During the pandemic, many individuals may not feel comfortable getting on an airplane. However, many still want to travel. Perhaps a road trip can be the answer. Road trips allow you to see what is between your home and destination, something that hopping on a plane doesn’t, but it is essential to have the best plan in place before you hit the road.

First off, where do you want to go?

This is the most important question. Start with your end destination. For example, say someone who lives in Washington State wants to travel to Death Valley National Park.

Start with your basic questions:

• How much time can I spend on the road?
• How long will it take to get to my end destination?
• What are my route options?
• What am I interested in seeing?
• Is everything open that I am interested in seeing?
• Do I want to rent a car or use my own car?

Once you answer those questions, you can begin your planning.

Grab the basics for your vehicle

It doesn’t matter if you are renting a car or using your own, it is good to have the basics in the car for your road trip.

• Flashlight
• Food and water
• Owner’s manual
• Spare tire & roadside kit
• Cell phone charger
• Blanket
• Small trash bag

Adding comfort to your road trip

Comfort can come in many ways. From wearing comfortable clothes & shoes to having snacks. We will share below some items that can bring comfort to a long drive.

• Good music playlist. Whether you create it on your phone or pack a bunch of CDs, music makes a comfortable drive. Not a music fan? What about an audio book?
• Hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes. Obviously this is more important than ever with COVID-19, but having access to clean hands brings comfort.
• Sometimes you will come across a vendor who only accepts cash. Sometimes there are tolls you have to pass that require cash. This is always good to have on hand.
• Snacks – pack your favorites!
• Sunglasses & sunscreen
• First Aid Kit
• Cooler – this allows you to bring a variety of food choices. Especially if you don’t want to eat out every meal, packing your own meals brings safety and routine to your diet.
• Pillow
• Camera & camera charger (unless you use your phone for photos!)

Another common question – if I am renting a car, do I need to purchase their insurance policy?

This choice is up to you. Your auto insurance coverage would cover anything on your rental car that is covered on your personal car. Comprehensive and collision insurance is a required coverage on rental cars. If your current auto insurance coverage does not have comprehensive and collision coverage, you will need to purchase that coverage. Also, consider roadside assistance if you plan to be in an area unfamiliar to you.

What else should I know about creating the best road trip?

This may sound silly, but keep your head up and enjoy the scenery. If you are sitting in the passenger seat, it is easy to scroll through your phone instead, but sometimes the gems along the route are better than the destination.

Also, it may be fun to keep a journal of all the details of your trip. Especially if you are a fan of scrapbooking your trips, you’ll remember all the little memories that may be easy to forget.

Lastly, do some research. If you are a foodie, research the best places to eat on your route. Whether it is a simple Google search or looking at Yelp, it is easy to find tasty food.

If you have any questions about your existing auto insurance or RV insurance coverage, please contact us before you hit the road. Safe travels and enjoy the open road.

Winter driving brings a whole new element of risk to the road. Driver’s concentration and a car’s integrity are continuously put to the test in frigid weather. Making the decision to change your tires at the right time will keep you safe and will help you to avoid accidents in winter weather. If you live in a seasonal state, then most agree that it’s best to have two sets of tires for your vehicle: a set of all-season tires and a set of winter tires.

What are winter tires?

Winter tires are engineered to perform best on icy roads in sub-zero temperatures. The tread compound is specifically designed to allow for better traction when stopping. This tread gives the tires a better grip on icy roads.

In fact, on average, winter tires can reduce stopping distance by up to 25% on slippery roads – that can mean the difference between stopping well before the car in front of you and a rear-end collision.

What about all-season tires?

Some people, however, argue that all-season tires are just as capable and safe as winter tires considering their name and from experience. But all-season tires have two considerable compositional downfalls when it comes to driving in icy, snowy, or slippery conditions. 

In order to be more durable, all-season tires are designed using a harder and longer-wearing rubber compound than is used in winter tires. This specialized rubber stiffens as temperatures drop, which results in a loss of tire flexibility. The less flexible a tire is, the worse its grip on the road. Moreover, when compared to winter tires, they simply have less surface contact with the ground which results in decreased traction.

