Blog – Page 2

Time to Go Solo?: The Group Life Insurance Dilemma

March 2, 2020 By Forrest Dailey

When an insurance agent calls or
approaches you selling life insurance, your response is likely “No, thank you,
I already have life insurance through my employer.”

And the agent’s rebuttal, hopefully, begins something like “That’s great! I’m glad you have coverage.”

Life insurance offered by an employer can be a great benefit, and we encourage our business-owner clients to consider offering it to their staff. But is your employer’s group policy the best coverage for you, as an individual? When your premium is taken out of your paycheck, you might not even pay attention to:

What
type of policy you have
What
the policy covers, and
How much
you pay each month

Life insurance through your
employer is most likely a term policy. So when you retire, leave the company,
or become permanently unable to work there due to an injury, there is a high
probability you will no longer have life insurance through that employer. And beyond
the age of 65, obtaining new life insurance can come at a daunting price for most
people.

It is hard to fathom something as
fundamental as life insurance being dependent on your employment when we know
that in the grand scheme of things, our lives are a whole lot more than who we
work for.

But enough philosophy.

Here’s what you really need to think about. A group life insurance policy is written without taking into consideration the health and habits of the individual members of the group. It’s called a pool rate.

So, just to illustrate the point,
let’s say you happen to be the only one at your office who exercises regularly
and doesn’t smoke or drink or wrestle alligators while skydiving. None of that
would have any effect on the premium you pay as a part of the group. You’d pay
the exact same rate as your co-workers who live on the edge.

On the other hand, if you bought
an individual life insurance policy through your own agent, it would be written
according to tiered rates which, frankly, favor those who are very healthy, and
would likely be much less expensive.

If, however, you do choose to
remain a part of that group policy, you can still save money by taking the
maximum that you can get from the policy for free and then buying any extra
coverage you feel you need through your own agent.

If you are currently a part of a group life insurance policy but would like to see what your options are, call your local Horihan Insurance office today. We’ll give you a free consultation and review of your employer-based policy, and we’ll show you where we can improve on it, or just fill in some gaps in the coverage.

Workouts That Aren’t Really Workouts For the Great Indoors

February 6, 2020 By Forrest Dailey

Last month we explored the cardiovascular aspects of the
workout routine known as shoveling snow.

But maybe you live in an apartment building or you don’t do the shoveling in your household. We’re all shut in more than usual in the winter. What then?

There are plenty of opportunities to get exercise indoors,
and they don’t have to feel like an exercise routine at all. It depends on your
approach.

Everybody has an opinion on what the best workouts are
during these snowy, hibernate-y months. Most of them involve going to a gym,
joining a club, walking around the mall or doing a specific type of workout.

We’re not doing any of that. We’re going to focus on every day life kind of things that you can do on those days when there is nothing to be done but hunker down in your own home.

So here we go with some cold weather indoor workouts that are not really workouts:

Playing with the kids/grandkids – Give the kids a piggyback ride around the house. Pretend you’re on a hike pointing out all of the things you’re seeing out in “the woods” along the way. You get yourself moving, and you keep the kids entertained. Don’t try this with the teens. They’re too big and what’s more, they can find their own entertainment/transportation.
Dancing – Have you ever left a concert, club or wedding reception where you’d been dancing all night, and didn’t realize exactly how much you’d been dancing until you sat down at the end of the night? You can do that in your living room. Do it. Nobody’s going to judge you.
Cleaning out the closet – You’re going to have to do it eventually and you probably aren’t going to during the warm, fun, summer months. This is kind of a one time per season thing, but it can be exhausting in a good way. Perhaps you have a main bedroom closet where you keep your clothes for whatever season it currently is, and you have another closet in another room where you keep your off-season clothes. It’s almost like moving to a different apartment, on a smaller scale, but it will streamline your morning what-to-wear routine.
Chopping fruits and vegetables – Meal preparation in general can be a quite vigorous activity. But even more so if you can incorporate as much vegetable and fruit chopping as possible. Not only will you get the workout, but much more healthful meals will result! You can’t lose. But don’t get too enthusiastic about this. If you have space to freeze some meals for a later date, then great. But if not, remember you and your family can only eat so much zucchini in a week and it goes bad.
Play a musical instrument – Playing a guitar, or even air guitar, can be a real power workout. Especially if you are the type who really rocks out when you find your groove. The same can be said for playing the piano or drums, except for these you will probably want an actual instrument. (Air piano is an under-valued talent these days.) Any brass or wind instrument will be great for keeping your respiratory system strong.
Furniture assembly – If you’ve ever bought a piece of furniture and assembled it yourself, you’ll know they don’t make it easy. At one point or another during the process it may have resembled a wrestling match on your living room floor. But if you manage to finish it all by yourself, you stand to really impress your spouse. If you can’t, then it is a great team-building project for the two of you.
Pace the room while on the phone – Many studies have suggested that multi-tasking isn’t truly possible and certainly is not efficient. That is, if the two or more tasks require dexterity or mental focus. But walking isn’t complicated. So if you are on a long call, while you are giving that your full attention, you might as well get some steps in.
Laugh – You’ve probably heard it takes more face muscles to frown than it does to smile. Research is inconclusive on that, but it’s irrelevant because laughing blows them both out of the water! While laughing, you’re working out from your face down to your belly. And if the joke is funny enough you are probably kicking your legs too. Laughter might be not only the best medicine but the best workout that isn’t really a workout.

