When you’re involved in a vehicle collision and the other driver takes off without exchanging insurance information, this is commonly referred to as a hit-and-run. These incidents can leave you feeling frustrated and wondering what to do next. Review the following guidance to understand what information to collect and who to contact following a hit-and-run incident.
Record all pertinent information.
Write down as much of the other vehicle’s information as possible, including its license plate number, make and model, and color.
Note the time and location of the hit-and-run. Be sure to record the direction the car was headed post-incident.
It’s also important to take pictures of the scene and any damage to your vehicle. If there were any eyewitnesses, gather their names and contact information.
Call the police.
Once you contact your insurance company, the claims process will begin. If covered under your policy, your insurance company can assist you in towing your vehicle and finding a rental car.
Don’t Leave the Scene
In the event of a hit-and-run, never try to follow or apprehend the fleeting driver. What’s more, leaving the scene could cause you to miss eyewitness accounts and may leave law officials questioning who’s really at fault.
If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your auto insurance coverage, contact your insurance agent to discuss the specific terms of your policy.
Flooding is a risk to any business, whether you are inland or near the coastline. In fact, in the past five years all 50 states have experiences floods, and at least one in four businesses that shuts down from a natural disaster never reopens. According to the U.S. government, the average commercial flood in the past five years has been around $89,000, and the average property damage due to flooding adds up to more than $3.5 billion annually.
Floods have many causes and can occur anywhere in the country, but here are some of the most common events that lead to flooding:
Storm surges in hurricane-prone areas
Flash flooding, caused by periods of intense rainfall
Mudslides, caused by long, heavy rain periods on a hill or mountainside
Snowmelt, caused by the still-frozen ground unable to absorb excess water
Ice jams, which are formed when an ice chunk flowing in a river or stream blocks, dams or narrows passageways, causing overflow
A general policy will not cover flood damage, and this type of insurance is only available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP will cover all the types of floods discussed above, including mudslides, though it is important to note that it does not cover landslides even if they are caused by heavy rain. To make sure you get a fair price, every commercial flood agent answers to this government agency; therefore, flood insurance is backed by the government but sold through private insurers.
There are plenty of misunderstanding about flood insurance. At Dimond Bros. Insurance, we have complied some information about the NFIP and its coverage to help you understand its benefits.
NFIP Coverage: Who Should Buy It?
There are two main flood hazard level standards and several sub-categories that the NFIP uses to categorize a company’s risk for flooding and to determine premiums.
Moderate-to-low-risk buildings, which are in zones B, C and X. These areas are outside of the one percent annual chance floodplain, areas of less than one percent annual chance of sheet-flow flooding where average depths are less than one foot, areas of less than one percent annual chance stream flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than one square mile of areas protected by levees.
High-risk buildings, which are in zones A and V
Zone A buildings are within a certain floodplain distance from a river, lake or stream
Zone V buildings are within a certain distance from the coast and exposed to natural disasters associated with the ocean.
For a complete list of sub-categories and to map out which zone your business falls in, visit www.floodsmart.gov, the official website of the NFIP.
If your commercial property is in a high-risk flood area and you have a mortgage form a federally regulated or insured lender, then you are required to purchase a flood insurance policy. However, the NFIP reports that one-third of all annual claims paid are for policies in low-risk communities. Because new land development can increase flood risk by changing natural runoff patterns, it is a good idea to purchase flood insurance even if you are not near a lard body of water.
Associated Costs
Flood insurance premiums are based on several factors, which could raise or lower the amount your company would have to pay. These factors include the following:
Building’s age, height and occupancy
Your company’s location within the building
The location of the lowest floor in relation to the elevation requirement on the flood map (only applicable to newer buildings)
The deductible you choose and the amount of building and contents coverage
If you are located in a low-risk area, you are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, which would cover your building as well as its contents for just a few hundred dollars a year. Even though federal disaster assistance is available to flood victims, it is usually in the form of a loan that must be paid back with interest. For example, if you received a $50,000 federal loan at 4 percent interest, your monthly payment would be around $240; however, by comparison, a $100,000 flood insurance premium could cost your company less than $100 per month.
