The Best Worst Thing You Own

Fact: 1 In 22 Fires Is Caused By Something You Have In Your Home Right This Minute.

Laundry is a weekly chore for most of us, but did you know that clothes dryers cause around 15,500 home structure fires, 29 deaths, 400 injuries and $192 million in direct property loss each year? Most dryer fires happen in the winter, so now is the perfect time to make sure that yours is in good shape.

Causes: The #1 cause of home clothes dryer and washer fires is failure to clean. Lint is the biggest culprit. Lint traps do not catch all of the fuzzy stuff, and can gradually build up and catch fire. Lint accumulation and reduced airflow feed on each other to provide conditions ripe for a fire.      

Improper dryer vent practices restrict airflow and lead to lint buildup: the two main preventable causes of clothes dryer fires. If your dryer is installed outside of a basement, it means your dryer has longer vents with twists and turns that allow space for lint to build up. See below for tips on preventing dryer fires.

Laundry habits can also be a risk. It's easy enough to do laundry without reading drying instructions on the tag. We're all guilty of doing this. But sometimes, there are bigger consequences to drying our clothes than shrinking a favorite sweater. Items containing rubber or other materials not meant to be dried at high temperatures, and alcohol or certain sanitizing solutions that are combustible at high heat can cause a fire when exposed to dryer heat. Also, make sure that chapsticks and other plastic-containing items are removed from pockets, hoods with synthetic fur (made of plastic), etc. are removed from your laundry before you put it in the dryer.                              

Is Your Dryer At Risk?: A clothes dryer that is not working properly has an increased risk of catching fire. Signs your dryer might need service:

• Clothes are taking longer than one cycle to dry
• Clothes come out hotter than usual
• There is no visible lint on the lint trap
• Dryer repeatedly stops during a cycle
• The top of the dryer is hot to the touch while running 

Tips To Prevent Dryer Fires (from The Cincinnati Insurance Companies)

1. Have your clothes dryer professionally installed
2. Clean the lint filter before and after each load of laundry
3. Clean lint out of the vent pipe every six months
4. Replace coiled-wire foil or plastic venting with rigid, non-ribbed metal duct
5. Inspect the venting system behind your dryer for restrictions, and make sure the outdoor vent flap opens when the dryer is operating
6. Keep the area around the dryer free of items that can burn
7. Don’t overload the dryer
8. Don’t dry items made of foam, rubber or plastic
9. Have a professional inspect gas dryers annually to assure that supply lines and connections are intact and free of leaks

Smart parents monitor smartphone, tablet gifts

Set ground rules for using smartphones and tablets.

Planning to get your kids a smartphone or tablet this holiday season? 

With schools using technology in classes and kids being exposed to these devices at an early age, the question is often a matter of when, not if. Parents may have questions and concerns about how to keep kids safe online. Here are some tips and resources that can help. Read more of this post

by Kerri Hinkel for The Cincinnati Insurance Companies

Take care when naming your life insurance beneficiary

Communicate with your loved ones about your
life insurance beneficiaries and arrangements.

Purchasing a life insurance policy is an important piece of financial planning. Naming a beneficiary, and changing that beneficiary when necessary, is also a key component of insurance planning. 

Keep these tips in mind when naming a life insurance beneficiary:

Read more of this post

by Ann S. Binzer for The Cincinnati Insurance Companies

5 Tips To Avoid A Cyber Monday Hangover

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

'Tis the season for ugly Christmas sweater parties online shopping. Whether you're hitting Add To Cart on Amazon or Apple or anywhere in between, when you're putting financial information out on the interwebs be careful with where and how you share.

If the rising number of high-profile mega data breaches and cyber hacks -- most recently at Target, eBay, Neiman Marcus, and Home Depot -- taught us consumers anything, it's that sharing isn't always nice (sorry, Mom).

Cyber Monday may be behind us, but holiday gifting has just begun. No matter what you're buying, protect yourself with these 5 tips:

1. Pay with a credit card or system like Paypal rather than a debit card, to protect sensitive personal information and dispute mysterious charges if necessary.
2. Only submit payment information on secure Wifi networks. The public Wifi at the local coffee shop is great, but wait to share any sensitive information until you're surfing on a secure network.
3. Buy through reputable websites with clear contact information. This will help in the case that there is a problem with your order or the charges.
4. Look for the https://. The S stands for secure.
5. Protect personal information. Read a site’s privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used.

Cyber risk is a growing threat, especially as companies and individuals alike store more (and even more) sensitive information on the cloud, with the advent of awesome, convenient technologies like Apple Pay.

Surely you've received spam or phishing email from a friend or colleague whose email account has been hacked. When you consider that we often receive sensitive information from our banks and doctors, and store passwords in our email folders, this can be a scary thought. 

The good news: Identity Theft coverage is offered under some homeowner's policies. It is usually offered as part as a very comprehensive coverage package, but inclusion of this coverage is priced competitively to policies without the additional protection.

While businesses and individuals alike have been slow to adopt cyber coverage, cyber-specific insurance policies can help reduce potential financial losses from cyber risks and identify theft. Home Depot's data breach cost the company an estimated $62 million, for example, but was offset by $27 million it expects to be reimbursed by its insurance.

More questions on insuring yourself against cyber risk? Give us a call and we're happy to answer them.