Four Way Insurance Blog

Four Way Insurance Bloghttp://www.4wayinsurance.com/blog/View Four Way Insurance's Website Blogen-uspostmaster@www.4wayinsurance.comInsurance Website Builder - www.insurancewebsitebuilder.comurn:uuid:3bdda051-cbb5-434a-9768-c2ebf02ba64burn:uuid:e2090b1a-3a94-47f5-8d68-18325a83f596Earthquake evacuation plansIf an earthquake occurs, you may need to evacuate a damaged area afterward. By planning and practicing for evacuation, you will be better prepared to respond appropriately and efficiently to signs of danger or to directions by civil authorities. ...Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:04:14 -0600If an earthquake occurs, you may need to evacuate a damaged area afterward. By planning and practicing for evacuation, you will be better prepared to respond appropriately and efficiently to signs of danger or to directions by civil authorities. <ul> <li>Take a few minutes with your family to discuss a home evacuation plan. Sketch a floor plan of your home; walk through each room and discuss evacuation details. </li> <li>Plan a second way to exit from each room or area, if possible. If you need special equipment, such as a rope ladder, mark where it is located. </li> <li>Mark where your emergency food, water, first aid kits, and fire extinguishers are located. </li> <li>Mark where the utility switches or valves are located so that they can be turned off, if possible. </li> <li>Indicate the location of your family's emergency outdoor meeting place.</li> </ul>urn:uuid:46e4685f-26dc-443f-807f-9374ba19d278Earthquake practice drillsBy planning and practicing what to do if an earthquake strikes, you and your family can learn to react correctly and automatically when the shaking begins. During an earthquake, most deaths and injuries are caused by collapsing building materials and...Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:03:46 -0600By planning and practicing what to do if an earthquake strikes, you and your family can learn to react correctly and automatically when the shaking begins. During an earthquake, most deaths and injuries are caused by collapsing building materials and heavy falling objects, such as bookcases, cabinets, and heating units. Learn the safe spots in each room of your home. If you have children, get the entire family to practice going to these locations. Participating in an earthquake drill will help children understand what to do in case you are not with them during an earthquake. Make sure you and your child also understand the school's emergency procedures for disasters. This will help you coordinate where, when, and how to reunite with your child after an earthquake. During your earthquake drill: <ul> <li>Get under a sturdy table or desk and hold on to it. </li> <li>If you're not near a table or desk, cover your face and head with your arms; and <ul> <li>stand or crouch in a strongly supported doorway, or </li> <li>brace yourself in an inside corner of the house or building. </li> </ul> </li> <li>Stay clear of windows or glass that could shatter or objects that could fall on you. </li> <li>Remember: If inside, stay inside. Many people are injured at entrances of buildings by falling debris.</li> </ul>urn:uuid:9abde4bb-450f-42c9-800c-a9407d91c9c6Being prepared for an earthquakeWhile California has been the state most prone to serious earthquakes in recent years, there are many other fault zones in other areas of the United States. For example, geologists and seismologists have predicted a 97 percent chance of a major earth...Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:03:17 -0600While California has been the state most prone to serious earthquakes in recent years, there are many other fault zones in other areas of the United States. For example, geologists and seismologists have predicted a 97 percent chance of a major earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States (including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky) between now and the year 2035. While earthquakes with the power of the one that hit the greater Los Angeles area in January 1994 are fairly rare, less severe earthquakes can interrupt your normal living patterns and cause substantial injury. During a major earthquake, you may hear a roaring or rumbling sound that gradually grows louder. You may feel a rolling sensation that starts out gently and, within a second or two, grows violent. Or, you may first be jarred by a violent jolt. A second or two later, you may feel shaking and find it difficult to stand up or move from one room to another. The real key to surviving an earthquake and reducing your risk of injury lies in planning, preparing, and practicing what you and your family will do if it happens.urn:uuid:9f269412-3189-4488-802b-98cea5676136Green Retrofitting Surpasses New Green Construction for First TimeGreen retrofitting of commercial buildings is outpacing the construction of new green buildings, according to a new report issued this week. The trend could mean that more building owners may believe that bringing their buildings up to Leadershi...Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:56:37 -0600Green retrofitting of commercial buildings is outpacing the construction of new green buildings, according to a new report issued this week. The trend could mean that more building owners may believe that bringing their buildings up to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification may not only be cost efficient, but the environmentally conscious thing to do. It could also mean that new construction has continued to plummet in the last four years, yielding few new green building projects on the drawing boards. LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) report. As of December, square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15-million square feet on a cumulative basis. McGraw Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2011 report states that by 2015, the green share of the largest commercial retrofit