New Year's Eve Safety Tips

New Years Eve is a huge night for everyone, which means crowds will be swarming toward all the metropolitan hubs around the world. People feed off each others' excitement, and sometimes things can get out of hand if safety precautions are not taken. Everyone wants to have an unforgettable night (in a good way!). By simply using some common sense, we can keep it that way. Ring in the New Year safely!

Gap Insurance and Your Leased Car

You Have Good Car Lease Insurance but Did You Check on Gap Insurance?

So you have decided to lease your car or may already have a leased car. You made sure you purchased the correct car lease insurance and your leasing insurance covers everything right? Unfortunately not.

Northeast Blizzard of December 27, 2010

Thousands of travelers trying to get home after the holiday weekend sat bored and bleary-eyed in airports and shivered aboard stuck buses and subway trains Monday, stranded by a blizzard that slammed the Northeast with more than 2 feet of snow.

Automobile Accidents Can Be Costly

Automobile accidents can be costly:

• Payment of deductibles for collision losses
• Driving incidents that adversely affect loss history and MVRs, impacting future premiums
• Lost productivity when individuals deal with aftermath of accidents such as police reports and potential law suits.  Vehicles spend time in repair shops, rather than on the road

Happy Holidays!

In warm appreciation of our association,

we extend our Best Wishes for a

New State Law Makes Part-Time Domestic Help Eligible for Disability Benefits

A change in state law that just took effect  requires some households to provide disability benefits for domestic workers. The law extends a number of protections to domestic workers, including minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, the right to at least one day of rest per week, coverage under the anti-discrimination law and collective bargaining rights. One provision changes the state disability benefits law to cover domestic workers working less than 40 hours per week for the same employer. However, this coverage does not apply to every employee who works for a household. 

Long Island Gas Prices Among Highest in Nation

Just in time for the holidays, the average gasoline price jumped another 7.7 cents in the past week on Long Island - to the highest average price since October 2008 and one of the highest nationally.

School Rules

Send your kids -- whatever their grade -- off to class with these safety tips.

They've skipped off to elementary school, raced off to high school or zoomed off to college. If you didn't take a moment to discuss safety basics and smart life choices before they left, there's still time. Use this easy guide to make sure your child is prepared.

Assume The Position

At present, there are 385 full-body scanners located at 68 airports nationwide, with more on the way.  Will all the additional x-ray exposure lead to an increase in skin cancer?  Wait a few years and find out.

Here’s a list of U.S. Airports currently using full-body scanners:

Christmas Tree Fire Video: It just takes a minute

Watch this incredible video of how fast a Christmas tree fire can start and then fully engulf a room. In less than a minute, a dry tree can create a tragedy. To reduce the risk of fire, practice Christmas tree safety and be sure to water your tree every day and position it away from sources of heat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS8rFLq0NDE&feature=player_embedded

Z100's Annual Jingle Ball

Last Friday, December 10, 2010,  was the radio station Z100`s annual winter concert. The name of the concert was Jingleball and took place at Madison Square Garden.

Happy Birthday, Walt Disney

On December 5^th  the 109^th birthday of Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was celebrated. He will always be remembered for the start of the wonderful Disney franchise that is still present today. This brand continues to prosper daily with many additions to the parks and brand. Within the past year Disney has put out many films that topped the box office including Toy Story Three and Alice In Wonderful. There was also many other advancements in Disney channel like new shows including Fish Hooks and Shake It Up. Disney has been around for an extremely long time and will still continue to advance and build up the Disney name. ~ contributed by Sandra Costanzo, Social Media Intern

Holiday Fire Safety: Commit a Minute

It is easy to think that a home fire would never happen to your family, but there are more potential risks around your home than you may think – especially during the winter months. Fires grow so quickly that it can take just seconds for a spark to fill a room with toxic smoke. A recent study showed that within three seconds of ignition, a dry scotch pine is completely ablaze; within 40 seconds, a flashover occurs that engulfs the entire room and releases dense, deadly, toxic smoke.

