Safe Driving During Graduation Season

Graduation time is here! June can be an exciting time of the year for many teens and their families. While graduation is an important benchmark and a stepping stone for the future, it is also the perfect time to remind your teen drivers about the importance of safe, distraction-free driving.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers. The risk of an accident is four times higher for teens 16 to 19 years old compared to older drivers. Fortunately, as a parent, you can make a difference in keeping your teens safe on the road.

So before your teens get too busy with graduation season, talk to them about the importance of driving safety and ways they can have an accident-free graduation. Here are five driving safety concerns you should talk with your teen about.

1. Speeding
Excessive speeding is not only costly, it is also one of the top five driver-related errors for teenage driving involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes. Speeding not only worsens the severity of an accident, it also decreases the amount of time drivers have to react to unexpected circumstances, thus increasing their risk of an accident. Remind your teen that even if they are running late, speeding is unacceptable and the amount of time and money wasted if you are pulled over and ticketed is not worth it.

2. Passenger Distractions
Studies have shown that fatal crashes involving young drivers are much more likely to occur when other teenagers are in the car. So talk to your child about limiting the number of teenage passengers in their car to one or two passengers, especially if they are driving at night.

3. Night Time and Weekend Driving
According to studies, more than half of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths occur on the weekend between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Driving at night is not only more difficult for the driver because of decreased visibility, it is also more dangerous because there is an increased risk of driving near an intoxicated motorist. While most graduation ceremonies and parties occur in the evening, you should always minimize the amount of time your teen spends on the road at night. But if night-time driving is unavoidable, always have your teen call or text to check-in, once they have arrived safely at their final destination.

4. Texting While Driving
While constant communication with your teen driver is key to keeping your child safe during graduation season, you should remind your teen to always safely pull-over to the side of the road before they send a text or make a phone call. Using a cell-phone while driving is not only illegal in many states, it also significantly increases the risk of a fatal car accident.

5. Illegal Activities
While you should always encourage your child to abstain from illegal activities such as drinking or doing drugs, you should also be realistic and talk to your teen about what to do if they find themselves in a situation where either they or their ride is unfit to drive. Remind them that they should never drive even if they've only had one drink. Consider providing your teen with extra cash just in case they need to take a cab.

  Patrick J. Miller Agency Owner   Allstate Insurance Company 2062 W. Main Street Norristown, PA 19403   610-631-1718 (o) 610-631-1857 (f)  

2010 FIVE STAR Home/Auto Insurance Professional Award Winner  See the September issue of PHILADELPHIA Magazine  

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Condominiums are great homes for the young, seniors, empty nester's and anyone else who is not interested in the yard work of a single family home.  However, one aspect that commonly is overlooked is adequate insurance to protect your dwelling and personal property.

Condo associations typically maintain fire insurance to protect the exterior of the structure in the event of a tragedy.  That means that typically the association insurance coverage will rebuild the exterior walls and roof but not cover from the "studs in".  This is usually the responsibility of the condo owner and unfortunately, many condo owner's are unaware of this responsibility. 

Condo owner's should think about insuring their dwellings for about 50% of the purchase price to feel confident that they will be able to rebuild form the"studs in".  This includes drywall, flooring and kitchen appliances and cabinets and labor.

Condo coverage generally focuses on personal property and that is important as well. Insurance agents can help your customers by estimating coverage based on number of rooms and quality features of the furniture. 

Provide your customers with your value-added expertise about the condo associations current coverage and how that may impact the personal coverage that the owner will need.

In today's era of high technology is it every easy for people to find out private data about almost anyone.  This puts almost everyone at risk of Identity theft and its disasterous consequences. This is not limited by geography becuase of the power of the Internet.  Most of your personal data including your social security is available to someone with a computer and some level of sophistication.

This a larger concern than mere credit card fraud because most major card companies offer protetcion.  The real concern has catastrophic consequences.  A common and pervavsive problem is ID theft using your social security number and securing bank loans or second mortgagees for which you are liable.

You can protect yourself inexpensively by selecting the Identity Restoration Protection option for a modest premium.  At Allstate, our solution provides up to $25,000 in monies and a contract with Kroll International in order to work through the process to restore your indentity. This allows you to retain highly skilled personnel to assist you in the restoration.  Many times this can take a few months and you need experienced professional to guide you through the ordeal.

Real estate agents who recommend to their clients that they purchase mortgage protection coverage would provide a level of service that customer would really appreciate.  This type of consultative selling really separates agents in the field.

 Once a couple secures a mortgage, it is important that they protect each other in the event that a loss of life occurs.  A mortgage protection policy enables the surviving spouse to continue to maintain the current living environment and avoid making changes at such a difficult time.  Especially if there are children in the family, mortgage protection insurance would payoff the mortgage and usually leaves something extra behind in terms of income replacement.

Life insurance premium today are an all-time low.  Based on age and health, a man or women could secure a significant amount of coverage for about $50 a month.  I recommend that you suggest to your clients that they should consider a plan that mitigates their risk in the event of a death in the family.