In a report released in 2014, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that more than 1.3 million water damage claims were filed throughout the United States. In 2015, that number increased to more than 1.4 million. According to their research, the most common months for claims were January and February, and there were more than 155,000 claims during each of those months. However, claims were lower in November and December, and there were less than 100,000 during each of those months.
 
California was the state with the most claims at over 325,000. Florida came in second with more than 225,000. With over 220,000, Texas ranked third. New York was fourth with over 145,000, and Pennsylvania was fifth with over 140,000. The top U.S. cities for claims were San Antonio, Chicago, Houston, San Diego and Miami.
 
According to NICB, water damage is any type of damage to a property that occurs because of accidental water leakage, overflow or discharge. This can be from air conditioning, heating, plumbing and refrigeration systems. It may also happen because of melting snow or ice, rain, open windows, leaky doors, skylights or rising water tables below a home.
 
If the damage happened because of the homeowner's negligence, it may not be covered. For example, an entire ceiling that collapses because of a leak between the roof and the ceiling that has obviously existed for a long time may not be completely covered. If it is evident that the homeowner knew of the leak but let it worsen over time, he or she was being negligent. Also, insurance companies look for reports of exaggerated damages.
 
It is important for property owners to review their policies regularly and keep them current with any possible risks. If a natural disaster occurs, property owners must be aware of unethical repair fraudsters and contractors who appear unsolicited to offer their services. More scam artists are showing up after disasters, and desperate people often become financial victims to their schemes. When these fraudsters do shoddy work or fail to do any work at all, the damages become worse and more expensive.
 
When a claim must be filed, contact your personal insurance agent for repair recommendations. They can provide a list of reputable contractors and service companies. The key idea to remember is to avoid doing business with anyone who was not directly contacted, and this is especially true with door-to-door solicitors. Report any suspicious solicitors to the police. If insurance fraud is suspected, it can be anonymously reported to 800-TEL-NICB. To learn more about insurance fraud and how to stay safe when hiring contractors, discuss concerns with your agent.

Many Americans are grossly underinsured against the risk of devastating long-term care costs. According to the 2016 annual Cost of Care Survey from Genworth, the average cost for a semi-private room in a long-term care skilled nursing facility is $82,125 and rising while the average assisted living facility costs $43,539 per year, on average. Both are enough to swallow most or all of the income produced by many pensions and other sources of retirement income.

Medicare Generally Does Not Cover Long Term Care Costs
The vast majority of long term care expenses are not covered under Medicare. Instead, long term care costs for chronic conditions not related to a very recent hospitalization and must be funded either via private long term care insurance or paid for out of pocket.
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What Nursing and Rehab Care Does Medicare Cover?
Medicare will only pay for nursing home, rehab facility or custodial care under the very limited circumstances:

• You have been admitted to a Medicare-certified nursing facility within 30 days of a hospitalization
• You were hospitalized for not less than three days
• You require skilled care, and not just custodial care and assistance with activities of daily living, such as assistance with bathing, dressing, toileting and feeding yourself. Examples of skilled care include specialized physical therapy or other types of therapy requiring the attention of licensed professionals.

Even if you meet all three conditions, Medicare will only cover your costs for a limited period of time. And the longer you remain in the nursing facility, the more you will have to pay out of pocket. For the first 20 days, Medicare will cover 100 percent of your costs. But for days 21 through 100, you must pay $140 per day out of pocket for long term care costs directly related to your prior hospitalization. After day 100, you must pay all nursing home/long term care costs out of pocket.

To put things in perspective, only 20 percent of all nursing home stays last for less than three months, according to data from the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance. The average nursing home stay was 2.3 years for men, and 2.6 years for women. 24 percent of all nursing home stays last three years or longer, and 12 percent last for longer than five years.

Long term care costs aren't limited to skilled nursing homes. Most long term care insurance policies cover a broad continuum of care, from in-home care and assistance to adult day care facilities to assisted living facilities - none of which are covered under Medicare. Long term care insurance may also cover hospice care, as well. Every company has different specific benefits and exclusions.

