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  The month of April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Because it involves cognitive, manual, and visual distraction, fiddling with your phone while driving is extremely dangerous.  We ask everyone to make a special effort to set the phone aside while driving.  We here at Brock-Norton encourage our clients, employees and any/all drivers to put down their phones and buckle up.   The CDC has said that there are three types of distracted driving. They are as follows: 1.      Visual distractions that cause you to take your eyes off the road. a.      Examples:                                                      i.      This can be using a GPS/Waze                                                    ii.      Looking at billboards/signage                                                   iii.      Rubbernecking at an accident                                                  iv.      Checking out the surrounding area or scenery or even looking at other cars around you

  By prioritizing cybersecurity, organizations can mitigate the risk of data breaches, financial losses and reputational damage. Whether you're an individual or an organization, understanding the importance of cybersecurity is fundamental to navigating the threat landscape safely and securely. The increased connectivity of the digital world means greater security vulnerabilities and cyber risk. Remote and hybrid work arrangements, increasingly sophisticated attackers, creative social engineering, and a rise in the number of passwords people use have all contributed to more cyber attacks. The results can be costly. Organizations that are ill-prepared or lacking in security and risk protocols will find themselves paying a hefty price both in reputation and financial loss.   While it’s nearly impossible to prevent all cyber attacks, your organization can reduce cyber risk by ensuring it’s prepared for the most common types of attacks.  The most common types of risk are: Compromised pa

It is that time of year again. Winter often brings glacial temperatures and when temperatures start to tumble, the water that supplies your home’s faucets and fixtures can be in the danger of freezing inside of the pipes. Because water expands as it turns into ice, frozen pipes are prone to bursting, which can result in costly water and plumbing damage throughout your home. At the highest risk of freezing are pipes that run along exterior walls of your home and those in unheated or uninsulated places, such as attics, basements, or garages. Before the temperatures outside start to plummet below freezing, it is important to understand how to prevent pipes from freezing. Read on below to learn more about how to prevent pipes from freezing and keep the water running in winter weather.     TIPS TO PREVENT YOUR PIPES FROM FREEZING IN THE WINTER Set your thermostat to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit at all times Open cabinet doors where piping is present Keep your attic door/hatch open if wate

  In recent months, we have had several policy holders impacted by vehicle theft. Check out this brief blog for tips on how to reduce the likelihood of your vehicle being stolen! Vehicle theft is increasing and continues to plague the already strained Auto Insurance Market. With premiums on the rise, inventory low and the time and cost to repair skyrocketing, cars are more expensive to obtain and maintain than ever. Across the country there is a 34% spike of stolen vehicles compared to last year. In DC alone there was a spike of 113% of car thefts compared to 2022. That equals about 18 cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles stolen every day. We should be aware that a majority of car thefts are from people that are stealing cars to strip and sell parts. It is also reported that some cars that are stolen are being sent overseas for sales.   Here are some tips that you can enact at home and in your business to reduce the chances of you waking up to an empty driveway. Always lock the vehicle w

A water loss to your home or business can be devastating.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that just 1 inch of water can cause $25,000 worth of damage.  Their  Cost of Flooding Tool  illustrates how the cost increases as the water rises.    Many think that they aren’t at risk for a flood loss, but water can come from many different sources.  This video from Channel 6 in Philadelphia shows how one water main break affected many homes along a city street. We have seen an uptick of “100 year storms” over the last decade. In fact, 90% of natural disasters in the US involve some form of flooding. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, New Orleans once again suffered extensive damage to hundreds of its homes and businesses.   Water losses like these are not covered by standard insurance.  Property policies exclude damage caused by flood, surface water, ground water and drain backups.  Unfortunately, many of us don’t realize this until it’s too late.  Flood insurance will help to c

  Whole Life Insurance Whole life insurance, sometimes called permanent life insurance, provides coverage for your entire lifetime. That means your family and beneficiaries are covered for the duration of your life. Whole life insurance accumulates cash value, too, providing you the option of borrowing against it. It’s a financially smart way to help protect yourself and your loved ones. You can even buy a separate policy for children, so they have coverage for their entire lives. To continue learning about Whole Life Insurance please click the button below.  Whole Life Universal Life Insurance Universal Life Insurance is protection that offers payment flexibility and the ability to adjust the coverage amount over time. It offers low-cost protection like term life insurance and a savings element like whole life insurance.  It can help your family financially with immediate cash for funeral expenses or can be used in other ways, such as business situations, to create a charitable gift,

Recently, the Virginia Assembly passed laws effecting Auto Insurance Policies issued to Virginia Drivers. The state of Virginia is now requiring changes to underinsured motorist coverage and has revised the applicable statute, VA Code section 38.2-2206. Changes will start for all new and renewal policies on July 1, 2023 . Through this amendment, damages caused by an accident with an underinsured motor vehicle will now be paid in addition to any bodily injury or property damage liability coverage available for payment.    A named insured may decline this change in coverage and select Underinsured Motorist Coverage (Alternative Coverage). Under the Alternative Coverage, damages caused by an accident with an underinsured motorist may be reduced by bodily injury or property damage liability coverage available for payment. If you choose to decline the change in coverage and instead elect the Alternative Coverage, a named insured must sign the Virginia Underinsured Motorist Coverage (Alterna

  Life doesn’t stand still. Neither do your life insurance needs. If you have a quote or policy and haven’t reviewed it lately, you may be surprised to discover that what worked for you then may not not meet your needs now. Luckily, going over your life and matching it with your life insurance just takes a bit of thinking. And a little math. Here is how to do a quick review to know what you need: DIME  - Use the DIME method to figure out your life insurance needs. Add  D ebt, ten years of  I ncome,  M ortgage payoff amount, and the cost of your children’s college  E ducation. Type of Life Insurance  - Do you need term life insurance (life for a fixed amount of time), or whole life insurance, a policy that lasts your whole life? Cost of Life Insurance  - The price of a policy depends on your age, health, and the amount of coverage in the policy. There are many online calculators that can help. These methods will give you a rough idea of what you need. But nothing can replace speaking wi

  We all know a person who acts as the "face" of their company. Many times they are the business and without them we'd certainly feel a change in the day to day operations. But what would you do if that person left, became disabled or passed away? If your business relied on them to be financially successful, how would you recover? How long would it take to find a train a replacement? How much revenue loss would occur in that time frame? If you have ever grappled any of these questions, it is probably a good idea to purchase Key Person Insurance. Key Person coverage uses Life Insurance and/or Disability Insurance, to protect businesses from financial loss should a key employee or owner die or become disabled. The majority of the time, the business pays for the insurance and is the beneficiary of the policy; but sharing the premium payments and benefit with the key person is also acceptable. This enables the company to use the proceeds from the life insurance to pay debts,

  Most people don’t start a business thinking about how it will end, but you should. Without a clear path of transfer or an exit plan, you could be leaving your employees and the business in limbo. Depending on the type of entity, there are various tax and legal implications if an owner passes away or divorces without preparing the entity. You or your partners, could now be forced into business with people you don’t know, or worse, don’t like.   So how can you prevent befalling this fate? Well one of the most important things you can do is draft a buy-sell agreement (BSA). A BSA can assist in the transfer of ownership interests and determine how involuntarily acquired shares/assets can be sold back to the company. Most BSAs are set up using Life Insurance to provide the funds needed for buy outs and buys backs upon the death or disability of an owner.     For example, Tom, a 56 year old man owns a law firm with his partner John, 62. John suffers a heart attack and passes away, leaving