Personal Perspective

You’ve been told that you need life insurance, but how do you determine how much? The answer to this question is complicated and is based on multiple inputs regarding your probable longevity, your dependents, your debt, your assets and your need or desire to leave money to your survivors.

Record home foreclosures are partly responsible for the number of “For Sale” signs in yards around your neighborhood. Often, when a home is in foreclosure, no one takes responsibility for the maintenance of that home and its premises. This can mean heightened risk for surrounding homeowners, since unmaintained real estate can increase the probability of damage to adjacent property.

According to the American Automobile Association, 21% of drivers admit to texting while driving in the last month. If you are one of the millions who drive and text, you need to change your habit. Texting and driving kills. No one who crashes as a result of their own texting ever expects it to happen to them. No one who causes the death of another because of distracted driving figured they were going to. How dangerous do “texters” make the roadways for drivers?

According to a recent survey commissioned by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), nearly a fifth of young singles indicated they would decline employer-offered health insurance if doing so resulted in financial savings. The NAIC warns recent college graduates that deciding to forgo health insurance is a poor decision that could have catastrophic consequences in the event of illness or injury.

The snow and ice that will build up on and around your home this wintry season will not last forever. Floodsmart.gov offers the following tips to minimize water damage resulting from snowmelt: Avoid having snow drain next to your house. Make sure your downspouts carry water several feet from your house to a welldrained area. One foot of snow covering a 1,000-square-foot roof can produce approximately 2,500 gallons of water.

Do you own a condominium that you rent to vacationers? If you do or you are considering it, take a look at some important limitations in your condo insurance policy. Most condominium insurance policies include a provision which states that, once the property is held for rental, the condo insurance policy no longer covers the personal property of the unit owner. Consider a unit owner in Orlando, Fla., who decides to hold his unit for rent for a few weeks during the winter to attract vacationing families. Once the unit is advertised for rent, he no longer has coverage for his personal items located within the unit if they are damaged.

If your employer is no longer providing health insurance or has shifted to a highdeductible plan, consider asking about a “Mini-Med” plan. These plans, sometimes referred to as gap cover, are not a substitute for major medical insurance. Rather, they are designed to help curb medical costs by paying a portion of costs that would otherwise be your responsibility. Such plans may be available only to individuals who are employed or selfemployed. They are considered supplemental coverage and often come in two forms: Discount Medical Plan and true Mini-Med insurance plan. The former provides access to a network of physicians who offer services at a discounted rate.

Many homeowners attempt to subsidize mortgage payments by allowing a renter to occupy a portion of the home not used by its owners. In most home insurance policies, as long as the “named insured” (usually the person in whose name the home insurance policy is in and spouse) still occupies the home, home insurance coverage remains relatively unchanged. If you decide to become a "room renter," consider the following common exceptions. Many home insurance policies remove theft coverage for any theft loss that occurs in the area occupied by the renter. Additionally, there is usually no coverage for damage to the renter’s personal property. If your renter has valuable personal property inside your home, you should encourage that person to obtain insurance on that property. Further, if the space rented by you is a detached structure on the premises, such as a carriage house, most home insurance policies will suspend coverage for any damage that occurs to that detached structure.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. Nearly 5,000 teens are killed in crashes annually. About 40% of all these deaths involve passengers. According to a study from the Meharry- State Farm Alliance at Meharry Medical College, only 59% of teen drivers say they always buckle up in the driver seat. Just 42% wear seat belts as passengers. Only 38% report always clicking it as both driver and passenger. "Because seat belts can reduce the risk of injury and death in crashes by more than 50%, there is a critical need for interventions to increase seat belt use by teens as both drivers and passengers,” says Nathaniel Briggs, M.D.