Successful Holiday Entertaining

If you’re hosting a holiday party this year, you are responsible for the safety and comfort of your guests. Keep your celebration festive by making sure sidewalks are clear of ice and snow. Serve alcohol responsibly and offer plenty of food, soda and “mocktails.” Also, provide a designated driver for guests who have been drinking. To add peace of mind to your holiday joy, talk to your agent about an umbrella policy to make sure you are covered if a loss occurs. Following these simple guidelines will make your party a smashing success!

MOCK CHAMPAGNE
• 2 liters Apple Cider or Apple Juice
• 2 liters Ginger Ale
• Grenadine Syrup (optional)
Pour apple cider and ginger ale into a punch
bowl. Add enough grenadine to make a light pink
color. Serve with ice cubes in each glass. Serves 16-20

Social Networks' Threat To Security

Social networks are designed to facilitate sharing of personal information, and the more data a person discloses, the more valuable he or she is to the service. Unfortunately, these sites have poor track records for security controls. They don't encourage users to select strong passwords, and passwords on these sites never expire. This wouldn't be a problem if people only used these passwords for their social lives, but it's a safe bet that many reuse the same weak passwords--or versions of them--for all of their accounts, including at work.

Follow us on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/CHEdwardsAgency

How Much Insurance Is Necessary

Many people often ask themselves how much insurance is necessary. Some people are unaware that insurance is necessary for several reasons.

For example, many people lease cars because it is much more economical, what people fail to realize is that it is important to choose the correct lease insurance that covers everything.

How Much Insurance Is Necessary

Many people often ask themselves how much insurance is necessary. Some people are unaware that insurance is necessary for several reasons.

For example, many people lease cars because it is much more economical, what people fail to realize is that it is important to choose the correct lease insurance that covers everything.

Another example is that some people fail to realize and understand vicarious liability. Vicarious liabilities are when one person does not react in a particular situation as another person would. This is having the person responsible for their actions and for their negligence. This is a type of insurance that is very important and often overlooked.

~as contributed by Sandra Costanzo, Social Media Intern

Classic Bread Stuffing

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 medium onions, chopped

3 medium celery ribs, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery leaves (from inner celery ribs)

1 pound firm white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and dried overnight or in the oven, or 10 cups plain bread croutons

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 to 2 cups turkey or chicken broth, as needed

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and celery leaves. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, about 8 minutes.

2. Scrape the vegetables and butter into a large bowl. Mix in the bread cubes, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in about 1 1/2 cups of broth, until the stuffing is evenly moistened but not soggy. Use as a stuffing. Or place in a lightly buttered casserole, drizzle with 1/2 cup broth, cover, and bake as a side dish.

Fran Palemire

Admin. Asst.

Corn Bread Casserole, Three Bean Salad, Apple Cake

Corn Bread Casserole

Pre-head oven to 375

1 stick softened margarine or butter

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 can creamed corn

1 can kernel corn with water

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Mix together first 3 ingredients.  Add both cream corn & regular corn.  Add muffin mix

Bake at 375 for 75 minutes

For 9x12 pan bake 15-20 minutes longer.

Three Bean Salad

1/2c. Sugar                                                      16oz. can Wax beans

1/2c. Oil                                                          8oz. can Kidney beans

1/2c. Wine Vinegar                                         16oz. can Garbanzo beans

1 med Sweet Onion (diced)                            16oz. can Black Olives

1 Green Pepper (diced)                                   16oz. can Green Beans

Drain juice from beans & olives.  In a large bowl with a cover add all beans , olives, onion & green pepper.   In a container mix sugar, oil &vinegar shake well & pour over bean mixture. Marinate for 24 hours, shaking &  turning bowl every so often.