How do different sets of tires affect auto insurance policy rates?

Very few insurance companies offer a discount for winter tire use. So switching from all-season tires to winter tires won’t have a direct impact on your auto insurance premiums. However, winter tires have a better chance of keeping you from an accident in cold weather conditions. Avoiding accidents will help to keep your auto insurance rates low.

While winter tires won’t prevent all auto accidents, they certainly lower your driving risk and tend to perform better in snowy conditions than all-season tires. As a result, you can expect a safer winter driving experience which will ultimately result in lower insurance premiums for you in the long run.

If you have questions about auto insurance rates, please call one of our authorized insurance agents. We can assist you with assessing your insurance needs and provide you with some quotes from several of the top insurance companies.

Get A Quote For Your Auto Insurance Today

Our licensed staff is ready to help you get multiple auto insurance quotes. Because we’re an independent insurance agent we can shop from multiple insurance companies to help you find the right coverage at the right price.

It’s the New Year and like many people this time of year, resolutions are being made. If you are looking to be tidier or organized in 2021, we have some tips for you!

Create your checklist

First off, what areas of your home need to be more organized? Do you finally want tackle your junk drawers? Organize your bathroom or closet? Or finally donate or dump items in your garage? Create your to-do checklist of the areas you want to tackle.

Start with one thing at a time

After reviewing your checklist, evaluate what you want to tackle first. If you have 10 or more areas you want to organize in your home, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Therefore, it is best to begin with one project at a time. Perhaps starting with your quickest or easiest project might be the best start. Getting the quickest project done can give you momentum and motivation to tackle the next area on your list. If your list is long, break up your tasks over the course of several days or weeks.

Time Blocks

Time blocks can work great for keeping you on task. Dedicating a specific time to clean or organize can be very beneficial. When your time is up, you’ll feel productive and motivated for the next time block you set aside to clean or organize. EX: I am organizing from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Starting with a time block allows you to get started on the project vs. feeling overwhelmed as if the project will take all day to complete and then continuing to put it off.

Give everything a home

While many areas of your home may already have a home such as your dishes cabinet, silverware and Tupperware, other drawers in your home may collect all sorts of items together in one area. Assess areas of your house that could be more organized and determine a home for each item. Even if your junk drawer stores many miscellaneous items, you can organize your drawer with bins.

10 minute power clean

It’s amazing what can happen when you set your mind to cleaning or organizing for 10 minutes. First off, how much can you get done in 10 minutes? You may find yourself moving fast just to see what you can accomplish in such a short time frame. On another positive note, when the timer goes off, you may just continue cleaning if you have more time. A 10 minute power clean may be all you need to jumpstart your motivation to get things done around the house.

If you live with others, give everyone a job

When you live with multiple people, it is easy for your house to become a disaster quick. When it is time to clean, give everyone a job duty and set your time block. It might even be helpful to give household members weekly chores that they are always in charge of. EX: taking out the garbage/recycle or un-loading the dishes.

Practice putting things away immediately

How easy is it for dishes to pile into the sink? Or for clothes to become your new carpet? When you practice putting things away immediately, it not only saves you time when it comes to deep cleaning your home, but it allows you to feel more tidy in the moment.

While we can’t clean or organize your home for you, we can help you find affordable home, renters or condo insurance. Contact our agency for a free quote or even a re-quote if you are shopping for new insurance. We will provide quotes from many of our carriers and show you a side by side comparison of options to choose from.

When did commercials become interesting and funny? Watching TV has become more about how entertaining the commercials are versus the sports we happen to be watching, like a big football game.

Advertising is big business and insurance advertising represents one of the biggest spenders. In fact, the three largest insurance companies spent a combined 1.62 billion dollars on advertising in 2019, according to statista.com.

Today, we will look at some of the trends that insurance companies have had over the past decade or so.

