It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year... For Fires

The Christmas Season typically brings joy to many but for some it brings nightmares. The Christmas season is usually a busy season for residential fires. The reason for the upswing in fires is due to additional cooking, candles and decorations.

One of the biggest culprits for residential fires is unattended Christmas trees, especially live trees. If a live tree is not properly watered one little electrical spark could ignite a blaze that will ruin your Christmas for sure.

Believe it or not some people still use real candles on their trees as lit decorations. Please, please, please end this practice immediately if you are one of those people that do this.

Below is a fire reenactment of a real Christmas tree that caught fire. Notice the tree on the right burns slower. This tree was properly watered and not allowed to dry out.



Facts and figures Between 2005-2009:

• U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 240 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year.

• These fires caused an average of 13 deaths, 27 injuries, and $16.7 million in direct property damage annually.Christmas tree fires are not common, but when they occur, they are likely to be serious.

• On average, one of every 18 reported fires that began with a Christmas tree resulted in death.A heat source too close to the Christmas tree started one of every five (20%) of these fires.

• Eighteen percent of home Christmas tree structure fires were intentionally set. Half of the intentional Christmas tree fires occurred in January and may have been related to disposal.

Christmas tree safety tips

from the National Fire Protection Agency

Each year, fire departments respond to many structure fires caused by Christmas trees. Carefully decorating Christmas trees can help make your holidays safer.

Picking the tree

• If you have an artificial tree, be sure it is labeled, certified, or identified by the manufacturer as fire retardant.
• Choose a tree with fresh, green needles that do not fall off when touched.

Placing the tree

• Before placing the tree in the stand, cut 1–2” from the base of the trunk.
• Make sure the tree is at least three feet away from any heat source, like fireplaces, radiators, candles, heat vents or lights.
• Make sure the tree is not blocking an exit.
• Add water to the tree stand. Be sure to add water daily.

Lighting the tree

• Use lights that have the label of an independent testing laboratory. Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connect no more than three strands of mini string sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs. Read manufacturer’s instructions for number of LED strands to connect.
• Never use lit candles to decorate the tree.
• Always turn off Christmas tree lights before leaving home or going to bed.

After Christmas

• Get rid of the tree when it begins dropping needles. Dried-out trees are a fire danger and should not be left in the home or garage, or placed outside against the home. Check with your local community to find a recycling program. Bring outdoor electrical lights inside after the holidays to prevent hazards and make them last longer.

Ronald Dwyer is an independent insurance agent licensed in Michigan for Home - Auto – Business Insurance. He can be reached at rondwyer@roninsureme.com or 248-390-6345. His website is http://www.roninsureme.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dwyerinsurance / Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronalddwyer

What to Think About Before a Homeowner Loss

Disasters are unforeseen and unpredictable. In Michigan, the most likely disasters to strike your home are tornados, floods, and wind. If your property is damaged or destroyed, you will likely have many questions and be faced with many decisions. Concerns about temporary shelter, emergency repairs, and the costs of restoring or rebuilding your home can be overwhelming.

Homeowners or renter’s insurance is your protection against a devastating loss. It is important to have some form of insurance coverage for your property and personal belongings. If you rent, your landlord may insure the building you live in, but the landlord’s insurance doesn’t cover your personal belongings.

Here are some things you can do before a disaster strikes to make claim handling a little easier:

•Inventory your personal property. Record model and serial numbers for more expensive items (i.e. televisions, DVRs, computers, etc.). Keep receipts for these items – they provide information such as: purchase price, purchase date, name of store, etc. You may even consider video recording or taking pictures inside your home. Note: Inventory records should be kept at a location other than your home.

•Make photocopies of your insurance policies and keep the copies in a secure location away from your residence. Keep important papers together so they will be readily available when you need them.

•Have your insurance producer and insurance company’s telephone numbers readily available.

•Be familiar with the coverage of your insurance policy. Make sure you understand the difference between actual cash value (ACV) and replacement cost coverage for your contents. ACV replaces contents at cost minus depreciation. Replacement cost replaces your contents at today’s prices.

•Remember: basic homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood, earthquake or mine subsidence damages. Coverage for these perils can be added to your homeowners insurance policy for additional premium.

