4.2/2001
The Rhode Agency, Inc. - Your Insurance Agency
A FEW STATISTICS
Here are a few FIRE statistics as we head toward Winter and heating season.
Did you know; On an average, there are over 59,000 reported home fires per year associated with heating equipment?
*Most heating fires involve spave heaters, not central furnaces.
*Installing space heaters too close to combustibles or placing combustibles too close to the heater are the major cause of space heater fires.
Please keep this in mind when the cold weather arrives.
Did you know; On an average, there are over 91,500 reported homes fires each year associated with cooking equipment?
*Cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires.
*Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires.
*Three in every ten reported homes fires start in the kitchen.
Some Safety Tips:
Keep space heaters at least 48" away from walls, furniture and anything that can burn, including people and pets.
Portable space heaters should be turned off every time you leave the room or go to sleep. Never leave a space heater unattended.
Never leave food cooking on the stovetop unattended and keep a close eye on food cooking in the oven.
Keep cooking areas clean and clear of combustibles.
Always think Safety!!
Understanding your Automobile Insurance
A basic understanding of the different coverage sections of your automobile insurance policy. There are two PA State mandatory sections and a number of other optional sections.
PA State Mandatory:
Liability (Bodily Injury & Property Damage)
Basic First Party Benefits
Liability is the section which protects you in the event you are at fault in an accident where the other party is injured or you damage their property. If the other party sues you, the Liability section is the part of your policy which will protect you, up to the limit of coverage you chose.
First Party Benefits: Pennsylvania mandates a $5000. Medical expense limit. Your insurance company offers higher limits of this coverage and also offers Loss of Income, Funeral Benefit and Accidental Death coverages with different limits available. This is First Party coverage, meaning for you as the policy holder and all other drivers listed on your policy and your children, not of driving age yet, if they are living in your household. Most insurance companies also offer EMB (Emergency Medical Benefits) with different limits available up to $1,000,000. The EMB coverage doesn't kick in until your medical expenses reach $100,000. (and it doesn't take long to hit that amount) but from that point on the EMB coverage pays, with certain provisions. If you don't already have the EMB on your policy, ask us about it. The cost is very reasonable.
There are many other parts to your automobile insurance policy....Collision, Comprehensive, Rental Reimbursement, Towing and so on, however the Liability and First Party Benefits are the only coverages which are Pennsylvania State Mandatory.
Drive safe and smart. Road rage is just plain stupid!
Fire Prevention Week 2001 -- October 7th through 13th
Why does the National Fire Prevention Assoc. work so hard to promote Fire Safety? Because someone has to! We must make a genuine effort to educate ourselves and our children on Fire Safety. The knowledge learned can mean the difference between life and death. All of our local Fire Departments go to great lengths to teach Fire Safety and are always available to assist with any Fire prevention questions you might have. Teaching our children what to do in the event they are confronted with a fire is the single most important lesson that can save their life. No one ever expects to wake up in the middle of the night to find their house is on fire. Panic and fear will overwhelm anyone but having just a little training and a preplanned escape route can and will save the lives of you and your family. Safety when cooking or doing anything around fire, flames and hot surfaces can prevent burn accidents and fires. We hope you had a chance to visit one of the local Fire Departments programs during Fire Prevention Week. You and your children can visit the NFPA's web site to learn more and there is a special Kids section with Sparky the Fire Dog, actually Sparky has his own site. Here are the addresses:
NFPA: http://wwwnfpa.org
Sparky's: http://sparky.org/index.html