Market Position

One of the most common trends with insurance advertising has been insurance companies touting their size as if that is an indication of their good products. The advertisements often say they are the biggest insurer of certain products like commercial truck, motorcycle, auto or home insurance to name a few. While size is important for investors, there are many regional companies who offer great insurance products and have financial stability. As an independent insurance agent, we offer many great regional choices as well as large industry leaders so you can choose the right company for you.

Humor

There are some hilarious insurance commercials. However, it seems like the funniest ones have absolutely nothing to do with insurance! The truth of the matter is insurance is serious business, but when it comes to attracting new customers, the best commercials are the ones lacking seriousness.

Fear

Slow motion car accidents, houses burning, burglary, teen drivers killed in accidents… Insurance is meant to protect you from accidents and devastating property damage or injury. It is no wonder that some insurance commercials aim to incite fear to get consumers to act claiming they can protect you from these things. While in fact no insurance company can protect you from the dangers of driving or a devastating flood from occurring, they can however protect you from the financial losses that are incurred because of these life-altering events.

Claims Scenarios

When it comes down to it, when you purchase an insurance policy, you are paying for financial protection and claims assistance. Many insurance companies today advertise purely on the fact that they covered certain scenarios or claims that occurred. Some of these are scenarios are humorous and others are quite serious.

When it comes to your insurance, most companies you can choose will provide you with exactly what they say – insurance coverage for catastrophic events in your life. While most of us will have to endure an insurance claim at some point in our lifetimes, the best we can do for you is fit you with an insurance company that truly meets your needs the best and offers you and your family the auto, home or business insurance you require.

Chances are we offer more than one of the insurance companies you have seen on TV and we can provide you with a quote on them as well as many other great insurance companies. Contact us and we will provide several quotes for vehicle insurance, property insurance and more!

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially during these challenging times with the COVID-19 pandemic, is very important for every truck driver in America. Here are four ways to stay healthy on the road.

• Choose More Nutrient Dense Meals

There are a few ways to do this.

First, start packing your own meals.

Packing your own meals will not only save you time and money, but it can also help save you calories. Instead of focusing on what not to eat, focus on what you should eat more of. Food choices such as vegetables, fruit and other higher fiber snacks and meals is a great start. Want to pack your own meals? Consider buying a cooler that acts as a refrigerator for your truck. All you have to do is simply plug it into the accessory plug.

If you are dining out, consider choosing meals that are vegetable dense. Skip the fried food if you can or look up the calories on a restaurant’s website. All these things can help.

Again, instead of focusing on what not to eat, focus on eating what you should be eating more of. So, if you have the mindset of eating as many vegetables, fruit and other higher fiber meals, you are off to a great start.

• Move Your Body

Driving = sitting for hours and hours on end. Many truck drivers may experience easy weight gain from lack of movement as well as high calorie food choices. So, find a way to move your body as much as you can. Ideas: dedicate 30 minutes of walking, make a habit of doing body weight strength exercises such as pushups or squats outside of your truck, or even find time to hit the gym. Any effort in moving your body is positive.

• Follow Good Hand Hygiene

We all know the importance of good hand hygiene with the COVID-19 pandemic. Wash your hands often, but also wash your hands well. Experts say washing your hands for 20+ seconds and thoroughly washing between your fingers, on top of your hands or scrubbing the tips of your fingers is all beneficially.

• Get Quality Sleep

There are many ways to get quality sleep, but the first step is making sleep a priority. Shoot for 7 hours a night. How can you get good, restful sleep? Create a dark environment, consider a white noise machine or wear ear plugs to block out noise, limit caffeine intake 5 hours before bedtime, limit or avoid nicotine and other stimulants and lastly, make sure you have a good pillow!

While we can’t keep you healthy or make your lunch, we can find you a great rate on truck insurance. Contact our agency for a quote with our top carriers to help you find the best rate. Contact us by calling us, emailing us or filling out a quote form through our website. We look forward to earning your business!