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

Flood Damaged Cars on the way

"If you are one of the 43 million people who will buy a used car this year, hopefully you are already aware of the serious dangers of flood-damaged vehicles. Flood damage breaks down a car's electrical systems, air bags, ABS brakes, engine and transmission, literally rotting it from the inside out.

In the wake of devastating hurricanes, floods and major storms of the past few years, these waterlogged wrecks are making their way back on the road in all parts of the country. In fact, according to a new Carfax study, the number of flood-damaged cars uncovered by consumers has more than DOUBLED nationwide in the last five years. Not surprisingly, states like Oklahoma, Florida, Kentucky,......."

from: PR Newswire

Indiana lowers insurance tax

from Insurance Journal:
'A national insurance trade group provided supporting testimony this week, as Indiana took a step forward in attracting more insurance jobs to the state by lowering its insurance premium tax to 1 percent....." Insurance Tax

Indiana expects that if the premium tax is lowered the state will be able to attract more insurance jobs.

ifilm to compile Superbowl ads for blogs

"MTV-owned Web site iFilm.com will post Super Bowl commercials minutes after they air and, for the first time, make them available to bloggers to post on their own pages. .....iFilm Superbowl Ads

Super Bowl stadium site hacked....

"The official Web site of Dolphin Stadium, home of Sunday's Super Bowl XLI, has been hacked and seeded with exploit code targeting two known Windows security flaws.

In the attack, which was discovered by malware hunters at Websense Security Labs, the server hosting the site was breached and a link to a malicious JavaScript file was inserted into the header of the front page of the site. Visitors to the site execute the script, which attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities.

According to Dan Hubbard, senior director, security and technology research at Websense, the malicious site hosting the script has been taken offline by law enforcement officials but the hacked Dolphin Stadium site — which is attracting a lot of Super Bowl-related traffic — is still hosting the malicious JavaScript....." from ZDNET

McDonalds Coffee beats Starbucks?

Consumer Reports has declared McDonald's coffee the winner of a taste test against three rivals, including coffeehouse giant Starbucks.

After sampling four leading brewed coffees for its March issue, the magazine said McDonald's premium roast coffee bested competing cups from Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, the world's largest specialty coffee retailer.....Coffee

This is hard to believe, that consumers ranked McDonald's coffee above Starbucks. Coffee connoisseurs let us know your preference, McDonalds or Starbucks

Remarkable Service

Remarkable Service, When was the last time that you received remarkable service? We want to hear your favorite customer service story? Let us know the name of the company, and why you remembered the customer service experience. Send us an email

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