Apple Cake

1 1/2c. Oil                                                       1 tsp vanilla

2c. Sugar                                                         3 Eggs

3c. Flour                                                          3 apples (peeled & sliced)

1 tsp Baking Soda                                           1c.  raisins

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

Mix: eggs, oil, sugar & vanilla

Add: flour, salt, cinnamon,  baking soda, and 1 ½ apples mix well

Add remaining apples & raisins

Pour into a well greased bundt pan & bake for 1 – 1 ½ hours until cake tester comes out clean.

Light Thanksgiving Dessert

Ingredients:

Ready made Oreo Cookie frozen pie crust

1 Container Cool Whip.

1 Gallon any Frozen Yogurt or Light Ice Cream of your choice  (you can even combine more than one flavor)

Colored Sprinkles or Shredded chocolate

Directions: 

Slightly thaw frozen yogurt (or ice cream) and cool whip to blend together.

Keep ¼ of cool whip aside, out of the mix.

Blend until almost soupy and pour into pie shell.

Swirl remaining cool whip on top making peaks if you can.

 Add sprinkles or shredded chocolate.

Refreeze it.

To Serve:  Remove from freezer about 10 minutes.

You might want to consider making two of these because it’s so light they go really fast.

MOM’S TURKEY STUFFING

3 STALKS OF CELERY, DICED

1 LARGE ONION, DICED

2 CUPS OF CHICKEN OR TURKEY BROTH

1 LOAF OF WHITE BREAD, CUBED

1 STICK OF MARGARINE

SALT, PEPPER AND POULTRY SEASONING TO TASTE

IN A LARGE FRYING PAN, MELT MARGARINE.  SAUTE ONION AND CELERY UNTIL TRANSLUCENT.

ADD CUBED BREAD, SALT, PEPPER AND POULTRY SEASONING.  REDUCE HEAT, SLOWLY STIR IN BROTH.  STUFFING SHOULD BE A LITTLE STICKY.

USE STUFFING IN TURKEY OR BAKE OFF IN A PIE DISH COATED WITH NON-STICK SPRAY UNTIL TOP IS CRUNCHY

Denise Visco
Employee Enrichment Director

Turkey Leftover Casserole

2 ½ cups of mashed potatoes

2 cups of shredded cooked turkey

1 can or at least 12 oz. turkey gravy

1 cup of stuffing

½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. 

Spread the stuffing out along the bottom of the dish.  Mix the turkey and the gravy together

And spread over the stuffing.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Top with mashed potatoes and

shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden.

Serves 4-6

Steven Visco

President

Green Bean Casserole, Roasted Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole:

1    1  ½ cans French fried onions

4 cans (15 or 16 oz) French cut green beans (can be regular cut green beans if you prefer)

4 cans of condensed Cream of Chicken soup

Milk (measured in the cream of chicken cans)

SUZIE’S ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES

1 CUP (2 STICKS) BUTTER, SOFTENED

½ CUP SUGAR

1 TEASPOON VANILLA, REAL, NOT IMITATION

1 TEASPOON ALMOND EXTRACT

2 CUPS WHITE FLOUR

½ TEASPOON SALT

2 CUPS FINELY CHOPPED PECANS

1 BAG BAKING CHOCOLATE, DARK OR MILK-WHATEVER YOU PREFER

½ CUP POWDERED SUGAR

                                 ****************************************************************

1-      In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with electric mixer until smooth.  Slowly add sugar, vanilla and almond extract and beat until fluffy.

2-      Mix flour with salt. Stir into butter mixture. Stir pecans into mixture. Refrigerate 1 hour.

3-      Set oven to 325 degrees.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls, then form into crescent.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until barely brown.

4-      Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler.  Dip each cookie halfway into melted chocolate then sprinkle with powdered sugar and place onto waxed paper.

Susan M. Mazzella, ACS

Teen Depression Likely to Recur

DUKE / JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Nearly half of teens who recover from severe depression are likely to slip back into depression within two to three years, regardless of the type of treatment they’ve received.

Watch Out for Cooking Fires This Thanksgiving

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year? Even a professional chef can get distracted in the kitchen leaving the chance for a cooking fire.

According to the National Fire Protection Council, Thanksgiving is the leading day for cooking fires in the U.S.

