Dirt Can Hurt So Wash Your Car

Is your car a victim of “Wash me” being writing on it?  So funny, right…? Not so much. Dirt can’t hurt. It’s kind of like the dirt is a layer of protection from the sun, like sunscreen. Well, again… not so much. Truth is, dirt can hurt your car in several ways. It is one of the many culprits that start damage to the outside of your car.

Taking the time to go wash your car is important. When there is dirt piling up on your car, it doesn’t protect it like sunscreen, not at all. Dirt weakens the paint on your car and works like sandpaper. When it rains, the dirt mixes with the rain which can then cause it to scratch your car. Other pollutants like bird droppings and sap from trees will also ruin the paint on your car.

Protecting the paint on your car is important so that the paint protects the body of your car. Paint works in two ways, makes your car look cool, and but more importantly, it acts like a sunscreen for the body of your car. Once the paint is compromised and starts to chip and crack, that’s when real trouble can start. Those chips and cracks lead to the body of your car being exposed to rain and the elements, leading to rust. Rust can lead to holes which then leads to more damage to your vehicle that you have worked hard for.

So paint, if it is a “sunscreen” for the body of the car, but what’s the “sunscreen” for the paint? Wax! Wax will protect it from the elements like bug splats, tree sap, bird droppings and it will keep your car shiny. Cleaning your car the right way and using wax afterward extends the life of the paint and protects your car which will help when you decided to sell it. Everyone likes a nice shiny car, not one with rust holes in it.

The inside of your car is just as important as the outside. It can be difficult, especially with children and/or animals. Being organized helps with keeping your car clean inside.  You can find organizers that hang on the back of your seats that are great, especially for long trips. To cut down any sort of smells, dryer sheets under the seats of your cars helps with that.

Taking care of your vehicle is a plus all the way around. As Mr. Miyagi said to Danielson in the Karate Kid, “Wax on. Wax off.” At least you don’t have as many cars to wax. Poor Danielson… 

My Personal Valuables Are Covered... Right?

True or False?

Homeowners Insurance will cover the full cost of your valuable personal items if there is a loss of any kind.

                             

False.

A Homeowners policy does cover the loss of valuable personal items, however to keep the policy affordable and keep premiums down, the limits are kept low. Since we live in Texas and still ride horses, we all have a gun collection, right? Not really but let’s go with that example. Your home gets broken into and your gun collection is stolen. If your liability limit is $1000, chances are that’s not going to come close to what it’s going to cost to replace your collection. Not only that, but what if other personal valuables were also stolen as well? You may be stuck having to pay out of pocket to replace those items if you don’t take the time to know your policy and what it covers.  Same goes for theft and acts of nature or even vandalism. Just remember, whatever the liability limit is, that is all that will be covered.

So, open up a savings account as insurance just in case the loss goes over your limit. Problem solved, right? No because there’s a better way. It’s called a Personal Articles Floater, or “floaters”. What does this do for your personal valuables? It provides higher limits than your homeowners policy.

A Personal Articles Floater policy can cover:

Firearms

Cameras and equipment

Musical instruments and equipment

Artwork

Jewelry

Silverware

Various Collectibles

Come by the office and we can talk more about your insurance needs. It’s always a good time to review your polices especially if there’s been an life event. If a floater policy is something that you need to look into, let’s sit down and look at what needs to be done to get one started for you.  Having the right insurance is NO accident. Let us make sure your insurance is up to date and the right fit for you. 

Keller and Surrounding Areas School District Calender's

Mom - "YAY!!! Back to school!, Little girl - "Really, Mom... Rude!"

BACK TO SCHOOL ALREADY?! From the picture above, mom looks pretty excited that her kid’s summer has come to an end and they’re headed back to school. The little girls face is priceless!

Most of the schools in the Dallas Fort Worth area start August 24^th, with the exception of Northwest ISD. They start the day after, August 25^th.

Listed below is the link to access the different district calendars. Click on the one needed and it will take you right to their calendar.

Keller ISD 

Grapevine Colleyville ISD

Southlake Carroll ISD (Grades K-8)

Southlake Carroll SD (Grades 9-12)

Fort Worth ISD

Birdville ISD 

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD

Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD

Lake Worth ISD 

Northwest ISD

For a list of all school districts in the DFW area, click here: Destination DFW. 

