photo credit: Justin_D_Miller

Halloween is right around the corner and our office thought it might be helpful if we posted maps and locations of our favorite Halloween activities in and around Knoxville, TN.

Haunted Corn Mazes

Pumpkin Patches

Haunted Hay Rides

Halloween Costumes

At John Bailey Company we have developed a specialized liability insurance program for insuring Halloween activities.  For more information contact us here.

photo credit: xdmag

The new Travelers application is here!! This application for your iphone or android powered phone is called Auto Accident Help and it is there immediately for your assistance. What does this application do?

Via Travelers:

1. It guides you through the steps you need to correctly document and submit your claim.

2. It automatically locates where the accident took place, the date, and also the time of the accident.

3. It allows you to provide photos and video proof of the accident.

4. It helps you collect police, drivers, and witness information. And also provides a quick way to get in touch with your agent via phone or email.

5.  It produces a completely detailed accident report, providing pictures, voice recording, and video documents that you can send in an email to a travelers claim rep.

6. It also provides answers to any claim related question you or anyone else may have.

One of the best videos on the interwebz is below.  The simple lesson is be yourself and be about the idea.  Thanks to Lisa Duncan from Dogwood Arts Festival for the video.

June 24, 2011 is take your pet to work day and John Bailey Company has decided to participate this year.  To promote this fun idea we have decided to share with you our pets:

Buddy, “A Prince among dogs - a sentiment I believe anyone who has ever met him would agree with.  I like to think of him as a German Shephard with a bad haircut.” (Anne Bilbrey - Commercial Lines Dept).

A Prince Among Dogs

Prudence aka the Prudog - 7 months.  “She likes chasing sticks, riding in the back of my truck, and drinking spilled Miller Lite.”  (Joe Morelock - Commercial Lines Dept)

This is Prudence, aka the Prudog

Maggie, “Trusted and true, always vigilant and yet great with the kids, she’s never met a person she didn’t like, or anyone she wouldn’t beg from.” (Craig Runger - Commercial Lines Dept)

Guard Dog Maggie

Angel thinks she is Garfield….lazy!  “She is about 15 years old.” (Felicia Caldwell - Home and Auto Insurance Dept)

Angel thinks she is Garfield…lazy!!!!!

Felicia’s Dog - Winston, he is a good little dog.  We rescued him at 4 years old a month after my other dog had passed away; so in a way he rescued me!  Winston is now 16, blind and can not hear, but still has some pep in his step!

This is Winston, he is a good little dog.

McKenzie is 7 1/2 years old and she has changed my life in such a great way…I never knew I could love a pet so much.  She knows my routine better than I do. (Missy - Home and Auto Insurance Dept)

McKenzie has changed my life

Murphy, our daughter’s best friend and partner in crime.  (Brandon Clarke and Lauren Clarke).

Is my name "Down" or "No?"

photo credit: Verino77

I have been reviewing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  After reading a few chapters I stumbled upon something that intrigued me and I simply wonder what our clients and friends of our blog think about family mission statements.

I really think a family mission statement is a little bit too much; I mean it’s kind of silly to think about your family in this way….But then I considered my own mission statement for life…and realized how much a family mission statement can bring your loved ones together and how this idea can bring about success within your family.  The journey can be tough if don’t know where you are going and it’s important to have the right people on the bus, including your insurance agent.

Read Stephen Covey’s blog post and consider the following:

1. Does your current plan for insurance protection include a comprehensive family insurance plan?
2. What do you want coverage for? Do you even know anything about insurance… do you want an independent insurance agent to help you plan, or a big box franchise insurance company, maybe you want a web based company?  Which option meets your family’s needs and mission?
3. Have you quoted higher auto liability limits…for example in lieu of $300,000 liability limits; we recently quoted a couple at $500,000.  The extra cost was only $15 a year.
4. Have you really thought about your assets and how much liability coverage you need?  Do you have enough? Did you know that an extra umbrella limit of $1 million usually only cost $100 to $200 a year.
5. Have you thought about your deductible limits?  What if you raised or lowered your home and auto deductible.  Where is the most bang for your buck?  Some people assume a $1,000 deductible is saving them a ton of money..have you really looked?
6. Do you want to cover jewelry, wedding rings, family heirlooms, watches, silverware, firearms, pieces of art, or antiques, etc..?  Do you have these things covered?  Does your current policy include this stuff?
7. Do you work from your home; do you have business coverage while at home?
8. Do you want identity theft coverage, which will cover repair of your family’s costs and time to fix their credit history?
9. What about Flood or Earthquake policies?  Did you know homeowner’s policies do not cover those natural disasters?
10. Do you or your spouse have life insurance? Have you thought about cost saving ways to insure your children?