and renovation activity will more than triple, representing a $14 billion to $18 billion opportunity in major construction projects alone. “The U.S. is home to more than 60 billion-square-feet of existing commercial buildings, and we know that most of those buildings are energy guzzlers and water sieves,” Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of USGBC, said in a statement. “Greening these buildings takes hands-on work, creating precious jobs especially for construction workers. Making these existing buildings energy and water efficient has an enormous positive impact on the building’s cost of operations. And the indoor air quality improvements that go with less toxic cleaning solutions and better filtration create healthier places to live, work and learn.” Historically, LEED-certified green projects were overwhelmingly made up of new construction projects, both in volume and square footage. That began to change in 2008, according to USGBC, when the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (O&M) program began experiencing explosive growth. In 2009, projects certified under LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M surpassed those certified under its new construction counterpart on an annual basis, a trend that continued in 2010 and 2011. “This new data marks the first time that LEED-certified existing buildings have surpassed LEED-certified new construction cumulatively,” Fedrizzi continued. “The market is becoming increasingly aware of how building owners can get better performance through green operations and maintenance…” David Cohen, senior director of property at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., said his company has seen their customers express increased interest in retrofits to make their buildings greener. “We are not surprised to see the increase of existing buildings becoming LEED-certified given the economic slowdown’s impact on new construction and as building owners have become more aware and educated on both the financial impact and environmental benefits of having a green building,” Cohen said. “Green buildings can boost real estate owners’ bottom line by protecting and building net operating income, attracting and retaining quality tenants and improving the environment. Simply put, green buildings create a triple-net effect, benefitting the owners’ bottom line, its tenants and the environment.” Fireman’s Fund is considered the first property/casualty insurance firm to offer green insurance to the U.S. commercial marketplace by providing a financial incentive for green building owners in the form of a 5 percent discount on the policy premium for LEED-certified buildings. The company has recently expanded its green offerings to include historic buildings, hotels, manufacturing facilities, restaurants, and personal and commercial auto. Since the economic downturn there have been few new studies on the value of building green, or retrofitting a building to be green, for developers. A study by CoStar Group in 2008 showed that sustainable “green” buildings outperform their non-green peer assets in terms of occupancy, sale price and rental rates, sometimes by wide margins. At that time, LEED buildings were commanding rent premiums of $11.33 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and had 4.1 percent higher occupancy. Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represented a $2.40 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings and had 3.6 percent higher occupancy, the CoStar report showed. Energy Star buildings also sold for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings commanded $171 more per square foot, according to CoStar. “Projects worldwide are proving that green building doesn’t have to mean building new,” the USGBC states. A major renovation for the now recently LEED-certified Empire State Building in New York has its owners forecasting they will slash energy consumption by more than 38 percent, saving $4.4 million in energy costs annually. Over 43,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising nearly 8 billion-square-feet of construction space in the U.S. and 120 countries. Additionally, nearly 15,000 homes have been certified under LEED.urn:uuid:034a77ad-a9b9-4650-900c-b6047968f43cLike us on Facebook!Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:00:25 -0600urn:uuid:2877d5ac-a572-46b0-9241-e03d45f681c5Want to Reduce Cyber Risk? Avoid These 25 Worst PasswordsOne way to help lower personal and business cyber risk is to avoid using easy-to-crack passwords. SplashData, a password management application maker, recently compiled a list of the 25 worst passwords for the year 2011. The research results were bas...Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:34:41 -0600One way to help lower personal and business cyber risk is to avoid using easy-to-crack passwords. SplashData, a password management application maker, recently compiled a list of the 25 worst passwords for the year 2011. The research results were based on millions of actually stolen passwords that were made available online. Having tough-to-guess passwords may not necessarily deter sophisticated, determined hackers. But they do make it much more difficult for amateur cyber thieves to breach online accounts. Here is the list of this year’s worst online passwords. 1. password 2. 123456 3. 12345678 4. qwerty 5. abc123 6. monkey 7. 1234567 8. letmein 9. trustno1 10. dragon 11. baseball 12. 111111 13. iloveyou 14. master 15. sunshine 16. ashley 17. bailey 18. passw0rd 19. shadow 20. 123123 21. 654321 22. superman 23. qazwsx 24. michael 25. footballurn:uuid:9d2baf6b-ac83-4e5c-baa2-06892104912cNew Fax #901-389-3607Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:09:28 -0500<div style="text-align: center;">901-389-3607</div>urn:uuid:b865aa81-ce11-498e-ba23-118f2b5be142New Site Up!We will be adding many more features soon!Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:01:21 -0500We will be adding many more features soon!