by Flagship Staff | Sep 18, 2017 | Blog
Because the days are getting shorter, we start doing a lot more things in the dark. Walking the dog, running or biking, last-minute yard work, and driving are just a few.
Almost half of all driving deaths happen at night, which is three times greater than during the day.
My parents have disliked driving at night for many years. As I raise my own family, I never understood what the big deal was because I was used to driving my kids around day or night. You jump in the car, put on your seatbelt, turn on your headlights, and if I was lucky, I could listen to the music I like.
I recently turned 40 and has my eyesight changed. I went from perfect vision to keeping a pair of cheaters in my car and nightstand, as well as a pair of transitional glasses at work. Several pairs of glasses aren’t the best birthday presents.
Today I understand why my parents dislike night driving. Unfortunately, as we age, our eyesight changes. Peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to see color all get worse in low-light conditions.
As we approach the darker months of the year, here are some tips that may help your night driving:
1. Visit your eye doctor. For years, I put off my doctor’s visit. I just kept holding things out at arm’s length to read. Finally, I got tired of this, and as I already mentioned, I have glasses everywhere.
Our ability to see at night changes as we age. At 40, I need four times more light to drive at night than when I was 19. At age 55, it takes eight times as long to recover from glare than at age 16. Start adding cataracts and degenerative eyes diseases to the mix, and night driving becomes very difficult.
In the next few months, I’ll probably order a pair of glasses just for driving at night. My doctor told me my ability to see at a distance isn’t as good as I think it is. Adding an anti-reflective coating to the lens, which helps reduce glare, can sharpen my vision.
2. Dim your dashboard. I recently drove a company vehicle to a conference. Because of an early-morning start, I traveled the night before. The dashboard was so bright, it made it difficult to see, so I had to use the dimmer switch. Up until this point, I never used a dimmer switch before. After doing some research, I learned that a bright dashboard could hinder your forward vision. Try adjusting the dashboard lights the next time you’re driving at night.
3. Avoid looking at oncoming headlights. As oncoming traffic approaches, it can be very difficult to see. Instead of looking at the headlights to see if the bright beams are on, look off to your right side. While this can be a bit tricky, it can reduce the time your eyes need to recover from the glare. If you can’t safely look away, don’t.
4. Reduce your speed. At night it’s important to reduce your speed. Over driving your headlights can make it even more difficult to see what’s ahead of you. In addition, as deer become more active this time of year, a reduced speed could help you spot them and avoid a collision.
5. Make sure your headlights are adjusted. If you feel your headlights don’t do a good job of lighting up the road, visit your local mechanic. It’s possible they may need adjustment. I had my son’s car headlights adjusted and he told me it made a big difference.
6. Rain, rain, go away. I think driving at night in the rain is awful. I find it very difficult to see road markings, whether on a lighted highway or a dark country road. Make sure your wiper blades are in good working order and your windshield is clean. To help with this, I recently bought some Rain-X. It helps repel water on the windshield.
7. Clean the inside of your windshield. One of my pet peeves is the haze that builds up on the inside of my windshield. I usually don’t notice it until I’m driving at night. Regularly cleaning the inside of your windshield can help reduce nighttime glare.
For more information, visit the links below.
Physcial changes in older drivers that may effect driving skills
No more mistakes when replacing windshield wipers
by Flagship Staff | Sep 11, 2017 | Blog
A growing number of individuals today, especially Millennials, choose not to own an automobile. Auto loans and the costs of maintaining a vehicle aren’t appealing to them. With a number of alternative modes of transportation, like trains, buses, and bicycles, owning a vehicle isn’t always necessary. Commuters can easily get to their destinations using popular ride-sharing programs, such as Uber and Lyft.
If you don’t own an automobile, here are some things to consider.
What if you rent a vehicle while you’re on vacation or need to borrow a friend’s truck to haul that new couch you bought at Ikea? Rental car companies will sell you their own insurance, but it’s expensive and comes with hidden fees. What if your friend let his auto insurance lapse or he has low liability limits? Why risk it?
An option could be to add a Named-Non-Owner coverage to your policy. This coverage provides you with personal auto liability protection at a discounted rate over standard auto coverage. It includes Medical Payments in case you’re injured in a car accident. It also provides Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist coverage, which protects you from individuals who drive without auto insurance or who have low limits.
Named–Non-Owner coverage not only protects you as the vehicle driver, you’re also protected if you’re a passenger in a vehicle, like that Uber ride, and when you’re a pedestrian.
You select the desired auto liability limits and add the coverage to your insurance policy. Since West Bend’s Home and Highway is a package policy, this coverage takes the place of typical auto coverage so you can easily bundle it with your homeowner’s coverage.
If you have any questions, or want to review other insurance needs you may have, be sure to talk to your local agent today!
by Flagship Staff | Sep 4, 2017 | Blog
September means back to school, the start of football season, and for the chef in your family, a great opportunity to stock up on freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets offer fresh produce directly from local farmers, growers and producers. Fresh fruits, vegetables and products that are direct from local farmers offer many benefits — for the health of your family, the community and your weekly menu.
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider a visit to your local farmers market this season.
1. A Boost In Nutrition
Fruits and vegetables pack a healthy punch of vitamins, nutrients and minerals. What you may not know, however, is that with time, produce loses nutritional value. In many cases, the water content in produce begins to absorb the valuable nutrients, making the produce less nutritious over time. Choosing to purchase freshly picked fruits and vegetables from a farmers market means you are getting produce at the peak of freshness with all of the valuable nutrients.