These are just a few examples of what we do, but they are also a look into the makeup of how you and your family live life.  They capture the true meaning of a family mission statement.  Where does your compass point, what are you prepared for, is your family prepared to bounce back from possible loss?  Your insurance agent is a large part of who you are.  At the end of the day, your insurance agency relationship should give you peace of mind.  We are in a strange industry full of negative connotations and hard sells.  The reality is……this industry is full of people who want you to succeed. We encourage you to review your family mission statement and ask questions, then find insurance solutions to help you accomplish your goals.

Slay it!

I recently had a conversation with a Knoxville, TN father who called our independent insurance agency.  He was interested in  commercial insurance for his lemonade stand.  At first, I was taken back a little…and then I discovered the brilliance of his vision.  The Lemonade stand is the truest form of entrepreneurship and the best model to teach your children how to learn business.  As I discussed with him his vision to teach his sons, I decided to help out.  Below is a break down of our discussion..hitting just a few of the insurance high points…or should we say interesting examples:

photo credit: rachaelvoorhees

1. Liability Coverage – This coverage is designed for property or bodily injury resulting from the lemonade stand’s negligence.  So…trip and falls, or a lemon gets thrown out onto Gay Street by an employee; Lil’ Bobby comes rolling down the street on his skateboard hits the lemon and busts his face open on the pavement. Which also breaks his skateboard..
2. Product Liability – Lemons tend to rot in the hot sun…
3. Property Coverage – Building coverage for physical damage to the stand/office that you lease or own. They also would need coverage for the business contents of their stand:  ice maker, blenders, cash register, and let’s not forget lemons..
4. Business Income Insurance – What if the stand burns to the ground?  Well the lemonade stand may lose some money from sales of lemonade.  This coverage would help them replace revenue lost and pay expenses until the building was replaced, or another solution was found.
5. Hired and Non-Owned – Suzy an employee is 16 she drives her Honda accord to the local farmers market to pick up lemons. She is in a car accident, this coverage offers auto liability coverage for the lemonade stand business; since Suzy was on the clock.
6. Spoilage including Equipment Breakdown – If the food spoils as a result of the breakdown of equipment…
7. Worker’s Compensation – What if an employee cuts a finger? Or lemons blind him for life?
8. Employee Practices Liability (EPLI) – For these times: Wrongful Termination, Age Discrimination, Sexual Harassment….
9. Data Breach Insurance – These guys were going big, they were saving up to purchase a credit card machine…PCI Compliance will be right around the corner, but all they had right now was carbon paper and the old slide for credit cards.  What happens if someone steals those receipts?
10. Employee Dishonesty/Theft – It happens everyday, coverage is cheap.

Slay it!

Every now and then I crash, both mentally and physically.  This last week led me into an energy crisis.  My family and I had plans to get out of town and explore…I had plans of a 3 day weekend renewal. 

It is inspiring how life sends you in different directions and how family can center you again.  Escaping to the mountains of NC, we hiked, played in a waterfall, ate cookies, ran up mountains, cooked out, spoke to strangers, asked questions, listened, laughed, and we played, we had fun…and honestly I think fun has been missing from life recently…I just hadn’t taken the time to be.  Escaping from the riff raff nonsense, (the stuff that does make sense, until you are away from it), I had many renewal moments, but the one that really needs to be shared is when I met Marcus Thomas:

Marcus loves outdoors and recreation, according to his website he wanted to be an activities director for a reputable resort.  One day he fell and slid head first into the base of a tree, breaking his neck at the fourth cervical vertebrae. The crushed spinal cord left him completely paralyzed from the shoulders down. After one year of recovery and a determined pursuit for a fulfilling life, he discovered the art of painting.

 His picture is below:

Give his website a view, you will not believe his art and love of the outdoors.  This man gets life, he wants to know your name, he wants to know your wife’s name, your child’s name, he wants to know where you are from…why you are here, he wants you to meet his dog, his wife, he wants to invite you to ask questions. He is calm, patient, enthusiastic, charming, centered.  I enjoyed meeting him, he sparked renewal in my life and for that I am grateful.