by California Casualty | Firefighters |
Springtime is a beautiful time of year – but it also begins the lead up to several dangerous weather related seasons. One such dangerous season is fire season, which runs from summer to fall, and is especially threatening to our western states.
The best time to prepare for fire season is before it starts – so here are some tips to help you stay safe during fire season.
If you live in an area that could be threatened by wildfires, you should make sure you have at safety zone of at least 30 feet around your home, and as much as 100 feet if you live in a pine forest. Are your plants fire-resistant? If not, you might consider replacing them with hardwoods. Regularly clean up fallen leaves, pine needles and other plant debris, especially from underneath structures, and trim away tree branches that could touch your roof or are at least 15 feet from a stovepipe. If any tree branches on your property touch power lines, contact your power company to come have them trimmed.
You can make your own disaster preparedness kit, and store items in an easily transportable container, such as a camper’s backpack or a duffel bag. Your kit should have a first-aid kit, some canned food and an opener, a battery powered radio and flashlight with plenty of extra batteries. You should also have a supply of drinking water; experts recommend about three gallons per person. You might also consider stashing away a small amount of cash in your disaster kit. Some weather resistant clothing – such as ponchos and rain boots – may also come in handy. Include copies of all your most important documentation in the disaster kit, such as insurance policies, wills, birth and marriage certificates, credit card and banking information, titles and deeds to your property. Place these items in waterproof bags in the kit, or in a fireproof safe, if you have one. As a double precaution, send copies of your important documentation to a relative or friend who lives in another state or region.
If you haven’t prepared a household inventory, it is also advisable to do this, and you can do it either with a video camera, a Polaroid or digital camera or by taking notes. Include copies of the tapes or notes in your water- or fire-proof safe havens.
by California Casualty | Homeowners Insurance Info |
This has been a difficult spring in terms of natural disasters – from devastating tornadoes to a large number of hail storms. Currently, we’re watching towns in the south being submerged under water, and rivers in flood stages that haven’t been seen in recent history.
Our hearts go out these families, and you can rest assured that we are doing everything we can to help our customers who have been affected by all of these disasters. For many, seeing the flooding (and with hurricane season bearing down on us) begs the question – “Am I covered if this happens to me?” This press release just came across my desk, and hopefully it will answer some of those questions.
CHICAGO—With hurricane season starting on June 1st, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) urges homeowners, business owners and renters who do not currently have flood insurance to buy it right away.
“Many insurance consumers do not realize that their standard homeowners policy does not cover flooding, and that flood insurance must be purchased separately,” said Don Griffin, PCI’s vice president, personal lines. “Flood insurance is sold through agents who sell policies on behalf of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If you have only a standard homeowners policy and suffer flooding from a hurricane, the flood damage will not be covered under that policy, so it is crucial to have flood insurance. Because NFIP policies don’t take effect for 30 days, the sooner people can buy flood insurance, the better.”
While having flood insurance in place is important in coastal areas, recent heavy rains have brought flooding to much of the nation’s heartland as well. Unfortunately, according to the NFIP, more than 50 percent of properties in high-risk areas remain unprotected by flood insurance, and in the northeast and Midwest, coverage rates are significantly lower. Even in coastal areas that live under constant threat of hurricanes or tropical storms, many homeowners or renters do not have this crucial coverage.
According to the NFIP, floods are the number-one natural disaster in the United States, and 75 percent of all federally declared disasters over the past five years have involved flooding. There is a 26 percent chance that a home will suffer flooding over the course of a 30-year mortgage, and U.S. flood losses have averaged $2.4 billion per year over the last decade.
“In any part of the country where flooding is a possibility, property owners and renters should absolutely make sure to protect themselves and their belongings by purchasing flood insurance,” Griffin said.
Individuals who currently have homeowners or renters insurance should talk to their agents to see if their insurers sell flood policies. They can also locate agents who sell flood policies through the agent locator on the NFIP website.
by California Casualty | News |
One thing I love about working here is that I hear a story about how someone made a customer’s experience wonderful on a nearly daily basis. The folks here at CalCas take a great deal of pride in the care they give customers, and it shows when we receive letters like this, from Joseph and Hilary in Oregon (edited a bit to remove some personal information).
Fred –
My wife and I have been with California Casualty for many years and have always enjoyed your competitive rates. Not until recently have we had to deal with your claims department and to be honest hopefully we don’t have to again for some time as being in an accident is not fun.
However it is important that you know how AMAZING our experience was with the claims department. We had a bad accident which caused a tremendous amount of stress in our lives. It was quickly determined that we had a total loss and Richard took over our claim. He quickly reached out to us to informed us of how the process would work.
Richard kept the communication lines very open and we felt that we were truly appreciated as customers throughout the entire process. We felt that Richard went out of his way to show us that he and your company cared about helping us move past this unfortunate situation. Here are a couple of the things that really stuck out from our interaction with him however there were many other moments that he exceeded our expectations with his service……
-Our claim was on his desk to be processed on the 31st of January. We had a new car in mind that we were getting at a discount but must be purchased that day due to end of the month push. I informed Richard of this the morning of the 31st and asked how much our settlement would be for so that we could determine if this was the right choice for us. He moved us to the top of the pile and got the info back to me within about 3 hours. This allowed us to save a good amount on our new car purchase.
-Richard made the process of getting the funds released quickly very easy on us. He gave simple instructions of what he needed from us and informed us where we were at along the way and we now have the settlement check (much faster than anticipated I should add).
-I am not sure how much say Richard has but we were also very happy with the settlement amount and Richard’s explanation of how it was determined. This prevented in arguing back and forth about what we were entitled to.
Again there was more but we don’t want to go on too long. I know from our interactions that Richard is a great asset to your team and brings a real value to being a California Casualty client!
