Entry 3: Lint Alert

Clothes Dryer Fires Cost $35 Million a Year

states the Insurance Journal in an article posted on 08/20/2012

I personally have been involved with a clothes dryer fire, but I was fortunate I wanted a bottle of water that was in the garage. So I discovered the fire at the beginning.

What happened was I washed my down comforter the night before and placed it in the dryer and that in itself created a block in the vent hose line that goes to the outside so when I started it up the second time for the next load of laundry, there it was spark, ignite, and fire. I was in a panic and didn’t know what to do. I ran in the house frantically and called for my husband, and of course he did the smart thing and turned off the dryer and put out the fire. I was in pure panic and didn’t know what to do. Thank goodness for my husband, Andy.

There are products available to detect this sort of thing and you can purchase this on Amazon for $60.

http://www.amazon.com/LintAlert-ALRT31-Dryer-Safety-Alarm/dp/B002B3XJ0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345832177&sr=8-1&keywords=lint+alert

Referenced sources: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/08/20/260075.htm?fb_action_ids=172626082872744&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366

http://www.lintalert.com/

Entry 2

Thank you for tuning in.

Today I was chatting with one of my clients about Renters Insurance and about personal property coverage. Insurance companies like to charge a premium for what losses they can expect for and steer away from the most common claims like stolen jewelry and personal property located away from your home.

I bring this up because a lot of my competitors say they cover their client’s personal property, but what they don’t tell you is the disclaimer about when your personal property is located away from your house like in your car or in a storage facility. Most insurance companies limit your personal property coverage to a dollar amount or a percentage (ex. 10% or 1,000 which is ever greater) when your property is located away from your house. AAA does not! We don’t have that disclaimer; in fact, we cover full coverage for personal property worldwide.

Why would this matter? I will give you a couple true stories.

Example 1

Mr. Client purchased a storage container because he was doing an extensive remodel on his house. He placed most of his personal property inside of the storage container and hired a company to store the container while he did the remodel.  A company came and picked up the container and moved it to a storage facility. It kept there for about 60 days during the remodel. At the end of the 60 day Mr. Client called to have his personal property returned and the company no longer existed. Yes that’s right, GONE! $62,000 of personal property GONE! AAA covered the entire claim. Other companies (Allstate, State Farm, Nationwide, Farmers, and Liberty Mutual etc.) may carry a disclaimer, limiting your coverage to either 10-15% coverage or a $1000. Would you like $62k of coverage or $1k?

Example 2

Ms. Client was carpooling with her children and a group of their friends in their SUV with laptops, cell phones, sunglasses, and purses galore, when they walked in to grab some ice cream and came back to an empty car. The car was within eyesight the entire time, yet someone broke in and stole $8200 of miscellaneous electronics and clothing. Ms. Client was NOT insured with AAA and was covered by the other insurance company for only $1,000 less her deductible of $2500; needless to say, she did not report a claim because it wasn’t worth it too. AAA would cover this loss for $8200 because we provide personal property worldwide.

I am happy to help you with insuring you home or personal property. AAA has the broadest form of coverage and I am happy to walk you through the details and provide you a free no-obligation quote.

Entry 1

Hi my name is... Claire Goddard

Thank you for tuning in. I am starting this blog to key you in on some very important information about "Insurance".

2 things to know

- I am the best agent around

- I work for the greatest insurance company around, AAA.

AAA has been around for over 100 years. I had many options of choosing a company to work for, and I chose AAA. I chose AAA because it aligns with who I am as a person. AAA is a not-for-profit agency that defines the very idea of protecting families. I am a mother of 2, Evan (age 3.5) and Nikki (age 1) and I too live to protect my family.

AAA is a member based company. We are a private company with "member satisfaction focus". Most of our competitors, are public companies with a "financial focus". It may not be apparent up front, but member based companies primary goal is  "member satisfaction" this directly relates to paid claims. Compared to a public company (most advertised ex. Farmers, 21st Century, AIG) are financially focused usually means less claims will be paid. Bottom line they are looking at profit-loss statement.

Stay tuned for more.