February 2011Welcome

I hope that you find these articles of interest. If you have a topic for future discussion, please let us know. Call anytime! We can answer questions or be of help with your business or personal insurance needs.

Contact Us

AJ Benet Inc430 Center Ave

Mamaroneck, NY 10543914 381 2040info@ajbenet.com

What's New This Month

The Big Freeze: How to Prevent Freezing Pipes

Young Adults and High Earners Have Greatest Risk for Identity Theft

Facebook Follies: Will Your Insurance Help If You Say the Wrong Thing?

The Big Freeze: How to Prevent Freezing Pipes

The Big Freeze: How to Prevent Freezing PipesImagine waking up on one of our frigid New York winter mornings, throwing on your bathrobe and stumbling down the stairs to make a pot of coffee — only to find your kitchen is filled with water. Each winter, about a quarter of a million families find themselves in scenarios like this all because of water pipes that freeze and burst, especially during cold spells similar to what we have been experiencing this winter.

Not only can a pipe eruption ruin your day, but it can also cause thousands of dollars of damage to your home. Your furniture, carpet, photos and floors could be completely water- logged and even ruined from a single bursting pipe. As a matter of fact, just a three millimeter crack in a pipe can dump up to 250 gallons of water in your house in a single day. Whether your home is outfitted with copper or plastic PVC pipes, no one is immune to pipe bursts — both of these pipes can rupture.

Fortunately, you can take a few precautions to protect your pipes and avoid the hassle of a messy, expensive pipe burst. If you want to steer clear of the rising flood waters, follow these simple steps: 

Bump up the thermostat: Never set your thermostat below 65 degrees in the winter. The temperature inside the walls and attic, where your pipes are located, is much colder than the inside of your house. If you let the indoor temperature drop

Bump up the thermostat: Never set your thermostat below 65 degrees in the winter. The temperature inside the walls and attic, where your pipes are located, is much colder than the inside of your house. If you let the indoor temperature drop below 65 degrees, your exterior wall pipes are at high risk of freezing and bursting.

Bundle up those pipes: Before winter arrives, take time to insulate all the exposed pipes in your crawl spaces, garage and attic. Because these pipes are open to the elements, they are more vulnerable to freezing. Don’t be shy with the insulation — the more you use, the less likely your pipes will freeze and burst.

Use heat tape or thermostatically- controlled heat cables to wrap your high- risk pipes. Make sure the product is approved by an independent testing organization, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Use exterior tape for outside pipes and interior tape for indoor pipes, and carefully follow all the installation instructions.

Seal the cracks: Look for air leaks near your pipes. If arctic air seeps through even a tiny crack, your pipes can quickly freeze and burst. To keep the cold out and the heat in, seal up every leak with caulk or insulation.

Put the garden hose away: Before the temperature plummets below freezing, disconnect your garden hose and shut off the indoor valve.

Let the water trickle: Turn on one faucet in your home and let warm water drip throughout the night. Even a tiny trickle of water can help prevent your pipes from

freezing. If possible, use a faucet on an outside wall.

Protect your home when you’re gone: If you’re going out of town, ask a friend or neighbor to check your house each day. Tell them to look for any signs of a burst pipe and make sure it’s warm enough to prevent pipes from freezing.

If you don’t have anyone who can check your home, consider shutting off and draining your water system before you leave. Keep in mind that if you have a fire protection sprinkler system in your house, it will be disabled when you shut off the water.  Always check with a plumber before shutting off the water system, some systems are not meant to be shut off completely.

Know the signs of a pipe freeze: If you turn on your faucet and no water comes out, this could be a sign that your pipe is frozen. Leave the faucet on and call a plumber.

You may be able to thaw the frozen pipe yourself with a hair dryer. Start warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible, working toward the coldest part of the pipe. Never try to thaw pipe with a torch or open flame.

Deal with the pipe burst: If your pipes freeze and burst, turn off your water at the main shut- off valve and leave the water faucets on. Call a plumber right away.

Move electronics, furniture, carpet and other items away from the water. Start mopping up the water and try to make temporary repairs to protect your home from further damage. Be sure to save all of your receipts for any money you spend related to the pipe burst. Your insurance company may be able to reimburse you for temporary repairs. Try to avoid making expensive permanent repairs until your insurance adjuster has a chance to assess the damage.

