How to prepare your home in case of a fire.

Prepare your family in case of a fire

June is National Safety Month and at the Arnold Insurance Agency, we take your safety very seriously. This week's theme is Emergency Preparedness and the importance of creating a home emergency plan for you and your family. Here are some helpful safety tips to help your home be prepared in case of a fire:

• Install the right number of smoke alarms. Test them once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year.

• Teach children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do when they hear one.

• Ensure that all household members know two ways to escape from every room of your home and know the family meeting spot outside of your home.

• Establish a family emergency communications plan and ensure that all household members know who to contact if they cannot find one another.

• Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year. Press the smoke alarm test button or yell “Fire“ to alert everyone that they must get out.

• Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1.

• Teach household members to STOP, DROP and ROLL if their clothes should catch on fire.

It's very easy to panic during an emergency; being mentally and physically prepared may help to minimize that feeling of panic and enable you to keep your family calm. An emergency preparedness plan should include a disaster supply kit, as well as any emergency essentials. Emergency preparedness supplies should also be arranged and easily accessible. For additional information on best practices for an emergency escape plan visit https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan

When should you file an insurance claim in an auto accident?

Have you been in an auto accident?

Has there ever been a time you were involved in a minor car accident and thought about whether you should report it to your insurance company or just pay out of pocket? A lot of people have, this is because of the fear that filing a claim will automatically raise their insurance rates no matter what.

Many think that just coming to a settlement with the other driver and not getting the insurance companies involved makes everything go away but what if the other driver claims an injury later on or if the damage to their vehicle is more extensive than what they originally thought? You could still be eligible for legal action taken against you. 

To prepare for a possible claim against you:

1. Provide the other driver with your insurance information.🤝🏻

2. Call the police. 👮

3. Report the incident to your insurance company. 📱

   1. This is because the insurance company can help you pay for any legal defense you may need as well as, help pay for property damage or injuries to others. This also protects you from the insurance company being able to deny coverage.

There are only a few instances where not filing a claim due to an accident makes sense and those are usually when it is just a single-car accident and no one’s property but that of the person causing the accident is damaged. For instance, you are backing out of your driveway and hit the mail box.

Another good tip for any car accident is to always take multiple photos of your car’s damage and the other drivers before leaving the scene of the accident.📷 This will help protect you in the case the other driver claims something different that actually happened in the accident.

To make sure you always have the right coverage and an expert who can walk you through any insurance claim when they happen. Call The Arnold Insurance Agency. 614-863-0455