artefact_admin, Author at Mancuso Nowak

Winter Driving!

Winter is here, the cold has set in and we have had our first snow. Driving in the winter can be tricky, but here are a few tips to improve your driving on the snow and ice:

Clean off your car completely! Even though it is not a law to remove snow and ice from vehicles, police can still ticket due to driving an unsafe car. If you cause an accident you could incur more penalties.
Make sure your tires are suitable for winter weather, check out these guidelines: winter tires
Consider changing your windshield wipers: Rain-X Latitude blades received the highest rating for winter blades
Do not make hasty driving decisions, no quick turns or braking
Do not use cruise control
Drive slowly, it is easier to stop on snow and ice when you are not traveling at high speeds
Bridges and ramps are the most slippery, use caution
In slippery conditions use the “4 Second Rule” for the amount of space you leave between you and vehicle in front of you
Make sure all vehicle fluids are at proper levels – antifreeze, wiper fluid, etc.
Keep warm blankets and flares in your car in case of a breakdown or accident

Please stay safe on the roads and allow a few extra minutes for travel during wintery conditions. Happy Winter!

Every 4 years we have a day added to our calendar, February 29th. It is called Leap Day which occurs during Leap Year. Why do we have Leap Year? Simply because it does not take exactly 365 days for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. The exact amount of time it takes the Earth to makes its journey is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds. So every 4 years we need to make an adjustment to the Gregorian Calendar, the modern day calendar, and add a 366th day!

Some pretty interesting facts about Leap Year:

the year must be evenly divisible by 4
the year can not be divisible by 100, unless…
it is also divisible by 400
Ahh we learn something new everyday! Hope we shed a little light on why we have Leap Year. Enjoy your extra day and do something awesome!

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Buy Safe, Buy Smart – Toy Guide

The most popular and fun time to buy toys is in December. What better joy is there to see a child so excited to play with a new toy? Thankfully as a whole the toy industry has vastly improved in their toy safety guidelines since 2008 when there were 172 recalls with 19 of them due to lead. Thankfully toys are now required to pass 3rd party laboratory testing. With fewer recalls on toys, it is still important to look at the general safety of the toys you are buying.

Some of the toys to avoid buying this year are found in the New York Post: Dangerous Toy List

When purchasing toys there are general guidelines to keep in mind:

Age requirements are on toys for a reason, follow the recommended age
Keep toys with small objects or small removable parts away from children under 3 yrs old
Make sure any toys with small batteries have a screw driver required to open the battery compartment
All strong magnetic toys should be closely monitored and never given to young children
Toys with long strings or cords should never be given to infants or young children
Make sure any fabric, like pajamas, are labeled flame retardant

Shopping for toys this holiday season should be a less scary process than in years past. Have fun buying and playing with all the new gifts this year. And yes, adults are required to play with toys also, it’s half the fun in buying them! Happy Holidays!

Drowsy Driver Prevention Week

November 1-8 is Drowsy Driver Prevention Week. It is important to give attention to this hazard on the road, as many people every day get on the road that are too tired to drive. Half of drivers surveyed in the Sleep in America poll have admitted to driving while drowsy. As it is easy for police to detect when alcohol is a factor in a crash, it is much more difficult to conclude that drowsiness was a leading or contributing factor in a crash. The estimates from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conclude that driving while drowsy has caused 100,000 car accidents, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities. Statistics also show that more men than women drive while too sleepy to drive, 56% vs 45%.

How can we prevent drowsy driving accidents?

Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night
If you have been up for 24 hrs, do not drive
Take a break every 2 hrs of driving or every 100 miles
Open the windows and get fresh air…the colder the better!
Drink a caffeinated beverage
Have a passenger with you while driving. Have them talk to you and keep you alert.
Avoid alcohol as it can make you even more drowsy (and it is against the law to drink and drive!)
Avoid medications that cause drowsiness
If none of these tips work, just pull off the road and take a quick nap or stay somewhere for the night and continue the drive on a good nights rest.
If you are prone to getting sleepy while driving have someone else drive on longer trips and at night when falling asleep is more likely.

