Mowing the lawn is a great way to get some exercise and a perfect chore or source of extra income for teenagers, but it’s important to always keep safety in mind while using lawn mowers. HealthyChildren.org has an excellent list of safety guidelines for you to follow this summer, from proper shoes to correctly refueling the lawn mower.

Get out there and enjoy the weather with a beautiful lawn, but always make safety the first priority.

Have your own story about keeping your home in good health? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.

Get in touch today and let Bankers protect you from pesky risks.

At Bankers, we know that Business Owners Insurance, like any other type of insurance, can be confusing—that’s why we’re trying to help demystify some of the more confusing pieces of the insurance puzzle.

Insurance to Value on Business Personal Property, or ITV on BPP, is important to understand when insuring your business.  “ITV is the amount of insurance needed to be 100% insured for the value of the contents used in business operations,” explains Bankers Underwriting Manager David Rhinhart.

Business Personal Property (BPP) includes all the improvements and betterments you’ve made to your business premises if you’re a tenant.  “Additions or changes made by a lessee at his own cost to a building that he occupies, which enhance its value—these become part of the realty and require special insurance consideration.” Built-ins, walls, fixtures, floor refinishes, certain furniture and stock are all insurable as BPP increasing the ITV. “Basically, it’s anything you can’t take with you when you build out your leased space,” David says.

A Bankers agent can help you calculate ITV for your business to make sure you’re properly protected.

Don’t let catastrophe catch your business off guard. Get in touch today and let Bankers protect you from hurricanes and other risks.

Have your own story about dealing with disaster? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

There are plenty of easy steps to take to ensure your pet has the best chance of making it through disaster safe and sound. Jenn Fadal has some excellent tips on the subject, from food preparation to reuniting with your pet in case it gets separated from the family.

Check out the video and share your thoughts by commenting below or on Twitter using the hashtag #riskymonday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

#riskymonday, brought to you by Bankers Insurance Group, covers one important video highlighting the risks we face each week. Watch the video and join the discussion in the See Through Insurance blog comments, on the Bankers Insurance Group Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtag #riskymonday.

Among the first lost possessions to wash up was a container that held a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that appeared on the shore of Graham Island in Canada. Though the bike was rusted and caked with corrosion, it still had its license plate and was able to be connected to its owner, who lost three family members in the March 11, 2011 tsunami.

“This is unmistakably mine. It’s miraculous,” Yokoyama told Japan’s Nippon TV when shown photos of the Harley.

An Alaska man found a football and volleyball in March, and their owners were able to be located using names inscribed on the balls.

Though nothing can make up for what Japanese residents lost in the tsunami, hopefully some small solace can be found in getting back personal items that have miraculously made their way to North American shores.

Have your own story about dealing with disaster? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

At Bankers Insurance Group, we know insurance can be confusing. Even the basic terms often don’t sound anything like what they actually mean. In Decoding the Jargon, we’ll go over these confusing terms and explain what they really mean and how they impact you. Today, we’re talking about risk management and reinsurance.

Risk Management
We talk a lot about those troublesome Risks, and “risk management” is a term that basically means trying to limit your exposure to them. Techniques like installing sprinklers or alarm systems can help control the frequency and severity of losses and keep you better protected.

Reinsurance
So if the insurance company is protecting you, who is covering the insurance company? That’s where reinsurance comes in. In technical terms, reinsurance is an agreement under which an insurer, or ceding company, transfers some or all of the risks to another insurer—the reinsurer. In much more understandable language: Reinsurance provides insurance for insurance companies to help protect against catastrophic losses, like hurricanes or earthquakes.

For more explanations of insurance speak, don’t miss our terminology guide.

Have your own story or questions about insurance jargon? Get in touch with us in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

With the weather heating up, there’s sure to be an increase in traffic in and out of your garage as kids go out to play, lawn projects get under way and cars get washed in the driveway. With all the added activity, it’s important to make sure your garage door is safe and ready to handle the summer months.