Ronald Dwyer is an independent insurance agent licensed in Michigan for Home - Auto – Business Insurance. He can be reached at rondwyer@roninsureme.com or 248-390-6345. His website is http://www.roninsureme.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dwyerinsurance / Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronalddwyer

Halloween Safety Tips for Adults

Parents of trick-or-treating kids can get so caught up in the fun themselves that they might forget some simple safety ideas that could keep everyone out of trouble. Having a fun and safe Halloween will make it all worth while!

Kids love Halloween! They get to dress up and get free candy! What a perfect holiday! Give your kids some precious Halloween memories that they'll have for life.

If you take your kids to a sponsored event, like a safe Halloween thrown by your church or community center, make sure to keep an eye on them at al times. Even though it seems less dangerous, you are still in a strange environment full of people that you don't know. All it takes
is a minute with your back turned to find your child gone.

Cell phones are everywhere now! Everyone seems to have one, they can be so affordable. Make sure that your child has a pre-programmed cell phone with him/her if they go out on Halloween night! Make sure that all important numbers are already there and ready for use.

Below are more common sense tips that can help adults keep their kids safe.

As bad as it sounds, this is just a fact of life now. Get on the internet and check your local state website for sex offenders. Almost every state has one, just do a search for your state sex offender site. Look up your zip code and it should have a list of registered offenders in your area that includes street addresses. Make sure that your kids stay away from these houses!

Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with them. Let them know that they are to check in with you every hour, by phone or by stopping back at home. Make sure that they know not to deviate from the planned route so that you always know where they will be.

Trick or treating isn't what it used to be. In most cities it's not safe to let kids walk the streets by themselves. Your best bet is to make sure that an adult is going with them. If you can't take them yourself, see if another parent or two can.

Help your young child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make sure that it's fire proof or treated with fire retardant. If they are wearing a mask of any kind, make sure that the eye holes are large enough for good peripheral vision.

Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions. If they are going to be at a friends home, get the phone number and make sure that you've met the parents.

Make sure you set a time that your kids should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to behome on time or to call immediately if something happens and they are going to be delayed.

Kids will be kids. Explain to kids of all ages the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a housemay seem funny but they need to know the other side of the coin as well, that clean up and damages can ruin Halloween for everyone. If they are caught vandalizing, make them clean up the mess they've made.

Some sick people find Halloween a great night to hurt cats. Explain to your kids that animal cruelty of any kind is not acceptable. Kids may already know this on their own but stress the point that it's not acceptable behavior. Make sure that they know that harming animals is not only morally wrong but punishable by law and will not be tolerated.

Serve your kids a filling meal before trick or treating and they won't be as tempted to eat any candy before they bring it home for you to check. Check your local grocery store or craft store for Halloween cookbooks full of tasty treats on a horror theme for both kids and adults.

Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on. Make sure that costumes won't get in the way when they are walking, which could cause them to trip.

Teach your kids about not getting into strangers cars or talking to strangers, no matter what the person says to them. Explain to them as simply as you can that some adults are bad and want to hurt children, that they should never go into a house that they don't know, get
into a car or go anywhere with a stranger. Also, tell them what to do should this happen, to scream as loud as they can to draw attention and to run away as fast as they can to someplace safe.

Be sure to show your children know how to cross a street properly. They should always look both ways before crossing the street and should only cross at corners or crosswalks. Make sure that if you have more than one child, they know to take the hand of the younger child when they cross a street.

Ronald Dwyer is an independent insurance agent licensed in Michigan for Home - Auto – Business Insurance. He can be reached at rondwyer@roninsureme.com or 248-390-6345. His website is http://www.roninsureme.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dwyerinsurance / Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronalddwyer

When was the last time you appraised your valuables?

With the economy still sputtering and our dollar and world currencies weakening. both gold and silver have seen sizable gains in value over the last few years -- your precious possessions may be due for an insurance upgrade.

A 14-karat-gold necklace that cost $750 to replace five years ago, for example, could be twice that amount.


The standard homeowners policy limits coverage on jewelry and certain other valuables to around $1,000 per category subject to your deductible.