With rising healthcare costs, older workers are wondering about paying for medical care after retirement. Retirees who do not yet qualify for Medicare must plan for illnesses and injuries that can increase debt, drain savings and significantly alter a family’s standard of living. Workers whose employers do not extend health benefits after retirement might turn to COBRA—the federal stop-gap program that gives workers the option of purchasing health insurance from a former employer’s group health plan. Although this is often a comfortable option in terms of quality and consistency of coverage, many struggle with the higher premiums usually associated with moving out from under the employer’s contributions.

More than just an Aerosmith song, toys in the attic—and in every other nook and cranny in the house—is a November/December phenomenon in America. And the toys are not just a truck forJohnny and a dolly for Sue. Americans’ toys are made by Garmin and Apple and Rolex, among other big names, and they are worth billions. Your homeowners insurance will likely cover your purchases if they are stolen or damaged before they are distributed, but if you are given jewelry or art and it is stolen or damaged, you might encounter problems with your claim, especially if your policy excludes those items from standard coverage. For any high-priced specialty items not covered on your standard home policy, take pictures, keep receipts and store the item and its documentation safely and separately from each other.

If a tree falls, does your home insurance make a sound? Here’s the good news: Standard home insurance policies will cover damages to insured structures (such as the home itself or a detached garage), as well as to contents, caused by a tree that is felled by windstorm, hail and weight of ice, snow or sleet. Your home insurance will pay the damages and the cost to remove the downed treeregardless of whether or not the tree was growing on your property before the loss. The cost to remove a tree can be substantial. In order for your home insurance to cover this cost, the tree must have caused damage to an insured structure, blocked the driveway or blocked a ramp or walkway designed to assist the handicapped.

Planning to get married? Call us at 914-631-4353 to learn how we can help you protect your special day. See our online brochure for information.

Workers whose employers are cutting back on or do not offer group health insurance may turn to individual health plans for medical insurance. Individual plans usually require a review of your medical history, and many mandate an exam for qualification. Acceptance by the insurance company and the price of the premium are often determined by an applicant’s medical history and current health. It is imperative that applicants make a full disclosure. Most states will allow providers of individual health insurance policies to revoke a policy within a certain time frame usually two years if they discover that information provided on the application was false or inaccurate.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently drafted new regulations in response to an abundance of data showing the severity of side-impact crashes. The new regulations, which are to be implemented in vehicles starting with the 2009 model year, are placing emphasis on the importance of side airbags that protect passengers’ bodies and heads. A major concern with side-impact crashes and the use of side airbags is the effect on children. Research indicates that side airbags, like other irbags, are designed to protect adults and that airbag deployment can harm children and small adults.

With March snows thawing and saturating the ground and April showers right around the corner, some homeowners are thinking more about soggy crawl spaces and puddles in the basement than about spring flowers. Here are some tips from builders and landscapers to help you prevent water damage this spring:

What do Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas have in common? HINT: The answer is not Southeastern Conference (SEC) sports. All six of these states have the dubious distinction of making the Top 10...the Top 10 most “overweight” states in the country, that is. Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States. More than 69 million Americans are obese. An additional 127 million are overweight.

The Allan M Block Insurance Agency and the Rotary Club of the Tarrytowns invites you to join us for Duck Derby Day Saturday, April 26, 2008 in Patriot's Park, Tarrytown, NY. This event is in collaboration with the Tarrytown Family YMCA's Healthy Kids Day. Download the Duck adoption form and return today!

Motorcycle owners have different insurance issues than auto owners. When searching for the right coverage, bikers should consider these issues: - Custom Equipment and Apparel Coverage. Customized equipment and apparel, including custom paint, chrome additions, saddlebags, helmets and jackets are costly to replace if damaged in an accident. Make sure to include them in your insurance plans.

Determining a coverage limit for the physical structure of your home is not easy. However, there are numerous resources available to help you get as close as possible to an accurate estimate for the cost to replacement cost. What often proves more difficult and surprising to homeowners is determining a coverage limit for their homes’ contents. Some people just don’t realize how much stuff they have!