What Gets Covered
There are two types of commercial building flood insurance coverage, and you can opt to buy one or both.
Commercial Contents covers inventory, merchandise, machinery and any other contents your business has up to $500,000.
Commercial Building covers your company’s building and contents up to $500,000 each. If you company does not own the building, NFIP will cover up to 10 percent of improvement you made to the space.
In addition to these two types of building coverage, the NFIP will also cover debris removal during the cleanup process. Also, if your business takes steps to protect against or prevent flood damage, you may be eligible for lower rates. For more information on how to protect against the risk of flood damage to your business, go to www.fema.gov/information-property-owners.
If you have further questions about flood insurance coverage and its provisions, Dimond Bros. Insurance is here to help. Call (217) 465-5041 to find out how you can extend your coverage to keep your business safe and running-no matter what happens.
From Machinery operation to chemical handling, taking safety seriously is crucial. Learn more about how to enhance safety on your grain farm.
Grain farmers experience a handful of unique risks on the job. While one of the biggest safety concerns is grain bin suffocation, there are numerous other risks on grain farms that deserve attention. From machinery operation to chemical handling, taking safety seriously is crucial. Learn more about how to enhance safety on your grain farm.
Fires and Explosions
Grain farms produce large amounts of dust through handling and harvesting. Grain dust is highly combustible, meaning it burns or explodes very easily. Grain dust explosions are extremely dangerous, often resulting in fatalities and significant damage. According to the National Grain and Feed Association, dust Ignition requires three elements: fuel (dust), source (spark), and an oxidizing agent (oxygen in air). Dust explosions require these additional elements: confinement (leg, conveyor, tunnel), and dispersion in the air (first explosion).
To prevent these equipment fires while harvesting, be sure to regularly clean the engine, turbocharger, and exhaust systems. Eliminate build up on your farming equipment by blowing off excess dust and using power washing tools. According to an Oregon State University study, 41% of combine fires are caused by crop residue. Operate combines at appropriate speeds. Increased harvesting speeds puts additional stress on the engines significantly increasing the risk of fires. Allow equipment to cool before refueling or parking the equipment in a machine shed. Preventative maintenance and lubrication are crucial for reducing fire risk and having a smooth harvest season.
To reduce the risk of grain dust explosions, reduce sources of ignition and reduce dust accumulations. Develop and follow a regular cleaning and housekeeping schedule. Cleaning methods should not produce additional dust clouds unless all equipment is shut down and there are no ignition sources. Follow manufacturer guidelines for routine lubrication for bearings and periodically monitor bearing temperature. Strictly enforce no smoking on your grain farm. Farmers should regularly monitor dust levels and keep up on electrical equipment maintenance.
Falls from heights
Grain farmers and workers perform various tasks that include working on platforms, ladders, buildings, machinery, and more. Falling from heights is a leading cause of farming injury and fatality. Don’t let the risk of a fall get in the way of keeping your farming operations from running smoothly.
There are many ways to protect your safety without giving up on the tasks at hand. Take proper safety precautions such as installing sturdy guardrails, using fall arrest systems, and performing regular inspections. Always use three points of contact while getting into or out of equipment and when using ladders. Two hands and one foot, or one hand and two feet are appropriate contact methods that lead to safer farming.
Equipment handling
Multiple forms of equipment are used daily on farms as a helpful tool. Though useful, mechanical equipment can be very dangerous. Equipment like augers and conveyors are important tools in grain storage, facilitating the movement and transfer of grain within storage structures. These helpful tools present serious entanglement and amputation hazards to workers if not handled properly. Workers can easily get their limbs caught in poorly guarded moving parts, causing serious injury.
Minimize injury by ensuring proper guarding of moving parts on tools like augers and conveyors. Providing comprehensive training for all workers including emergency procedures. Promote the use of appropriate personal protection equipment and safe clothing. Maintain regular equipment inspections and repairs. Spread awareness through safety signage and open communication about potential hazards.