Have a great 2015-2016 school year!

Save a Life and Look Before You Lock

One word to describe Texas summers? HOT! Two words to describe what it’s like in a hot car in the summer? EXTREMELY HOT! Definitely not a place to leave a child or an animal. The same is to be said when it’s not hot. Never leave them in the car, hot or cold.

It seems easy enough, just don’t leave them in the car. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and tragedies continue to happen with results of children dying or being injured from being left in a hot car. According to KidsandCars.org on average, 38 children die each year as a result of being left in a hot car. It can happen to anyone. Children not only have been left in a car, there are also incidents of children getting into a vehicle on their own, resulting in death or injury as well.

Farmers put out an article, “Tips for preventing child deaths in hot cars” that has several great tips to help avoid accidental deaths in hot cars:

-        The most obvious one, never leave children alone in a car, not even to just run into a store to grab something. A car’s temperature can raise over 20 degrees in a 10 minute period. Even when it’s 60 degrees outside, the inside of a car can climb to 110 degrees.

-        If at all possible, use a drive thru to avoid having to leave the car at all.

-        Put an item in the back seat. One that you know you will need to have before your leave the car, forcing you to look in the back seat. Remember the “Put Your Phone Down and Drive” blog from a few months ago? Put your phone in the back so you will have to look in the back seat AND you won’t be texting and driving. Two birds… One stone.

-        Here’s a clever one. When the car seat isn’t occupied put a stuffed animal or toy in the seat. When you do have your child in the car, place the item in the front seat where you will see it, as a reminder that your child is in the back seat.

-        These tragedies don’t always occur with a child being left in the car. Incidents have occurred where a child has gotten into a car on their own. If a child goes missing, make sure you check your vehicle.

-        Hopefully you won’t ever find a child in a vehicle but if you do, call 911 and try and get the child out of the car as quickly as possible.

KidsandCars.org has more great tips to raise awareness and prevention of child deaths in hot cars. They also ask that these safety tips be shared with all those involved with the care taking and transportation of your child.

To put things a little more in perspective, Arizona Cardinals’ Tyrann Mathrieu posted a YouTube video, demonstrating what it would be like to leave a dog in a car. It was 90 degrees outside but after 8 minutes in the car the temperature reached 120 degrees.  He had to get out of the car at that point. It was not mentioned what his body temperature was at the point but for a child, 107 degrees is fatal.

It sounds simple enough, don’t leave you child in the car in any sort of whether. Tragically, it’s not always that simple. Look before you lock because a sleeping child equals no chatter, making one think there’s no one in the back seat. Don’t leave children in the car for a quick in and out store stop. Leave yourself reminders. It takes no time to double check the back seat. It could mean a child’s life.

Being in the Know with Water Safety

According to NBCDFW.com there have been 41 drowning’s in Texas in 2015, 14 of which happened in the DFW area. Most of which have been children. One is too many but 41 is just way too many. What can we do to prevent any more of these tragic events? What if you are an excellent swimmer, should you worry about it happening to you?

If your children are like mine, summertime to them means swimming. Whether in a pool, an ocean, a lake or even a make shift pool in the backyard, if there’s water, they want to be in it. They’ve been swimming since they were little and swim well but of course I still worry about them. Whether you can swim or not, you still have to be careful.

Having a buddy with you when you go swimming is a wise thing to do. This way you can watch out for each other and in case of an emergency, your buddy is there to call for help. Never swim alone, no matter how well you swim. Accidents can happen so don’t put yourself at risk and take a buddy with you.

The American Red Cross had great information on their site about Water Safety. They too recommended using a buddy system. Some of the things they also suggested were swimming lessons, using life jackets on younger children and/or not so experienced swimmers, not leaving young children unattended and to be aware of the temperature and underwater hazards, especially when swimming in anything besides a pool. Speaking of underwater hazards, USA TODAY reported that currently the number of shark attacks is above average for this time of year. If you decided to swim at the beach, go with a buddy AND keep a very watchful eye out for sharks.