Richard told us in an email that he still holds onto “the belief that you pay premiums for coverage AND service”. Before this accident my wife and I didn’t believe this. We do now!!!!!
If we can give any other feedback on our service from your claims department (specifically Richard) please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Two EXTREMELY satisfied clients
by California Casualty | News |
Just in time for Valentine’s day, one of our Field Marketing Managers, Rebecca Stumpf, has provided us with a great guest blog post. Did you forget to make that V-day reservation? Worried about crowded restaurants? Want to save money and have a fun dinner at home? Becky has your solution:
I have always been a fan of the fondue themed restaurants. Expensive prices, over-eating and a recommendation from a friend led me to the idea of having my own home fondue experience. The result, a wonderful meal at a reasonable price and none of the wait, tipping or other diners 3 feet away!
Start with a simple cheese fondue, one that includes a combination of cheeses such as Gruyere and Emmenthaler. Once prepared this is a great snack while prepping the main course. Set out vegetables, crusty bread and even cooked pieces of meat (salami, meatballs, etc…) to go with this fondue. A cheese fondue is easy and fun for kids, plus it’s a great incentive to get them to eat their veggies! *Ok, my kids like fondue, there are no guarantees your kids will too, but give it a try!
I have found that it’s best to coat the freshly shredded cheese with a flour mixture containing salt, pepper and paprika. Adding kirsch or cognac is optional as these can be expensive liquors. However, the liquor brings out a certain flavor that really makes this fondue pop. Try other cheeses and other spices to make a unique blend special to your family!
Now onto the main course of steak, filet and seafood! At first I was hesitant to trust my abilities to cook raw meat; chicken and seafood at home in a pit of boiling broth. What seemed like an invitation for sickness due to undercooked meat became a silly notion after successfully cooking my first chunk of filet!
I have tried two different ways of cooking raw meat fondue style: hot oil and hot broth. The hot oil fondue is also referred to as bourguignonne. There are many recipes on the internet that are as basic as hot peanut oil to more elaborate that have extra ingredients to give the oil a certain flavor. This method was good but I didn’t like that my kitchen smelled like a deep fat fryer for hours, seriously stinky!
Another option is to use hot broth instead of hot oil. My husband, kids and I like the Coq Au Vin recipe from the Melting Pot. Vegetable broth, red wine, garlic, mushrooms and green onions are the only ingredients to this fondue giving each piece of meat and/or seafood an enhanced richness, full of flavor. We like to serve the meat with Chantilly Cream, a mixture of sour cream and horseradish. You can find many other dipping sauce recipes online.
Now, if you haven’t already caught on, you will need two fondue pots or plan to be washing pots between courses. If this is your first fondue experience you may be feeling that something is missing if you don’t have the chocolate! Yes, you’ll have to clean a pot and prepare the chocolate; however this is the best part of the fondue experience! There are many great recipes online for chocolate fondue whether you like milk chocolate, white or dark or perhaps you want to add in caramel or something else to jazz up the fondue. Fruits, sweet-dense cakes like pound cake, marshmallows, and graham crackers are all good dipping items for chocolate fondue.
If you’re lazy like me, you might find that cleaning a pot only to make another fondue is just too much for one night. Typically I will pick up a fabulous dessert from my local bakery or grocery store. A beautifully decorated cupcake or cheesecake with a cup of coffee is just the right sweetness to end a great meal!
I am lucky that my children (4 years and almost 2 years) eat almost everything that my husband and I eat, so they had a great time with this meal. Prior to having kids my husband and I liked our romantic dinner at home and now we get to spend our Valentine’s Day with a couple of cute kiddos who appreciate good food and family as much as we do!
If you want to see Becky’s detailed recipes, check out our Facebook Page.
by California Casualty | Homeowners Insurance Info |
This is a topic that is very close to my heart – since last week I was awoken at 5:30am, after the coldest evening in nearly a decade in this area, to a very angry wife demanding to know why the shower wasn’t working.
I was immediately gripped by fear – what are we going to do? Are our pipes frozen? How do we prevent the pipes from bursting? What happens if they do? Do I have to go in to the CalCas office without a shower?
Prevention: An ounce of prevention here is worth a pound of cure. If you know it’s going to be very cold, leave your faucets open a very small amount to keep the water moving. Open your cabinets to expose plumbing to room temperature air. This will help prevent pipes from freezing…but what should you do when they DO freeze?
First – you should open your faucets, one at the very least. This is because as you heat up the pipes, it’s possible you’ll create steam. That steam needs a place to release to, especially since the expanding ice may already be stressing your plumbing.
Second – expose as many areas of plumbing as you can to warmed indoor air. Open up your cupboards and bathroom vanities (make sure you gather up any toxic materials if you have pets or little ones around the house).
Third – use a hairdryer or heat gun to warm the frozen pipes. Be very careful doing this, as even a hairdryer can get hot enough to cause burns. You can also try rubbing the pipes with a towel soaked in warm water.
You definitely want to be home when your pipes thaw because there’s always a chance a pipe has ruptured, which is something you can’t tell until the ice inside them has thawed.
You should also make yourself aware of the location of your main water shutoff valve and how to close it. If a pipe does burst, it can do a great deal of damage to your home very quickly.
Another question that is very important is “Does my homeowner’s/renter’s policy cover damage caused by frozen pipes.” The answer to that is, probably. However, coverage can vary from policy to policy and from state to state, so it’s vital you check your policy before anything happens!
For those that were concerned – a few minutes with a hairdryer got my pipes thawed, and, much to the relief of my coworkers here at CalCas, I was able to shower and make it in to the office.
Springtime is a beautiful time of year – but it also begins the lead up to several dangerous weather related seasons. One such dangerous season is fire season, which runs from summer to fall, and is especially threatening to our western states.