Hazardous fumes
Another risk grain farmers face is airborne contaminants in storage facilities. Chemical hazards are typically most prominent in the spring and summer during pesticide and herbicide application. When pesticides and other chemicals are used on the farm for things like insect control, they create toxic risks for those exposed to it. Workers in these environments might be exposed to harmful levels of mold, chemical fumigants, and increased carbon monoxide levels with insufficient oxygen from moldy or out of condition grain. Exposure to these toxic chemicals can lead to severe health issues both long term and short term. Long-term risks include permanent damage to the central nervous system, heart and vascular diseases, lung edema, and cancer.
Farmers can minimize this risk by testing the air in a grain bin before entering to check for combustible and toxic gases. Testing the air will help determine if there is sufficient oxygen in the enclosed space. If toxic gases are detected by testing, vent hazardous atmospheres to ensure that combustible and toxic gas levels are reduced to safe levels, and that enough oxygen is present. If you ever find yourself in a situation where dust is present, use a NIOSH approved and certified N-95 dust mask to protect yourself from inhaling it. Proper storage of the respirator is necessary to provide adequate protection.
By taking a safety-first approach in your farm operations, grain farmers can promote a protected working environment. Regular training, proper equipment use, and a proactive attitude towards safety are necessary to minimize risks and protect the well-being of everyone on the farm.
When your child leaves for college, it’s a period of profound change that can be a challenging adjustment. Many moving parts and checklists must be completed for this new life experience. One item you should add to your list is speaking with your insurance provider to ensure your student still has coverage while they are away.
Understanding How Homeowners Insurance Extends to Your Student
Fortunately, most homeowners insurance policies will extend to your student’s belongings while living on campus. Some insurance providers may have a list of requirements to qualify for coverage. These criteria may state that your child must be a full-time student, live on campus, be under the age of 24 and be a relative of the insured on the homeowners policy. However, even if your homeowners insurance policy extends to your student, the coverage limits may not be enough if your student has high-value items, such as gaming devices, computers and other electronics.
Homeowners insurance also may not extend its coverage to your student if they live in a house or apartment off campus. Instead, consider helping them obtain a renters policy. A specified renters insurance policy can provide robust coverage for personal belongings, as well as liability protections and additional living expenses coverage.
Renters Insurance Coverage
Renters insurance typically includes the following three coverages:
Personal possessions coverage can help protect your student’s belongings, such as furniture, electronic devices and other possessions, against covered perils such as fire, theft and vandalism. This coverage can help cover the cost of replacing or repairing them up to the policy’s limits; however, as noted previously, particularly expensive items such as laptops and jewelry may require additional insurance to be covered adequately. Talk to your agent about my high-value property.
Liability protection coverage can help cover lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage for which your student is responsible.
Additional living expenses coverage can help pay hotel and food bills if your student’s residence becomes uninhabitable due to a covered event.
Value of Renters Insurance
Renters insurance is a valuable and affordable investment for college students. Renters insurance is a relatively inexpensive coverage with some premiums as low as $10 a month. The payments will typically be low, especially compared to what it would cost to replace expensive items out of pocket. In this exciting phase of life, renters insurance grants peace of mind, ensuring students can focus more on their studies and less on the burden of unexpected financial setbacks.
Contact Your Agent Today
Review your homeowners coverage with your agent to understand how coverage may extend to your college student. Your agent can help you understand what is and isn’t covered, coverage limits and potential gaps that may necessitate renters insuance.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) recently scheduled this year’s Brake Safety Week for Aug. 24-30, 2025. This annual event emphasizes the importance of ensuring sufficient brake systems in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and highlights the critical role that regular inspections, repairs and maintenance play in reducing potential accidents on the road.