Protect yourself and the ones you love by not driving while drowsy, share with friends and family and on social media with #Awake2Drive.

Halloween Week Activities

Halloween is such a fun time of year, so much going on! The week leading up to Halloween is no exception. In and around Shrewsbury there are lots of exciting things to do! Some of the events we will checking out this week are:

Zoo Boo Days at Southwick Zoo – all this week bring the kids dressed in their Halloween costumes and they will get in for free. There will be trick or treating too! Zoo Boo Days Southwick Zoo

Shrewsbury Child Development Committee Halloween Party – on Tuesday there will be the annual Halloween party and parade from 10-11:30 am at the Mt Olivet Church.

Halloween Party at Wicked Good Cookies – on Wednesday from 6-8pm is having its first annual cookie decorating Halloween party! Come in costumes! Wicked Good Cookies Party

Northborough Crossing Halloween Trick or Treat Event – on Thursday from 4-8pm there will be Omer Black the Magician, face painting and trick or treating at the shops! Northborough Crossing Halloween Event

White City Trick or Treating – come to the plaza from 11am-2pm on Halloween day and go trick or treating early!

Trick or Treating in your neighborhood! Be safe, be smart by wearing glowing items and using a flashlight!

A busy, fun-filled week ahead!!! Happy Halloween!

Term vs Permanent Life Insurance

Buying life insurance is not on the top of everyone’s priority list. It makes us think about dying and how we have to plan for it when we leave family members behind. Morbid, yes. Necessary, absolutely. Life insurance is the best present you can give your family. There are two main options when buying life insurance – Term Life Insurance and Permanent Life Insurance.

As the name implies, Term Life Insurance is for a specified term or time period. Policies can range from 1-30 years for a term. This type of life insurance is relatively inexpensive because it does not build any cash value and it just ends when the term expires. The payments are at a fixed rate until the end of the term. If future life insurance is needed, the rate will most likely go up because the person buying it is now older (an influence on the rate of a policy) and could have health issues that were not present when first buying the term insurance. If the purchaser does die during the term of the policy, the beneficiary will receive full payment of the policy. This type of life insurance can be used for the purpose of covering a mortgage. If you have a 30 yr mortgage, you may buy a 30 yr term policy just to cover your mortgage payments if you die within that time period.

Permanent Life Insurance, sometimes called Whole Life, will initially be more expensive. However, the rate on the policy will not change regardless of any changes in health or occupation, as long as timely payments are made. A significant difference from Term Life Insurance is that Permanent Life Insurance will build up cash value. Over time, the policy value will be increasing by more than the actual premiums. The owner will have access to this cash if so needed. In the end, Permanent Life Insurance will be more cost effective and provide a better solution to family planning.

If you have any questions about life insurance and family planning, please call us! mancuso-nowak.com

When Should You Drop Collision On Your Auto Policy?

Dropping collision coverage on your auto policy can be an easy decision once you consider the various factors. The first things to check are the premium cost for the coverage and the actual cash value (ACV) of your automobile. To find an estimate of the ACV of your car it isn’t an exact science. It is a combination of looking at Kelly Blue Book value and what your car is selling for at local dealerships. The closer the premium is to your ACV the easier the decision is to drop collision. The deductible on the auto is also an important factor to consider.

A good example is: if the value of your car is $2,000 and the premium is $450 with a $500 deductible and you get into a single vehicle accident, you are already invested $950 on a $2,000 car and that’s just one year of premium. This is when you would consider saving money on your $450 premium and drop the collision. However, if you are living pay check to pay check the $1,500 ($2,000 ACV – $500 ded) you would get from the insurance company if the car was totaled would at least give you some cash to buy a new car.