So if your home is burglarized and your jewelry box emptied, you could get shorted. Even with a rider, which extends protection on specific items, you're covered for only the last appraised value. Now is the time to review your valuable items especially your jewelry items. While you're at it, re-evaluate insurance on other valuables, too -- namely, art, antiques, furs, wines, and collectibles.

Get an appraisal

Ordinarily, having valuables appraised every five years is sufficient. But when their prices are particularly volatile, as with jewelry today, have it done every two years.

Typical appraisals starting costs are about $100 to $200 for jewelry collections (depends on size of collection) and $200 to $600 an hour for art, though a reappraisal can cost 40% less than the original, says Aleya Lehmann Bench of the Appraisers Association of America. A good source to finding appraisers is appraisers-assoc.org.

Know the insurance lingo

You can add protection for individual items via a homeowners insurance rider usually called a floater. The premium depends on risk and location, so storing jewelry at the bank, for instance, can cut premiums by up to 60%. A floater for jewelry ranges from 90 cents to $2 per $100 of coverage; for art, 25 cents to $1; for wine, 33 cents to 55 cents.

Ronald Dwyer is an independent insurance agent licensed in Michigan for Home - Auto – Business Insurance. He can be reached at rondwyer@roninsureme.com or 248-390-6345. His website address is www.roninsureme.com , Linkedin address is www.linkedin.com/in/ronalddwyer and Facebook address is www.facebook.com/dwyerinsurance

New Tougher Laws For New Driver's Licensee's Effective 3/30/11

Michigan is preparing to enact new restrictions on teen drivers-in-training.

Law enforcement, insurance and education leaders gathered in East Lansing this week to explain the requirements that take effect March 30.

The new legislation limits how many passengers drivers with level 2 intermediate licenses can carry. They won’t be allowed to have more than one unrelated passenger under age 21 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian or they are driving to and from school events.

The law also prohibits new teen drivers from getting behind the wheel between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless they are driving to or from work. The previous law allowed them to drive until midnight.

The provisions update the state’s graduated driver’s license program, which was enacted in 1996

How to prevent frozen water pipes

During the winter months, one of the most common concerns people have is frozen water pipes. There is nothing more frustrating on a bitterly cold winter morning than to awaken to frozen, perhaps even burst water pipes.

Here are some tips to ensure that your water pipes don't freeze during the bitter cold of the winter months:

Use space heaters. Place a space heater, set on the lowest heat setting, under your sink, in your basement, or anywhere where there are water pipes in your home. Some space heaters have an emergency temperature setting designed for just this purpose. The heat will not only keep your pipes from freezing, but will also add some extra heat to your rooms such as basements and bathrooms, which are often among the most difficult rooms in the home to keep warm during the winter months.

If the bitterly cold temperatures of the winter months should cause you to lose power in the home, you will need another method for both heating the home and for keeping the water pipes from freezing. One of the best alternatives for keeping the pipes from freezing is to place a jar or plate with a large candle near the pipes to keep them warm and keep the water flowing. If you have any tea candles, arrange several of them on a large plate and place them about six inches under the pipes. The heat from the candles will flow up and keep the pipes from freezing. If you have any long stemmed dinner candles, line them alongside or under the pipes, spread five inches apart, to keep the pipes from freezing.

One of the best tools to use to combat frozen water pipes during the bitter cold temperatures of the winter months is prevention. Well in advance of the winter months, gather as many two or three liter soda bottles as you can. You can either use these for your water needs until the pipes unfreeze, or gently pour the water on the pipes to unfreeze them

If you are using water from a well, wrap the pipes coming from the inside of the well to the well pump and water tank either in old clothing, insulation, or in duct tape a few layers thick. For added protection, place
flashlight at the beginning of the pipe segment coming from the well to the pump.

Use these tips to avoid being without water on a bitterly cold winter night or morning.

Ronald Dwyer is an independent insurance agent licensed in Michigan for Home - Auto – Business Insurance. He can be reached at rondwyer@roninsureme.com or 248-390-6345. His website address is www.roninsureme.com , Linkedin address is www.linkedin.com/in/ronalddwyer and Facebook address is www.facebook.com/dwyerinsurance