How to Back Up your Life

Article from Lifehack.org, on how to "back up" your life including career, personal finances, life insurance, retirement, personal records, and valuable items.

"Any retirement plan should also have the spouse’s name on it in the event of a tragedy. Each of you should also have your own credit card. Too often I see spouses just added on as users to the credit cards without realizing that they are just authorized users and not actual account holders. It is important to build your own credit and not just rely on your spouse’s.

Dick Watts Insurance
12200 Shelbyville Rd 112
Louisville, KY 40243
502-245-3625

-Always insure valuable items. The engagement ring you bought your wife, the family heirlooms your mother gave you, antiques of value in your house, etc. It is important to inventory your items of importance in case of a natural disaster, fire or robbery. Get them appraised first before insuring. You might also want to take photos of the items and put them somewhere safe...." from Lifehack.org
The article recommends Life Insurance and listing the other spouse as a beneficiary

Survey: Teens want friends to be safer

"With motor vehicle accidents claiming between 5,000 and 6,000 teen lives each year, a new survey commissioned by Insurance reveals that many teens do not take personal responsibility for safe driving and continue to engage in dangerous driving behaviors.
While nearly 90 percent of teens surveyed said they hope their friends will be safer on the road in 2008, just 11 percent included "driving more safely" among their personal New Year's resolutions. One-third (34 percent) of teens surveyed reported being frightened as a passenger because the driver was being careless, but did not say anything to the driver. ....." Teens want safer drivers

5 must haves for an effective Thank You note

It is that time of year, to write those Thank You notes to friends, family, and customers. Here are some timely tips from Church of the Customer Blog:
"There are five must-haves for an effective, buzzworthy thank-you note:

Spell the recipient's name correctly (doh!).

Thank the person for choosing your business. If they shared a specific reason why they choose your business of why they like it, reaffirm it. For heaven's sake, though, don't turn it into a sales pitch.

Include a personal detail about the recipient that you picked up on. Prove that you were listening. Humanity is a good thing in the antiseptic world of business.

Open the door to feedback. Whether the recipient provides it isn't the point; it's the idea that you're passionate about creating a recommendable experience.

Be authentic: Include your full name and contact info -- email and/or phone. Or a business card." from Church of the Customer Blog

We of course want to say Thank you to all of our customers and business partners. We appreciate your support and business!

Dick Watts Insurance
12200 Shelbyville Rd 112
Louisville, KY 40243
502-245-3625

Existing Home Sales Fall to Record Low

Existing Home Sales Fall to Record Low in Kentucky
"Sales of previously owned homes fell 8.0 percent in September to a record low 5.04 million unit pace amid troubles in the subprime mortgage and credit markets, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday.
It was the lowest sales pace since the realtor group began tracking both single-family and condo sales jointly in 1999.
Total existing home sales, which include condominiums, fell in September from a downwardly revised pace of 5.48 million in August. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home sales to fall to a 5.25 million-unit sales pace.....Kentucky Home Sales

Bad customer service by design....

from Seth's Blog:
"Most of us do customer service in one way or another. And most of us believe that customer service represents an investment and a commitment. The more you spend, the more you get. Companies that do lousy customer service are short-sighted or just plain cheap. So we say...."

He does not seem very happy with the Customer service he received from ATT

Officials Answer Questions about National Flood Insurance

"Representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program and staff members from the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet’s Office of Insurance and Division of Water will hold a town meeting on March 20 at the Veterans’ Memorial Community Center, 213 Upper River Street, Burkesville. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Central time.
Specific information about national flood insurance will be available at the meeting.
The public is encouraged to attend.

WHO: Officials from the National Flood Insurance Program, Kentucky Office of Insurance and Kentucky Division of Water""......Kentucky Insurance

Progressive Insurance drops the Drive

Progressive Insurance has announced plans to drop the "Drive Insurance" brand. Auto Insurance products and boat, motorcyle products will now be called Progressive Insurance
"

This move will also help agents better leverage one of the company's most important initiatives designed to attract and retain customers--its concierge level of claims service now offered at 53 Progressive service centers throughout the country. The service substantially reduces the amount of time customers and claimants have to spend on the claims/repair process following an accident to about 15 minutes.

Progressive research shows customers value the level of service they get at the centers, which makes them more satisfied and more likely to stay with the company longer. Agents who visit the facilities are also very impressed, Barbagallo said, but some had reservations about sending their Drive customers to a Progressive Service Center...." from Yahoo Finance News

Local Independent Insurance Agents will now return to using the name Progressive Insurance instead Drive Insurance from Progressive.....
UPDATE:
The auto brand will now be called Progressive Drive Insurance for Auto Insurance