America's poorest may receive some coverage via Medicaid - after spending their liquid assets down to poverty level. Generally, states will allow families receiving Medicaid benefits to keep their homes, but when the beneficiary dies, the state Medicaid recovery program will put a lien on the home and other assets, effectively seizing them and preventing you from passing these assets along to your heirs and loved ones until the state recovers what it paid out in Medicaid benefits on your behalf.

The extremely wealthy, of course, can absorb the costs of long-term care. But for most of us in the middle, some form of long term care insurance is necessary to protect retirement nest eggs and incomes against the risk of being consumed by high costs for long term or nursing home care. However, do not rely solely on Medicare to cover long term care or nursing home expenses.

The Hanks Group offers a free long term care needs analysis which will help you determine how much long term care insurance is needed and the associated costs.Click here for a free long term care insurance assessment or call our office and speak with one of our agents.

Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that red light programs saved more than 1,000 people in over 75 cities across the United States. They warned that shutting these programs down would cost people their lives. Their research showed that fatal crashes from people running red lights increased by 30 percent in cities where the programs were discontinued.

In 2014, there were over 700 deaths from accidents caused by drivers who ran red lights and at least 125,000 injuries as well. The people who ran the red lights only accounted for a small fraction of the fatalities. In most cases, the victims were passengers in the offender's car, passengers in other vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians.

Cameras and speed detectors discourage people from running red lights. Although the helping hands of law enforcement are also a powerful factor, there are not enough officers to stand at every major intersection. Also, their odds of being injured while directing traffic are higher.

Several surveys showed that there is widespread public support for intersection cameras. However, the disapproval of some groups has led to many programs being canceled. Some places are still launching new programs. In 2015, there were about 465 communities with red light cameras.

Support For Enforcement
In an IIHS forum, law enforcement representatives from across the country spoke about safety and red light programs. One of the important points emphasized regularly was helping the public understand the importance of these programs and their function in keeping everyone safe. They pointed out that people need to see the programs as safety tools and not misperceive them as income generators. A good solution for this is to separate the general funds and revenues from red light cameras.

Consistent data collection and transparency were also issues highlighted as priorities by representatives. The IIHS included a demonstration crash to show what an accident would look like at an intersection. The crash featured a Ford truck hitting a left-turning Chrysler sedan while traveling at a speed of almost 50 miles per hour. Injuries for the innocent driver of the sedan included multiple fractures and a concussion.
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In earlier studies, the forum's researchers found that red light cameras led to a major decline in people running red lights. Also, the effect seemed to extend to other intersection lights in the city that did not have red light cameras. When people were aware of multiple cameras across the city, they were more cautious about their driving upon approaching a red or yellow light. All of the similar previous studies from 2011 until today showed a consistency between declining crash fatalities caused by red-light-running offenders and the presence of red light cameras.

​To learn more about safety and red light cameras, discuss your concerns with our agents at The Hanks Group.

     Lightning caused almost 800 million in insured losses in 2015. Damage caused by lightning, such as fire, is covered by standard homeowners and business insurance policies. Some home and business insurance policies provide coverage for power surges that are the direct result of lightning striking a home or business. There is also coverage for lightning damage under the comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy. With the explosion in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes, such as flat screen TVs, home entertainment centers, multiple computers, gaming systems as well as new smart home technology, it is more important than ever to take precautions to prevent losses.

Here are a few ways to prevent damage caused by lighting:

1. Unplug expensive electronic equipment
    The most simple and effective action you can take to protect your electronic devices is simply to unplug
    those devices when an electrical storm is approaching.

2. Install surge protectors
    It's always a good idea to have all of your TVs, computers, routers etc. connected to UL rated surge
    protectors. Although surge protectors offer some level of the protection, to assure the highest level of
    protection, a UL-listed surge protection device (SPD) should be installed on electrical service panels. A
    licensed electrician can install a surge protection device on your electrical panel.
    
​3. Install a lightning protection system
    A lightning protection system supplies structural protection by providing a specified path on which lightning
    can travel. When a building is equipped with a lightning protection system, the destructive power of the
    lightning strike is directed safely into the ground, leaving the structure and its contents undamaged.

The U.S. is struck with cloud to ground lightning 22 million times a year. An average lightning bolt can power 56 houses for one day. This amount of energy causes millions of dollars in damages every year. To prevent damages to your equipment its always important to take reasonable precautions.