2. Supporting the Local Community
There is something to be said about the importance of supporting local businesses, and local farmers are no exception. When you stop and shop at a farmers market, you are helping to support local growers and their families. The dollars you spend directly impact your local community and allow farmers to continue to provide fresh, sustainable produce directly from their farm to your family.
3. Variety of Options
A trip to the farmers market will open your eyes to a plethora of seasonal fruits and vegetables that never find their way to your local grocery store. You can often find foods native to your area and more varieties of the produce you love. Consider apples: your local grocery store likely stocks 5 – 10 apple varieties based on popularity and sales performance. If you visit a local farmers market or orchard, you can often find many additional apple varieties with unique flavor profiles. If you want to add some spice and interest to your weekly menu, consider adding a new produce item to your daily meals.
4. Environmentally Friendly
Food items in the United States travel an average of 1,500 miles to get to from farm to your table. From the fossil fuels, to the extra packaging required for shipping; food delivery has a big environmental impact. When you choose to shop locally for produce and food items, you are doing your part to help the environment.
5. Save Money
When you visit a grocery store, the cost for organic and sustainably grown produce can put a real dent in your pocketbook. But did you know that at a farmers market, the cost for freshly picked, sustainably grown (and often organic) produce is just a fraction of the cost? It’s surprising and true. Without the added overhead of rent, executive salaries and shipping costs, farmers can often charge much lower prices for the produce you love.
6. Learn New Recipes and Cooking Tips
Many of the farmers you’ll meet at a local market are not only proud of the items they offer; they are eager to share helpful tips, recipes and information to help you get the most out of our purchase. Farmers are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to how to deliciously cook, sauté, roast, and enjoy your seasonal favorites.
7. Get Outside and Get Into Nature
While the weather is still warm, take the opportunity to get outside and get into nature. Many local markets, farms and orchards offer activities you can enjoy outside with the whole family; from corn mazes to apple picking, you could spend the whole day exploring the outdoors and come home with a bushel full of fresh produce.
Do you have a favorite seasonal fruit, vegetable or product? Share your favorite food or farmers market location in the box below.
by Flagship Staff | Aug 28, 2017 | Blog
If you use Siri, Cortana, or Alexa on a daily basis, you’re like many people who rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to help make life easier. AI can send a text to a friend, set an appointment on our calendar and provide us with driving directions when we are lost.
Many people think AI is robots working in a factory or staring in science fiction movies. In essence, AI is the technology our smartphones and other smart gadgets use. They listen for their name to be called and when it is, jump into service.
CyberScout and West Bend have collaborated to provide our insureds with the option to buy insurance coverage to protect them against identity theft. CyberScout has written an article titled, “Convenience with a twist: How artificial intelligence puts your data at risk.”
The article explains:
1.How data travels;
2.Data storage; and
3.Security and privacy unknowns.
In addition, the article provides tips on how you can protect your data that is floating through the cloud or being used by AI.
1.Limit sharing. Before you share personal information, take a minute to think about if that is a good idea. For example, if you are downloading an app and they ask for your date of birth, think about why they need that.
2.Limit use. When not using smart devices, turn them off or adjust settings to maximize privacy. Recently, my wife has been struggling with her smartphone maintaining battery life. While the battery needs to be replaced, it was amazing to learn about all the apps running in the background tracking her location.
3.Assume the worst. Unfortunately, hackers are always looking for ways to get at your personal data. What you say or do now could show up in the future.
Lastly, check out CyberScout’s infographic that shares some statistics and explains where and how artificial intelligence works.
Do you have any tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them. Please share them in the box below.
by Flagship Staff | Aug 21, 2017 | Blog
It’s that time of year … kids are back in school! It’s the perfect time to review the correct status of your youthful drivers with your insurance agent.
It’s very important to update your insurance agent each year on the changing status of your children: Are they back to college? Do they have a vehicle? Will the vehicle be garaged? Are they eligible for good student discounts?
Auto insurance premiums for youthful drivers, especially if you have more than one, can be costly for parents. Statistics show, however, that students with good grades are less likely to have accidents and are safer drivers overall. That’s why insurance carriers offer a variety of student discounts based on their grades and location.
A good student discount can be applied to children who reside at home and attend a local school. They must have 3.0 or higher grade point average (GPA).
Children who go away to college and take a vehicle with them can also be eligible for this discount based on their grades. It’s important, however, to let your insurance company know where the child will have the vehicle. In most cases, other rating considerations will apply based on where it will be garaged. There may also be a coverage issue if the car is driven/garaged in another state.
A resident student discount can be applied to children who are still considered residents of the parents’ household, but are attending college full-time more than 100 miles from home and have NO vehicle with them. This discount can be substantial! The rating takes into account that the student will be driving infrequently while at home on breaks or for the summer, yet is covered year-round as a rated driver.
Some carriers offer a graduate student discount. This is for children ages 21-24 who’ve graduated and are done with college with a cumulative 3.0 or higher GPA. It’s like an extended good student discount until they get to the adult rating class at age 25. Parents often overlook this discount because they believe that once the child graduates, the discounts end. This can save HUNDREDS of dollars each year in auto insurance premiums so be sure to discuss it with your agent!
Always maximize the auto insurance discounts for which your family is eligible. Talk to your agent about your child’s changing student and vehicle status. These discounts, coupled with driving safely and remaining claim and violation free, all help your overall insurance savings!
