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  • Love Your Valentine's Day Gift?  Insure It!
    Valentine’s Day is upon us, and thoughts of people everywhere turn to… jewelry.
    Those who don’t buy shiny things for Valentine’s Day may prefer other types of valuables, such as electronics, artwork, antiques, wine and furs. All totaled Valentine’s Day spending will tally approximately $17.6 billion of retail sales, with $4.1 billion of that being spent on jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Trends report.
  • Home Inventory:  Know Your Stuff
    Most people know that a homeowners or renter’s insurance policy is crucial when it comes to protecting your home from a fire or other disaster. However, if you want to safeguard your valuables from the unexpected, there’s another important document you may be overlooking: a home inventory.
  • Hosting a Super Bowl Party? There Could Be More than Team Pride on the Line
    Hosting a Super Bowl party is a great way to cheer on your team if you can’t make it to the stadium in Indianapolis this Sunday, but make sure you know and manage the risks of hosting the big game day party. In many states, individuals hosting parties can be held liable in cases where a guest or third party is injured in an accident related to alcohol consumption at your event. Hosts have been held responsible for medical bills, vehicle repair costs, lost time from work, and even wrongful death.
  • One Roof
    Eliminating the chaos that comes along with managing so many different policies is a major advantage of using a Trusted Choice® insurance agent. Placing your business insurance through a Trusted Choice® agent brings someone onto your team who can bring calm to your multi-policy chaos. Consider the following advantages to keeping all of your business insurance needs under one roof.

  • Does Volunteering Your Time Mean Volunteering Your Insurance?
    Millions of Americans donate time—their most valuable asset—to serve as a volunteer board member on non-profits, booster clubs, churches, PTAs and civic organizations, just to name a few. The decisions these folks make can have a dramatic impact on their respective organization—and not always for the better. If a volunteer endeavor goes bad, would a volunteer board member have coverage against a lawsuit under his or her homeowner’s policy?
  • Insuring Your Happily Ever After
    Getting married and embarking on a new life together is one of the most exciting experiences in two people’s lives. It’s a time of hope, promise, romance and … reality. Finding the person who will be by your side forever may have seemed like the hard part, but getting married also requires a lot of time, money, and careful consideration. Whether a couple is planning their wedding or deciding where to live, there are a lot of decisions to make before saying “I do,” especially when it comes to insurance.
  • Insuring Your Growing Family
    Having a baby can be a very exciting, emotional, and exhausting experience for a family, and while most parents remember a lot of the preparation details -- such assembling the crib and installing child-safety locks -- updating their insurance may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
  • Lights Out:  Frozen Pipes & Spoiled Food
    You’re hosting the party for the big game. The invitations are out, responses are in and it’s going to be a big one. Your shopping is done and the refrigerator and freezer are stocked with the finest party fare money can buy.
  • Protection from Luggage Looters and Baggage Bullies
    The holidays are a popular time of year to travel – whether it’s to visit family and friends, relax on the beach, or hit the slopes – but taking a vacation during this time of year often
    means hauling a lot of extra luggage, such as skis, golf clubs, and holiday gifts. The chance of your luggage getting lost or stolen isn’t high – less than one percent of travelers reported mishandled luggage, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2009 Air Travel Consumer Report. Yet baggage-handling accidents and thefts do happen, which is why it’s important to have the proper insurance in place before your depart for your destination.
  • Downside of Online:  Cyber Crime & Stolen Data
    What does a cyber crime cost? According to the Ponemon Institute’s First Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study, published in July 2010, a business can expect to pay an average of $204 per customer record that is lost or stolen.
  • Is a GPS Covered by an Auto Policy?
    Some may view them as science fiction gone wild. Others see them as indispensable, possibly life-saving tools. Regardless of your feelings about Global Positioning Systems (GPS), they continue to occupy the dashboards of millions of U.S. vehicles each year. The pervasiveness and expense of the technology has drivers asking if their GPS systems are covered by auto insurance.
  • Home Fire Escape Plans Save Lives
    Fall is officially here, and with it comes the National Fire Protection Agency’s National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 9 -15. This year’s theme is “Protect Your Family from Fire,” which makes now a good time to come up with a fire evacuation plan or review the one your family already has in place.
  • Halloween Safety Tips
    Halloween is just around the corner and many consumers may not realize how scary this ghoulish night might really be for their personal safety, their property…or their pocketbooks. Trusted Choice® insurance professionals can help families better prepare for Halloween hazards that may come in disguise or under the cloak of dark.
  • Is Your Home Ready for Winter?
    Is your home ready for winter weather? Many consumers don’t realize that lack of preparation could mean unwelcome home damage and unexpected repair expenses. To help families and businesses protect themselves against winter risks and enjoy the season, Trusted Choice® offers tips that can help families prepare for risks and hazards that may come during the winter months.
  • Sounds too Good to be True: Downloading Illegal Music
    Remember the days of curling up to the radio on a Saturday night, torturing yourself through commercials and lame tunes just to be able to crank it when Mr. DJ played your favorite song?
Fight the Flames:  Seven Tips for Protecting Your Home from Fire

Home fires caused 2,565 deaths (not including firefighters) and almost $7.8 billion in damage in 2009, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). While it’s impossible to completely prevent fires, there are several measures you can take to protect your family, home and valuables from the flames.

Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Test these devices monthly to make sure they are working properly and replace the batteries annually. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends putting at least one smoke detector on each level of your home. Never disable these detectors even if they go off while cooking or showering.

Install fire extinguishers. The NFAP recommends keeping extinguishers near exits of your home and in the kitchen where most house fires start. A multi-purpose extinguisher that is large enough to put out a small fire but isn’t too heavy to handle is ideal. Be sure to read all the manufacturer’s instructions on how to properly operate the device.

Create a home escape plan. Draw a map of your house that includes all the doors and windows and discuss a fire escape plan with all family members. Practice the escape route at least once a year.

Keep it clean. Remove leaves and debris from around the property and clean out the gutters. It’s also important to trim back any shrubs or tree limbs that are close to your home. All of these things can be potential fire hazards.

Make sure your home is fully insured. Talk to your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent to ensure your home is fully covered for fire loss and that you have loss-of-use coverage in the event your home becomes uninhabitable.

Take a home inventory. Make a list of everything valuable in your home and document it with photos and video. Keeping a record of all your belongings will help you file a claim if you experience a fire or other loss.

Protect important documents. Keep a copy of your homeowner’s policy, home inventory, and other important documents, such as passports, legal documents and birth and marriage certificates in a fireproof lockbox or at an off-site location.

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127 South Peyton Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 800.221.7917
Fax: 703.683.7556
Email: Trusted.Choice@iiaba.net