Monthly Archives: June 2012

Long Island home insurance could help cover many unexpected expenses that arise for homeowners. Theft is one such risk that could befall any resident. Contrary to what many believe, a number of criminals enter a home through the front door. How secure is your foyer?

• Are your exterior doors partial or full glass? This could increase your risk of a break-in, as criminals only need to break the glass to gain entry into your home. To help prevent this, you should consider installing a glass-break sensor on the door to alert you of trouble.
• When you have windows flanking your exterior doors, you should put up curtains. You do not want crooks to be looking into your home to check for expensive items or to see if you are home.
• Many homes are built with basic doors, which are not usually manufactured with security in mind. By exchanging your current door with a solid wood or metal one, you could reduce the chance of it being kicked in.

Many homeowners install costly alarm systems to ensure the police are called during trouble. It is important to remember that no security system is foolproof. With this in mind, you should take any step necessary to prevent financial burden due to theft, such as obtaining a sufficient Long Island home insurance policy.

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You may never have used the liability portion of your Long Island home insurance policy, but it is nevertheless vital coverage. Injuries and illness could happen every day at your residence – each time one of your children brings home a friend, there is a chance he or she might leave your home hurt.

A common danger in the home involves pesticides. The keys to preventing pesticide poisoning are typically reducing toxicity and limiting exposure. Alternatively, you might try using natural products, banning pesticides altogether.

Toxicity
Your goal when purchasing pesticides should be choosing the one with the lowest level of toxicity. With many pesticides having a multitude of ingredients, the National Pesticide Information Center suggests looking for one of the following words to determine a substance toxicity level:

• Pesticides featuring the word “caution” are typically considered low toxicity products.
• The word “warning” usually signals that the substance has a medium level of toxicity.
• Many high toxicity products are labeled “danger”.

Exposure
Limiting guests’ exposure to pesticides is a relatively simple task. You should keep these hazardous substances locked up in a cabinet far above the reach of a small child. After using pesticides, allow the room to air out for a few hours before letting your kids and their friends play in the area.

Remember, liability claims could involve lawsuits as well as medical bills. Your Long Island home insurance could prove invaluable should a guest be poisoned or injured on your property.

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Long Island auto insurance rates may only be as affordable as drivers make them. How does your driving record look? There are few things that look worse on your driving record than hitting a pedestrian. Many accidents involving pedestrians are caused by a lack of understanding of who has the right-of-way. New York State has very clear laws on this subject.

• When there is a crosswalk but no signal, the right-of-way belongs to the pedestrian, which means you have to stop when one is waiting to cross the street.
• With a crosswalk and signal, the pedestrian must wait for the “walk” signal to cross the street – but this doesn’t mean you have the right to run over them if they disobey the signal!
• At all intersections and crosswalks, drivers must yield to pedestrians with seeing-eye dogs or white-tipped canes.
• With sidewalks, pedestrians always have the right-of-way, which means drivers who are pulling out of driveways or parking lots must wait until the coast is clear.

Even when jaywalking is involved, your driving record and Long Island auto insurance rates could be negatively affected when you hit a pedestrian. This is why it is vital to always stay focused on the road and avoid all distractions while behind the wheel.

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Obtaining your license is an achievement you have probably been looking forward to for months. Just because you have officially passed your driving test however, does not mean that you can just forget all those rules and regulations you have been studying so hard. Many new drivers make this mistake, which leads to accidents and spikes in their Long Island auto insurance premiums. What are a few common errors made by inexperienced drivers?

• It is so easy to speed; just a little too much pressure and you are over the speed limit before you know it. Driving at high speeds is both dangerous and foolish – don’t be surprised if this habit causes you to become a target of law enforcement.
• One of the most common causes of accidents is distraction. Cell phones, radio, passengers – whatever is taking your focus off the road should be removed from the vehicle or turned off immediately. Your life is on the line.
• Tailgating is also very common, even for veteran drivers. Why is this dangerous? It is impossible to anticipate the actions of another driver; if you are riding someone’s bumper and the driver brakes hard, guess who is typically going to be paying for the damage? You, or your insurance provider – in which case your insurance costs might increase.

Points on your license or sky-high Long Island auto insurance rates are nothing compared to losing your life or taking that of another. Take the responsibility of driving seriously when you are behind the wheel.

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