This winter has been mild, so get out this winter and enjoy as much as you can, but when you can’t, enjoy the Great Indoors!

Every Day I’m Shovelin’

January 10, 2020 By Forrest Dailey

Heavier snow IS going to come at some point. Shoveling snow is just a chore. There is no way around it. Does anyone really like shoveling snow? It’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet on it. It’s something we do because odds are we wouldn’t be able to leave our driveway all winter if we didn’t. Most people just want it to be over quickly, but it is a responsibility you must endure as a property owner. It’s your chance to be the guardian of the public safety if only in the immediate vicinity of your home.

Who wants to be out in the cold longer than necessary, especially on what is supposed to be a leisurely Sunday afternoon, for example? But rushing can bring more harm than the cold. If you are dressed appropriately you save yourself from frostbite, for one thing, but also it allows you to take the time you need to get your shoveling done safely.

Now, then. Before you even get outside, you need to warm up.
What people don’t realize about shoveling snow is that it is a heavy cardio
workout. You need to stretch. Maybe play “Eye of the Tiger” to pump yourself
up.

Whatever it takes.

Next, you’ve got to choose your weapon wisely. While metal
shovels are heavy-duty, they are also just plain heavy. You can get a good,
solid plastic shovel with a metal edge for effective scraping that is much
lighter. They aren’t as durable as the metal ones obviously, so you have to
sort of pick your poison on that one, decide what your priorities are.

As long as we agree that shoveling snow is in fact a
workout, think about weight-lifting for a moment. You do it in sets. And in
between sets, you take short breaks. The same thing applies to shoveling snow
especially if you have a larger area to shovel.

Just like with any athletic endeavor, it is important to drink
enough water. You can become dehydrated in the dead of winter just as easily as
you could in the hot August sun depending on the stresses you are putting on
your body.

Lift with your knees if you must, but really you should be
pushing the snow off the sidewalk or driveway and into the yard. Just like a
snowplow. Lower back injuries are by far the most common injuries related to
snow shoveling. Heart-related incidents and deaths during shoveling are of
course the most serious, and that is why we hear about them often. But unless
you have a pre-existing condition or are severely over-exerting yourself, you
are more likely to hurt your back.

Timing is everything with snow shoveling. Generally, snow
will be lighter and fluffier right after it falls, before it gets wet and
well-packed, at which point you might as well be shoveling rocks.

So get on top of things next time it snows, but don’t over-do
it.

Take care out there.

Safety Under the Tree

December 2, 2019 By Forrest Dailey

Because December is a gift-giving season for so many, and
because the season is particularly associated with toys for the kids, we want
to address safe toys and gifts.

December was first declared Safe Toys and Gifts Awareness
month by the organization Prevent Blindness America. The original intent seems
to have been awareness of toys that put the user in danger of putting their eye
out. But really it is about making sure the gifts you are giving are suitable
for the recipient’s age group and ability level.

There is a wide variety of factors to consider when buying
gifts to ensure that everything from receiving the gift to using it will be a
great experience for your loved one. So let’s just jump right into it.

The best starting point when buying a gift would be to read the instructions and warnings on the box to know what you are getting into. Look for the ASTM label which ensures that the toy meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials. It’s the best way to be confident that the item has been put through the wringer to identify any possible hazards.

While over the years, consumer advocacy groups
have made sure that toys are made with fewer sharp edges and points, and
without lead and other toxic materials, such products are still out there. Same
goes with toys with projectiles (toy guns and the like) or small parts that
could potentially be swallowed by a child. It is up to the consumer to be aware
of what they are buying.

Historically, a great number of toy-related
injuries result from projectiles to the face and eyes particularly. Almost as
high on the list are suffocation incidents, mostly from deflated balloons.
Dispose of them immediately if they are popped or no longer usable.

Durability and quality are key. Let’s face it.
Kids throw toys around – even the ones that are not meant to be thrown. Since
it’s inevitable, you might as well get the ones that are least likely to
shatter on impact.

If you are giving sporting goods, you can
encourage safety right off the bat (pun absolutely intended) by including
safety equipment like padding, helmets, and eye goggles depending on what the
main gift is.

Always be mindful of the gift recipient’s
special needs. How will a disability, for example, affect the way they use the
gift? How will the size or shape of the gift affect how they use it? Are there
any adaptions that need to be made to the gift beforehand? That level of care
can mean the most.

At Horihan Insurance, we wish you all that you
wish for yourselves this Holiday season, and we know you wish the same for
those you love. Especially for the little ones, for whom this is such a magical
time of year. By keeping these tips in mind, surely it will be the most
wonderful time of the year for them and will become some of the fondest
memories of their youth.

« Previous Page

Time to Go Solo?: The Group Life Insurance Dilemma

Workouts That Aren’t Really Workouts For the Great Indoors

Every Day I’m Shovelin’

Safety Under the Tree

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