Cook smart this year by taking these tips for a safe Thanksgiving Dinner:

• Alcohol and turkeys don’t mix! Don’t drink and cook especially when using a stove or cook top.
• Don’t leave the kitchen unattended especially when frying, grilling or broiling food.
• Use a timer so that you don’t forget about that casserole until smoke starts pluming from the oven.
• Keep flammable objects like oven mits, dish towels, etc. away from the stove top.

What You Need to Know About Totaled Vehicles and Insurance Payouts

Car accidents take their toll physically, mentally, and financially on those involved. Take the time now to learn about how insurance companies determine the value of your vehicle and you will have one less thing to worry about if your vehicle is ever "totaled" in an accident.

10 Emails You Should Never Send

Here’s a scenario most of us are familiar with, whether first-hand or as a witness to a colleague’s faux pas: an email with a crude joke or a funny picture that crosses into the personal-email realm is sent to a cluster of friendly internal contacts and accidentally included on the recipients’ list is the company CEO. Embarrassing for the sender? Yes. Grounds for dismissal? Unlikely.

Social Networking Do's and Don't's

• Don't post upcoming vacations.  Anyone can access that information.
• Don't abuse a connection by commenting too personally if you acept a friend request from your kids or grandkids.
• Consder who should have access to each site. Think about restricting Facebook to friends and family and Linkedin for business.
• Don't post personal information such as your social security number, address or telephone number.
• Remember, once you post something on-line, it's out there for good.  Think before you click.

Monitor Your Teen's Driving

Automobile accidents are easily the leading cause of death for teenagers across America, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For both genders, drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 have the highest average annual crash and traffic violation rates of any other age group. NHTSA data also show that unaccompanied 16- and 17-year-olds crash nine times more often than adults.

Have You Heard of The Drink "Four Loko"?

High school and college students definitely have, and according to CBS News, it’s sent a lot of them to the hospital. The beverage is sold next to the energy drinks in many stores, is twice the size as a can of soda, and comes in fruity flavors like watermelon and blue raspberry. Each can contains caffeine, and about 60 grams of sugar. Don’t be fooled. Four Loko is also 12% alcohol, and experts say drinking a can is equal to downing three beers, a can of Red Bull, and a shot of espresso. That’s why it’s nicknamed “blackout in a can” and “liquid cocaine.”

One Minute of Social Media

In case you're still wondering if all this social media buzz has anything to it, here's what tallied around the world in just 60 seconds on an average Tuesday morning:

• 626 new blog posts
• 581 members added on Facebook
• 34,838 tweets sent on Twitter
• 696,758 videos watched on YouTube
• 6,502 iPhone apps downloaded
• 21 hours uploaded onto YouTube
• 208 new Twitter accounts
• 75,250 text messages between avatars in Second Life
• 24 iPads sold
• 60 new members on Linkedin
• 6,502 pieces of music bought from iTunes
• 1,393,519 searches made on Google
• 172,099,537 emails sent
• 11,453,577 SMS's sent
• 58,063 photos uploaded to Facebook
• 2,089 images uploaded to Flickr
• 602 new internet users globally

If You’re a Working Mom You Can Stop Beating Yourself Up

If you’re a working mom you can stop beating yourself up. A new study says your kids won’t do worse in school or be any more likely to have behavioral problems than kids whose moms stayed home. According to Time Magazine, a group of female psychology professors examined nearly 70 studies, spanning 50 YEARS. They specifically looked at how well kids did in school and whether or not they exhibited any aggressive behavior. What they found is that toddlers between one and two, with working moms, actually rated higher academically than those with full-time moms. They also tended to have fewer problems with anxiety and depression. The big thing is though, once children reached three years old, everything evened out and neither group was on top.

Historical Ghost Stories

Ever since ancient times, the folklore of most cultures around the world has been rich with ghost stories--tales of spirits who return from the dead to haunt the places they left behind. Certain places seem to be particularly susceptible to hauntings, while some of the most famous ghostly sightings have been of historical personalities--from queens to politicians to gangsters--who attained a good degree of fame or notoriety in life and died early, often violent deaths.