Some times when your car is older and/or has very high mileage you can consider dropping collision because the older your car is the lower its actual cash value is. However, if you are very dependent on that vehicle and you must repair it for daily transportation, then the decision may be a bit more difficult. Also, can you afford the out of pocket cost of an accident or is it easier for you to manage paying for the collision coverage in small amounts throughout the year?

Everyone’s financial situation is different, so consider all the factors before deciding to drop collision. If you would like to talk to us about this decision, please call us! We are always happy to help: www.mancuso-nowak.com

Tax Free Weekend

Time to shop! Tax free weekend is August 15-16 this year. It is a great time to buy that bigger ticket item that you have been putting off purchasing. Back to school shopping should be a little less costly with this tax break. If the kids need a new computer for college, Apple is urging people to wait until tax free weekend, since Apple products never go on sale. The 6.25% savings is substantial if you are spending a lot of money. The item must cost less than $2,500 to be included in the tax free benefit.

The tax free weekend has just been determined by lawmakers because many of them oppose the idea. The state of Massachusetts will loose $20-$25 million in tax revenue during this one weekend. But the surge in sales during a slow time of year far out weighs the taxes that will be lost. The goal is to promote buying within the state. It will benefit our economy.

So shoppers get your credit cards handy….ready, set, shop!

Homeowners Policy: Basic vs Special Form

There are many confusing parts of insurance. One of them is the type of form/policy that you have for your homeowners insurance. There are a few different types of forms, but we will discuss a Basic Form or “Named Perils” versus a Special Form.

The Basic Form is commonly called “Named Perils” because it only covers the perils that are specifically named. If a peril is not named, there is no coverage for the loss. The common named perils are fire, lightening, windstorm, hail, explosion, riot, smoke, vandalism and damage caused by aircraft or vehicle. Some of the common losses NOT covered by a Named Perils form are water damage from a broken or frozen water pipe. Also, damage caused by ice dams, which are formed from the freezing and melting of snow on your roof. These types of losses are very common in Massachusetts. So even though a Basic Form is less expensive, it is rarely recommended.

The most comprehensive coverage will be the Special Form. This type of policy covers almost all losses to the building, with the exception of flood and earthquake damage. The Special Form is used almost exclusively on our homeowners policies. The Special Form pertains to the actual building and not to the personal property and contents of the building. The form can be extended to cover contents for an additional premium. There are a few occasions when a Special Form can not be used; such as, when a property has substandard conditions.

If you have any questions about your homeowners policy and what type of coverage you have, please call us to discuss. We are happy to explain all of your options and give you the best type of coverage for your needs. www.mancuso-nowak.com.

Pool Safety

June is HOT, especially this week! One of the best ways to cool off is a dip in the pool. Unfortunately, in the news recently there have been incidents of people, mostly children, drowning. You can prevent most pool accidents with some basic pool safety guidelines:

Have proper pool safety equipment readily available. Have a 4 foot tall fence surrounding the entire pool area with a quick latching door that locks.
If your house is the 4th side of the fence then make sure you have alarms on the doors and windows facing the pool. This will alert you if a child is outside near the pool.
Make sure the pool cover fits securely around the pool itself. The best type of cover is a lockable pool cover.
Have a safety flotation device located right next to the pool.
Keep a first aid kit in the pool area.
Post CPR instructions on a fence or pool house. It is much more helpful if you are CPR certified.
Make sure you are a good swimmer, if not take lessons. Same is true for your children. Start swim lessons early.
Never leave children unsupervised in the pool area.
Always have one person in charge of directly watching children in the pool. Never assume someone else is watching the kids. Talk about who is in charge before the kids go in.
If a child is in the pool and not splashing around…check them! This can often be “silent drowning.”

Pools are a fantastic way to beat the heat. If safety comes first everyone will have a great time! Look at our Homeowners page to find out more information on what your policy covers: mancuso-nowak.com/coverage/home. Call us with any questions!

Mancuso Nowak

Author: artefact_admin