Though it’s never a bad idea to have a service technician take a look, there are several easy inspections and tests you can do yourself as well. From visual inspections, balance tests and reversing tests to keeping the door well lubricated, GarageDoorCare.com has a full rundown of what to look for and what to do if your garage door isn’t up to snuff.

Before beginning, be sure to let the rest of your household know not to open or close the garage door while you are working on it.

Have your own story about keeping your home in good health? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

Get in touch today and let Bankers protect you from pesky risks.

As Bankers Insurance Underwriting Manager David Rhinhart explains, “Most people don’t think about what they have to lose.” In the world of business insurance, this is especially true of business income. When a business is shut down due to an incident covered by insurance, many business owners find themselves faced with an unforeseen problem. Besides the cost of fixing the business space and getting it back in working order, it’s vital to know what the loss of sales is going to cost you while the business is shut down, and have this calculated up front before disaster strikes to make sure you’re protected.

Not having the loss of business income properly calculated before a disaster is actually a “loss leader” in business insurance, especially in hurricanes. It’s hard to accurately calculate this information after a disaster has already occurred, especially when dealing with all the other issues that come along with a calamity situation.

Here’s an example of how to calculate business income for your policy:

1. Calculate your annual net sales by subtracting adjustments—returns, discounts, etc—from gross sales. Add in other income, like rent, interest and service fees.
2. Calculate your annual gross earnings—total revenues minus purchases during the year and change in inventory.
3. Calculate annual gross sales after discontinued expenses—expenses that won’t be incurred while your business is shut down, like payroll, rent, utilities, delivery, advertising and maintenance. Now subtract this total from the gross earnings.
4. Now decide the amount of time you think it would take to rebuild the business in the worst-case scenario.

If you have any questions, your agent will be happy to walk you through your policy and what will work best for your business.

Don’t let catastrophe catch your business off guard. Get in touch today and let Bankers protect you from hurricanes and other risks.

Have your own story about dealing with disaster? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

As you clean up, it’s important to remember a few safety tips to avoid other hazards that may have gone overlooked through the colder months. Today’s video provides helpful tips and reminders to get you ready for the rest of 2012.

Check out the video and share your thoughts by commenting below or on Twitter using the hashtag #riskymonday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

#riskymonday, brought to you by Bankers Insurance Group, covers one important video highlighting the risks we face each week. Watch the video and join the discussion in the See Through Insurance blog comments, on the Bankers Insurance Group Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtag #riskymonday.

Theo Theft might want to think twice about an escape plan if he ends up in this Louisiana prison.

Chief, a wolf-dog hybrid from Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana, frequently escaped from his owner’s property and reportedly scared neighborhood residents. After a number of complaints, a judge ordered Chief to be put down for aggressive behavior.

Luckily for Chief, officials at Angola Prison read about the dog and got in touch with the judge. Deputy Warden Bruce Dodd convinced the judge that Chief could be useful in patrolling the perimeter of the 18,000-acre prison, and now Chief is headed for a life sentence as a guard dog.

Though she’s happy that Chief’s not being put down, owner Vicky Smith is still not satisfied with the outcome, saying that Chief never bit anyone and is used to a life of air-conditioning and oatmeal breakfasts.

Have your own story about Theo Theft? Tell us about it in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.

See what other trouble Theo and the rest of The Risks have gotten into lately and follow their precarious pins on Pinterest!

Binder
Most of us remember binders as school supply staples from grade school, covered in doodles and scratched out notes. In insurance, a binder is a bit different. It’s a temporary agreement to provide specified insurance coverage until a policy is issued or until the application is declined. Either an agent or an insurance company itself can issue a binder.

Indemnity
Here’s a rare insurance term that actually means the same thing it means in non-insurance situations. Indemnity is simply reimbursement for a loss.

For more explanations of insurance speak, don’t miss our terminology guide.

Have your own story or questions about insurance jargon? Get in touch with us in the comments or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.