Child Booster Seats

The institute for Highway Safety has provided a method to take much of the guesswork out of selecting the proper booster seat for your child. Seat belts are designed with adults in mind- so a child booster seat is an absolute necessity, and extra care needs to be taken when securing young children.

Children usually resist wearing a seatbelt because it is uncomfortable. Boosters elevate children so that the safety belts installed in the vehicles by manufacturers will fit the child better. The booster seat allows the lap belt to fit properly over the child’s thighs and not their abdomen. The shoulder belt should fit across the middle of the child’s shoulder. Not only will the belt be more comfortable, it will provide maximum protection in a crash.

The institute’s researchers used a specially designed test dummy configured as a 6 year old child. The researchers determined the effectiveness of how a 3-point lap and shoulder belt fit the dummy under a range of configurations representing many different automobile models. Based on a range of scores, a booster seat rating was assigned to each seat.

Kidproof

The temptations and dangers to today’s children are unfortunately ever growing. The news will attest to this with stories of abductions, kidnapping, facebook driven depressions, internet bullying, etc. It is important that kids and parents today be proactive against such dangers. Being in the business of risk management we are always looking for ways to mitigate and avoid risk. One way to do this when it comes to kid’s safety is through courses put on by Kidproof. Kidproof is an organization that puts on safety courses for children. The courses are geared toward kids ages 5 to mid teens.

Some examples of their courses are:

Cybersafe which teaches kids how to safely use the internet. They teach them how to see warning signs and unsafe situations online.

Another course is all about avoiding being bullied or how to deal appropriately with a bully. The course is called Bully Proofing.

Their most popular class is the Babysitter Training course. This course helps kids develop the skills needed to take care of other children.

Knowledge and education are always a good defense against certain dangers. Kidproof’s classes are a great way for parents to help make children aware and educated on today’s dangers. Visit www.kidproofsaftey.com today.

Kidproof is always looking to expand to help get the word out to parents in different communities in North America. If anyone wishes to start their own Kidproof franchise then contact Darian Richardson of RMC Franchise. Visit his website at www.rmcfranchiseconnect.com.

Are Washingtonians Gullible or are the Legends True?

Nearly 4 in 10 Washington Residents Believe Sasquatch Exists

Washington may be home to Microsoft, Boeing and a raft of cutting-edge companies that focus on modern technology, but it might surprise you that will all that, brainpower and intellect residing here, a recent PEMCO Insurance poll found that nearly 40% of residents said they believe that it’s possible that Sasquatch does exist.

In case you aren’t familiar with the creature, Wikipedia describes Sasquatch, also known as “Big Foot”, as “…an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The term "Sasquatch" is an anglicized derivative of the word "Sésquac" which means "wild man" in a Salish Native American language.

You won’t have to convince a Spokane woman of its existence. She swears she snapped a photo of the purported creature with her cell phone while walking along the Spokane River with her family. She didn’t even notice it at the time, but realized it when she looked at the video, and posted it on YouTube. You can see it here: Sasquatch YouTube video.

Washington residents didn’t stop there. A full 13% of those surveyed in the PEMCO Northwest Poll say they’ve either seen one or know someone who has!

Washington is home to other controversial sightings, too. For instance, many people don’t know that the first purported sighting of UFOs was not in Nevada or New Mexico, but right here in Washington state, by pilot Kenneth Arnold, who was flying near Mt. Rainier in 1947 when he reported seeing nine “flying discs” that “moved like saucers across the water.” The “flying discs” reference eventually turned into the popular term “flying saucers”.

Another Northwest legend surrounds an airplane hijacker who commandeered a Northwest Airlines jumbo jet in November 1971. On the flight manifest he was listed as “Dan Cooper” (later referred to as D.B. Cooper), and he successful demanded $200,000 in ransom money while the plane sat on the tarmac in Seattle. The plane, with only Cooper and the flight crew aboard, then took off and flew south towards Oregon. At some point in time while over the Columbia River, D.B. Cooper jumped from the plane with a parachute and his loot, never to be seen again. In 1980, a boy playing along a Columbia River sandbar found $5,800 dollars of the ransom money partially buried in the sand. Did Cooper die while parachuting from that altitude, or did he lose some of his ill-gotten gains while making his escape? We may never know, but the speculation never ceases. Many believe that somewhere – maybe right here in the Northwest -- D.B Cooper is living off the ransom money, smug in the knowledge that he got away with it.

As for Sasquatch, he has found Northwest fame in a variety of ways. In the years that Seattle had a professional basketball team, the SuperSonics, their mascot was a hairy ape-like creature named “Squatch”. Recently, a beef jerky company has been creating television commercials about people who are “Messin’ with Sasquatch”, a large, hairy creature that is as dumb as a, well, Sasquatch.

Pools and Insurance

A few weekends ago we all celebrated Memorial Day. Traditionally this is the weekend where many pool owners open up the family pool for the summer. Pools are cleaned, chlorine is checked and pool toys are brought out of storage. There is, however, one other step pool owners should take when opening the pool. That step is to make sure their homeowner insurance is up to date to best protect them if something happens to the pool and or to a summer guest.

The pool itself has coverage on your homeowner policy under Section I, Other Structures. Normally this coverage is 10% to 20% of the amount of insurance you have on your home. Let’s say you have your house insured for $200,000; under a typical homeowner policy you will have $20,000 in coverage for Other Structures. As a pool owner you need to ask yourself, is that enough to cover my pool if it was damaged? If not you may need to increase your Other Structures coverage.

Liability is always a big concern when a pool is involved. It is important for pool owners to know that many insurance companies require pools to be fenced. If they are not the pool owner may find their homeowner carrier canceling their insurance. So if you are someone that currently doesn’t have a pool but plan to add one, make sure to include a fence in your planning process.

Umbrella insurance policies are something we at Fey Insurance Services always recommend but if you are a pool owner we strongly recommend them. Unfortunately drowning is a real risk when you own a pool. Heaven forbid this ever happened at your pool but if tragedy did strike you would want to have all the liability coverage you can to help protect you.

So before you pull the winter cover off your pool, be sure to consult with your insurance agent and do a review of your homeowner insurance. Enjoy the summer!

Homeowner Insurance in a Disaster

With all the devastation that is occurring in the country from tornados, home insurance has become a hot topic. More specifically, having the correct amount of insurance on your home has become a hot topic. A few weeks back we posted a blog article about a house's "Market Value" vs. "Construction Replacement Cost". Just a few days ago USA Today journalist Sandra Block posted a wonderful article in the Money section of USA Today on the same topic. Here is a link to this article:

Will Your Homeowners Insurance Cover You if Disaster Hits? by Sandra Block (June 1, 2011) USA Today