Ready for college?

Getting ready to send your kid off to college? We all know the usual checklist… socks, underwear, new shoes and a haircut. But what about insurance? Coverage can vary widely from state to state. You need a local agent in Camas Washington to help.

Does your family scholar have a laptop? Is it covered? What about a stereo and headphones, or an IPod? You should consider the following:

1. The number one crime on college campuses is theft.

2. Your young adult may own more stuff than you realize.

3. You may not have a list of what to report to the insurance company if there is a loss.

4. Many items are not covered automatically under your homeowner’s policy, or there may be limits in coverage. Items such as jewelry, laptops, and some other electronics may not automatically be covered in full.

5. Claims are handled more quickly when there is an inventory of your young person’s personal property, and especially when there is photo documentation.

Flood Insurance

Floods and flash floods can occur anytime, anywhere. What’s your best defense against devastating financial loss? Be prepared! Take a moment now to learn about your risks, resources and responsibilities. Vancouver Washington and Portland Oregon residents need a local agent who can help them know more about Flood Insurance.

Buying flood insurance is the best thing you can do to protect your home, business, family, and financial security from a flood. Visit FloodSmart.gov for great information!

When you are a flood insurance policyholder:

Flood insurance compensates you for all covered losses.

Coverage is relatively inexpensive.

You can depend on being reimbursed for flood damages, even if the President does not declare a Federal disaster.

You do not have to repay a loan, as you might have to with many Federal disaster relief packages. Your covered losses are paid in full.

You can count on your claim being paid in the event of a flood loss because NFIP flood insurance is backed by the Federal government.

Your agent can help you handle your claim quickly, so that you will not have to put your life on hold if a flood damages your property. You can even request a partial payment immediately after the flood, which can help you recover even faster.

Identity Theft – Email Scams

You get them every day… emails that look official, asking you to “click here” and login to your account. Don’t do it. Legitimate corporations NEVER ask you to do this. They may send you email that informs you of things you need to know. But they will never provide a link from the email directly into a login page. Instead, they will ask you to go to a browser and visit their website directly from the Internet, not by clicking on a link in an email.The article shown below comes from www.privacyrights.org and contains helpful information:

Beware of spam (unsolicited e-mail messages) that asks for your SSN or other personal information. Many people receive e-mail messages that appear to be from their Internet Service Provider, (for example AOL or Yahoo), from a government agency like the Internal Revenue Service, from a bank, Amazon, eBay, or PayPal. The message typically says that the company or agency is updating its records or has detected fraudulent activity with your account and needs personal information from you, such as your Social Security number, account number, password, mother’s maiden name, and so on. It may direct you to an official-looking Web site through a link contained in the message.

Do not respond to such messages! These are called “phishing” scams. Although they appear to be legitimate, these messages and Web sites are scams to get your personal information. No reputable company or government agency sends e-mail messages asking for sensitive personal data. For more information, visit the following Web site: www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.