coverages have been arranged for some business affairs / dealings like ownership of office buildings, retail and rental residences.

What Liability Coverages Are Assured By The Personal Umbrella Policy?The liability coverages included as part of personal umbrella policies are the use and ownership of real estate nd automobiles, even boats and jet-skis. Travel activities and other civic-affair going-ons such as libel and slander allegations are also considered under the personal umbrella policy.
At times, the personal umbrella policy provides coverage for “personal injury”. Here, personal injury does not stand for any bodily injury or property damage of the insurance holder; it rather provides protection against the infringement of one’s rights, livelihood and renown. Defamation cases, false arrests/imprisonments, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution and similar happenings are categorized as personal injury.

The personal umbrella policy pledges you financial protection against claims and lawsuits wherein you are sued for being the cause of (even though unintentionally) someone else’s physical or mental suffering (including bodily injury and damage of property).

No liability coverage is provided for damages from asbestos/lead exposures, pollution or for the transmission of communicable diseases. You will neither enjoy any protection against any kind of discrimination or against warfare. Damages for sexual abuse or for workers’ exploitation are not entertained under the umbrella policy. Other exclusions include coverage for intentional/illegal acts as well as claims for accidents/incidents taking place before the policy becomes valid.

For liability coverage/protection in any one of the above cases, you will need to make special request through your application. Your representative will take care of the rest, arranging a policy (with adequate coverage) if at all possible.

Reference:
http://www.localwin.com

 Call your agent at DOWNEY INSURANCE GROUP for more information.

Our clients are our families, Our friends and our Neighbors and it’s our obligation and commitment to all of you to protect what you have worked hard to build.

please visit our website to learn more about us.  www.downeyinsurance.com

leslie@downeyinsurance.com

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Safety Insurance has announced that effective 3/15/11 they are now offering up to a 7% discount for becoming an e-customer when you have a Massachustes Auto Policy.  We already offer an electronic policy option at Downey Insurance Group for customers that would like to receive any of their policies electronically. But, Safety Insurance is our first Insurance Company to add the incentive of a discount.  There are many advantages to receiving your insurance policy via e-mail.  Some people like it for the convenience factor or for environmental reasons.  I you would like to receive your policy via E-Mail please fill out this request form on our website:  http://www.downeyinsurance.com/service-center/go-paperless/. 

This Safety e-customer discount is just one of many discounts that Safety has to offer.   Here is a list of discounts that you may be eligible for with Safety Insurance.

Rewards for Safe Driving

• Up to 25% for Excellent Driver Plus Discount (no accidents or incidents in past 6 years)
• Up to 15% for Excellent Driver Discount (no accidents or incidents in past 5 years)
• 5% Group Discount for drivers who participate in the In Control Advanced Driver Training program and become members of Safe Roads Alliance.

Multi-Policy Discounts

• 10% Account Credit when you buy another insurance policy from Safety. (Other than Personal Auto)
• Up to 10% Multi-Car Discount when you insure more than one personal automobile with Safety

Student Discounts

• 10% Good Student Discount (B or better average, Dean’s List or Honor Roll)
• 10% Student Away at School Discount for students on your auto policy who are away at school, at least 100 miles away, without regular access to a vehicle.

Hybrid Vehicle Discount of 10%

e-Customer Discount

• Up to 7% when you qualify for an Account Credit and select combined account billing with electronic policy issuance.

Loyalty Discounts

• Up to 4% for for continuous years insured with Safety or your agency.

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Did you treat your special someone with jewelry or fine arts this Valentines Day?  If your gift is lost or stolen do you know if it is covered by your homeowners policy?  One of the most important discussions we have with homeowners here at Downey Insurance Group is the question of whether or not they should add a special schedule of insurance for their jewelry.  Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider scheduling special coverage for jewelry, art, collections, etc.

1. Most policies limit the amount of coverage for theft of jewelry. If your jewelry burns on a house fire, this is a standard cause of loss and it will be covered along with all of your other personal property that would be lost in a fire.  But if it is stolen, some policies limit theft of unscheduled jewelry to just $1,500 per item up to a maximum of $3,000 for all jewelry that is stolen. Scheduling jewelry voids/overcomes this limit.

2. Low or No deductible for covered losses.

3. Establishes a set value for the payment of the piece’s replacement cost.

4. Expands the kinds of loss covered to include mysterious disappearance, breakage and other kinds of loss. If you just can’t find your jewelry or if it drops down the sink, or if your expensive vase breaks, normal policies will not cover that. But if you schedule your jewelry or art, those kinds of losses would be covered.

Personally, I think items 1 and 4 are the best reasons to schedule certain pieces of property, especially when they are expensive. We’ve helped clients schedule computers, bikes, wine, art, jewelry, baseball cards, guns, cameras, musical instruments and many other things.

Many of the things that our clients schedule are very important to them. Insurance can’t prevent the loss, but having the peace of mind  that an important piece can be replaced is quite a comfort!  At Downey Insurance Group we know how troubling it can be to be unsure if your loss would be covered, so call us today to review your current homeowners policy.

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New opportunities are on the horizon for women in the U.S who own small businesses.  The Small Business Administration has announced the beginning of it’s new Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program.  With the first contracts to be awarded in the fourth quarter or 2011, women can now begin to submit applications for participation on their website: www.sba.gov/wosb.  One eligibility requirements is maintaining the proper insurance coverage for your business.  At Downey Insurance our knowledgeable staff can walk you through the process of securing the appropriate Business Insurance for your risk management needs.

VermontBiz.com reported – “Implementing the Women-Owned Small Business contracting rule has been a top priority for the Obama Administration and SBA,” said Administrator Karen Mills. “Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. As we continue to look to small businesses to grow, create jobs and lead America into the future, women-owned businesses will play a key role. That’s why providing them with all the tools necessary to compete for and win federal contracts is so important. Federal contracts can provide women-owned small businesses with the oxygen they need to take their business to the next level.”

The WOSB Federal Contract Program will provide greater access to federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs and economically-disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The Program allows contracting officers, for the first time, to set aside specific contracts for certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs and will help federal agencies achieve the existing statutory goal of five percent of federal contracting dollars being awarded to WOSBs.

To qualify as a WOSB, a firm must be at least fifty-one percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens and the firm must be considered small according to SBA size standards.

The SBA is excited to launch this new program to provide WOSBs with increased opportunities to compete for and win federal contracts, ultimately helping WOSBs create and retain more jobs. For more information on the Women-Owned Small Business Program or to access the instructions, applications or database, please visit www.sba.gov/wosb.

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