Not So "Scary" Insurance

Our Youtube channel is up and running.  Just click on our post title to watch our very first commercial with a Halloween theme.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Down Syndrome occurs in 1 in every 733 babies and there are more than 400,000 people living with this genetic disorder in the United States.

For more information on Down Syndrome go to www.ndss.org

When Your Adult Kids Move Back Home, Double-Check the Insurance

The slow economy of the past few years has exacerbated a trend that was already underway, that of adult children moving back in with their parents. A 2007 study found that one-third of people aged 18 to 34 were living in their parents' homes. In addition to the issues this trend raises in households with regard to cost-sharing, work-sharing and personal boundaries, insurance issues arise. Home and auto insurance forms are very clear that minor children have coverage under their parents' policies. This becomes less clear the older the children get, and it becomes ambiguous when they return home after living on their own for some period. Parents and their adult children may be risking thousands of dollars in financial loss if they do not handle the insurance correctly.

Thinking Outside of the Box

Here are some of the driving rules and procedures that requires delivery drivers:

·        Keep your radio off to be able to hear emergency vehicles or other traffic warning signals.

·        If you receive a moving violation either at work or outside of work, you must notify the store manager.

 

·        Prior to leaving the store, know exactly where you are going and concentrate on driving.  No cell phone use is allowed.

·        When driving, always try to park in the street when possible instead of the customer’s driveway.  This eliminates having to back up, a situation where many accidents occur.

·        When parking your auto, never leave the car running.  Turn off the engine and lock the car.

National Safety Council Supports Teen Driving Awareness

The National Safety Council today announced its support for National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 17 to 23). Drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 are involved in fatal crashes at more than twice the rate as the rest of the population. Established by Congress in 2007, this observance brings attention to the unnecessary teen deaths and injuries on the road.

The theme of this year’s National Teen Driver Safety Week is reducing distractions – such as passengers and wireless devices. Distractions and inexperience are leading factors in teen crashes.

We'd Love It If You Could Show Us Some Love!

We love our insureds and we would love for our insureds to show us some love; click on the link below to write a review.  Thank you for being our customer!  WRITE A REVIEW

Purchase and Maintain Your Fire Extinguishers

According to a National Fire Protection Association study, there are approximately 400,000 house fires each year in the United States, which account for 75 percent of all structure fires. This study also indicated that residential fires result in over 3,700 deaths per year. Indeed, fires typically kill more Americans than all other natural disasters combined.

FEMA Recognizes National Fire Prevention Week 2010, Urges Families To Prepare For Fire, Other Emergencies

Today, to help kickoff National Fire Prevention Week from October 3, 2010 to October 9, 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges everyone to take a few simple steps to protect yourself and your family from fires and other emergencies.  Observed each October, National Fire Prevention Week, commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 by promoting fire safety.  This year's theme is "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With."

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer.  It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer in women.  Each year an estimated 200,000 women will be diagnosed and approximately 1,700 men.  For women, it is important to have a baseline mammogram by age 40.  Having mammograms every 1-2 years between the ages of 40-49 based on previous findings and annually after age 50 is currently the most effective diagnostic tool.

If you haven’t already, take the time to schedule a mammogram or think about participating in one of the many events going on this month to support Breast Cancer Awareness.

The 5-Step Guide to Considering Insurance Offered by Credit Card Companies

      1.     Become knowledgeable about what credit insurance is:  if you own a credit card, you have probably been asked by the company if you would like to add credit insurance. Most are unfamiliar with this type of insurance and either decline it or accept it automatically without knowing if it is the right type of insurance for their needs. As with all insurance, determining need is different from person to person because of our different lifestyles and obligations. Credit insurance may be beneficial to some but just an unneeded cost for others depending on one's situation. Knowing what credit insurance is and the different types can help you make an informed decision.