Obviously, no one wants to deal with the costly and messy aggravation of a pipe burst. To avoid this nightmare, take the proper measures to protect your pipes and your home. However, it’s also important to ensure your family is prepared to act swiftly and smartly if a pipe does rupture.

Young Adults and High Earners Have Greatest Risk for Identity Theft

Young Adults and High Earners Have Greatest Risk for Identity TheftAccording to Javelin Strategy & Research, which recently released its 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report, young people and those earning more than $150,000 are the most likely victims of identity theft.

Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are at the greatest risk for identity fraud because they are the least likely to take safeguards such as shredding documents and using anti- virus software and firewalls. Over five percent of those surveyed in this age group reported having been victimized.

Of those who responded, more than seven percent with annual incomes above $150,000 said that they had been victims of identity theft. The researchers also found that this group is twice as likely to not use paper statements and bills. Instead, they opt for electronic bills, which is a method of preventing fraud. They are also 65 percent more likely to monitor their accounts online, which allows them to spot a fraudulent event before large amounts of money are lost.

The survey also revealed that Americans earning less than $15,000 are the least likely to be victims of identity fraud. Only 2.8 percent of those polled reported being victims. However, this group takes the longest to discover fraud when it happens. It takes them on average 70 percent more time for them to detect a fraud than it does for higher income populations. These victims spent an average of 44 hours resolving the fraud. Lower income victims are also more than twice as likely to cut their overall spending, nearly three times more likely to not purchase merchandise online, and three times more likely to refuse to bank online.

Research showed that 500,000 fewer adults in the United States were victims of identity fraud in 2006 than in 2005. Only 3.7 percent of adults were victims in 2006, as compared to 4 percent in 2005. This is a continuation of the annual decrease in this type of crime that has been occurring since data was first collected in 2003. In that year, 4.7 percent of the adult population was victimized.

There has also been a significant reduction in the incidents of new account fraud reported in the past 12 months. This fraud happens when criminals use a victim's personal data to establish a new account. Such fraud dropped from 1.5 percent in 2006 to one percent in 2007. Additionally, when fraudulent accounts were opened, many victims caught it quicker because of the ability to view statements online. The average fraud amounts dropped from more than $10,000 in 2006 to $7,260 in 2007. Survey respondents said that resolution times had also improved significantly. It took 25 hours to resolve a fraudulent event in 2006, as compared with only 5 hours in

2007.

Facebook Follies: Will Your Insurance Help If You Say the Wrong Thing?

Facebook Follies: Will Your Insurance Help If You Say the Wrong Thing?Social networking Web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, are growing increasingly popular with young people and adults alike. These sites allow people to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and to make new connections. However, as with most other Web sites, these sites allow the posting of communications that the posters may come to regret. These posts can cause hard feelings and may result in significant financial loss.

In the winter of 2009, a teenager from Oceanside, New York sued Facebook, four of her high school classmates, and their parents for $3 million. The suit accused the four classmates of bullying and humiliating her in a forum on Facebook. They allegedly posted derogatory and false statements about her that were intended to hold her up to “public hatred, ridicule and disgrace.” Whether or not the allegations prove to be true, the teenagers and their parents need legal defense and possibly resources to pay judgments against them. There are many factors and variables taken into consideration.

One source of coverage is a personal umbrella policy. An umbrella provides additional insurance in situations where a loss has used up the amounts of liability insurance under homeowner's or auto policies. It also covers some liability losses that those policies do not cover, such as personal injury losses. Umbrellas typically carry a deductible of $250 or $500. The umbrella should pay for a parent's and their child’s defense as well as their share of any judgment, minus the deductible.

Communicating online has become an ordinary part of life today. Web sites like Facebook offer new and exciting ways to meet new people and to stay in touch with people all over the globe. However, they bring with them their own unique risks. Anyone using sites like these should be careful with what they and their children are saying, and they should make sure they have proper insurance backing them up. 

FeedbackWe always appreciate your valuable feedback!

We value our relationships and would like your opinion about our agency. Any suggestions? improvements? compliments?

We would appreciate hearing from you.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide information about industry trends and news of general interest to our clients, potential clients and other professionals. Information about product offerings, services, or benefits is illustrative and general in description, and is not intended to be relied on as complete information. While every

attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, we do not warranty the accuracy of the information.