Event Overview
The CVSA consistently schedules Brake Safety Week in August in conjunction with Brake Safety Awareness Month. During this weeklong initiative, certified vehicle inspectors will review CMVs using the CVSA’s North American out-of-service criteria and remove any vehicles with brake-related violations from the roadways until necessary adjustments or repairs have been made. At the end of Brake Safety Week, inspectors will combine all the data they collected and submit the results to the CVSA. The organization will report its findings later in the year.
2024 Results
Here’s a summary of key findings from last year’s event:
A total of 16,725 CMV inspections occurred across North America during Brake Safety Week in 2024. These inspections left 2,149 vehicles with brake-related out-of-service violations, representing a 12.8% out-of-service rate.
Most of these inspections (14,692) and associated out-of-service violations (1,900) took place in the United States.
Over half (56.6%) of the 2,149 CMVs placed out of service failed the CVSA’s defective brakes criterion. This criterion states that a CMV must be placed out of service if 20% or more of the service brakes on the vehicle are deemed defective.
This Year’s Focus
The focus of this year’s event is brake drum and rotor violations. Drum and rotor issues can carry major consequences, causing severe damage to CMVs and making commercial drivers more susceptible to accidents behind the wheel. Furthermore, broken pieces of drums and rotors can sometimes become dislodged from CMVs en route, possibly harming nearby motorists and pedestrians and resulting in devastating injuries and fatalities.
How to Prepare
Trucking employers can prepare for Brake Safety Week by ensuring their fleets are in good condition and requiring commercial drivers to inspect CMVs before and after each trip for potential brake problems. As it pertains to drum and rotor issues, key items to watch for include:
Broken pieces in the friction surface of the rotor
Cracks that extend to the outer portion of the drum
Excess wear and tear on the rotor that exposes the center vents
Heavy rust or grooving on the rotor
Trucking employers should address brake problems immediately with sufficient repairs. Commercial drivers should never be permitted to operate CMVs with worn, damaged or faulty brakes. By promoting brake safety and efficiency within their fleets, trucking employers can make the most of this annual campaign, minimize accidents on the road and avoid costly violations.
Contact us today for further fleet safety resources and risk management guidance.
Even though the brain and the heart are located far from one another in the body, they are intrinsically connected and each have a significant impact on how the other functions.
The two organs communicate via the muscular walls around the heart, which are connected to the brain in the circulatory system. As the brain releases hormones telling the body what to do, receptor cells in your blood vessels pick up these messages. In addition, there are nerve endings that travel from the brain to the muscular walls of the heart. These nerves send messages to the muscle tissue to either relax or contract.
Since these two organs communicate, mental health can have a dramatic effect on heart health and vice versa.
Stress
The mind’s response to a perceived or actual threatening situation is known as stress. The body responds to the stress by:
Blood pressure
Respiratory rate
Heart rate
Oxygen consumption
Blood flow to skeletal muscles
Perspiration
Muscle tone
When you experience these responses on a regular basis as a result of stress, you are putting your body at an increased risk of heart disease.
Stress-Reducing Meditation
To combat the potentially life-threatening damage stress could have on your heart, there are several meditation techniques you can try. These techniques aim to achieve a relaxation response to reduce stress, improve immune system and prepare the body for traumatic situations in the future:
Here are three ways to meditate:
Go into a quiet environment and sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Then, focus your attention on one thing such as a word, phrase or sound. Repeat that one thing over and over again. If you find that your mind wanders, try to refocus. Do this exercise for 20 minutes.
Progressive relaxation is another useful exercise. Lie down or sit in a quiet area. Focus your attention on the muscle groups in your feet and slowly move through each group until you reach your head. As you go through each muscle group, try to imagine that you are actually breathing through those organs. As you “exhale”, release the tension from the group. As an alternative, you may tighten the muscles in each group for several seconds, and then physically release the tension.
A third meditation exercise is to imagine that you are clearing your body of the toxins that you want to get rid of. For instance, visualize that you are ridding your arteries of plaque. Concentrate on releasing that energy, which will ultimately reduce the tension in your mind.