During our hot Texas summer month’s swimming pools have a very welcoming feel to them. When I see a clean, refreshing pool, I can almost hear, “The water is fine! Come on in!” It’s very enticing. To a young child, they may not be able to resist the temptation and jump right in. If you’re a pool owner, make sure you have a locked gate around it. The American Red Cross advises a 4 foot gate with a self-closing gate that opens away from the pool is a good way to go. Anything that prevents unsupervised access to your pool is high recommended. Having an umbrella is also an excellent idea! Not an umbrella to protect you from the rain but Personal Umbrella Coverage  to protect you and your assets in an event that an incident happens. Give the office a call today so that we can make sure you have the right insurance and are covered for incidentals.

Watch your children. That’s the best drowning prevention. Simply watch and be alert, especially if they are not experienced swimmers. Don’t leave it up to someone else to watch your kids. Although we appreciate lifeguards at public pools, they are watching everyone and doing the best they can. Help them out and keep an eye out as well.

For more information, check out The American Red Cross website on Water Safety. They have information on Beach, Home Pool and swim safety.

Keep an eye out for each other and happy swimming!

Circle of Drowning Prevention

Keep Burglars Out and Enjoy Your Vacation

Vacations are supposed to be about making memories, relaxing with our family and friends and taking a break from our busy lives. A time to recharge and not worry about anything, right? It shouldn’t be a time to worry about someone breaking into our homes while we're away. So what are some ways to have peace of mind while you’re away you ask? You’ve come to the right place for some helpful tips.

Most of us love to share pictures on social media of all sorts of events, especially when we are vacationing. Pictures of the kids building sandcastle’s at the beach, checking into a bed and breakfast for the weekend, or a picture in front of a landmark. Take all the pictures you want, however, wait to post them until you’re home. Don’t make a burglar’s job easier by posting your pictures while on vacation. This makes it clear that you aren’t home, so what a perfect time to “clean house”. It’s also a good idea not to announce that you’re on vacation. Keep that under wraps until you get back.

Home securities systems have come a long way. Some have features where you can set up a timer for lights inside and/or outside your home to go on and off at certain times of the day, making it appear that someone is home while you’re away. Safesoundfamily.com suggests calling your alarm company and letting them know you’ll be out of town. On a side note, Farmers ® offers different discounts to homeowners who have some sort of protective system(s) for their homes. Give the office a call and we can check your policy to make sure you have taken advantage of that discount.

Protecting your vehicles, while on vacation and at home, is important as well. Simply putting your valuables away, even your phone charger, can lower your chances of being a victim of car theft. Don’t give a car thief any reason to break into your car, so keep all your stuff out of sight. You can’t make your vehicle 100% theft proof, it’s about making someone else’s vehicle more attractive. That sounds bad to say but it’s the honest truth.

Before you head out on your vacation, always do a walk through of your house. Check all the windows and doors to make sure they are locked and secure. If you have sliding doors, as an added means of security, place a bat or a rod in the door channel. This will help reduce the chance of someone trying to take it out of the track to force it open.

A stuffed mail box and a pile of newspapers are other dead giveaways that you’re not home. Head to the post office and put a hold on your mail and put a hold on your newspaper as well. You can also have a trusted neighbor or friend grab your mail or newspaper for you until you get back, if that’s an option.

We are very fortunate to live in a time where we can control nearly anything from our phones. Set timers for lights to go off and on, make sure our garage door is closed and even fluctuate the temperature in our homes and not even be in the same state. If you have any or all those luxuries, take advantage of them, especially when you’re on vacation. It can help keep potential burglars away and maybe even save you on your homeowners premium.

For more information on how to make your home a smart home, check out Making Your HomeSmarter: Home Security. It’s a great resource to help make your home more secure and energy-efficient.  

Keller Community Event - Apollo Support and Rescue for Abandoned Dogs

Saturday, August 1st from 10am to 12pm, Farmers Insurance, Kirkwood Agency will be hosting a HUGE event benefiting Apollo Support and Rescue for Abandoned Dogs.

TCAP will be there doing low cost vaccines. Unleashed will be here with doggie pools and doing paw prints. The Freezing Frog will be there with sno cones. There will be a cake walk for the kiddos, raffle items and giveaways throughout the event.  And most importantly, Apollo Rescue will have dogs and cats available for adoption!!

Hope to see you and your fur babies there!